Last week we were looking at some tricks you can do with your Windows 7 taskbar. Today let’s see how to actually add a task to the taskbar.
To add any program which is installed on your computer to the taskbar, first find the program you want to add. Do this by clicking the Start button and All Programs. Scroll to the specific program you want to add and right click on the icon. The dropdown menu will include several different choices but the two you need to pay attention to here are, "Pin to Taskbar" and "Pin to Start Menu." If you choose "Pin to Taskbar" it will add the program icon/link to your taskbar. If you do not like where it is located on the taskbar it is easy to move. Click the icon and drag it to the location on your taskbar you prefer.
Obviously, you can also add the program icon to your Start Menu. If you choose that one the program will be added somewhere near the top of the menu list when you click the start button. Again, you can click and drag it to slide it to the location you prefer on the menu list.
Now, how about "Jump Lists?"
Jump Lists are lists of recently opened items like websites or documents folders depending on which program you used to open them last. You can use a Jump List to open these items, and you can also pin favorites to a Jump List so you can quickly get to the items you use every day.
They are found on the taskbar and in the menu. Again, this depends on what programs you have added to the menu or what programs are currently running. On the Start menu jump lists appear for programs you’ve pinned to the Start menu and programs you’ve opened recently. Note that not all programs use jumps lists so they may not appear. However, most of the main programs will have them. Jump Lists can include recently opened items and any you have added or pinned there.
The same jump list items will appear in the start menu and the taskbar no matter which way you access them. So, if you pin an item to a program’s Jump List on the taskbar, the item also appears in that program’s Jump List on the Start menu.
Using this quick access feature is easy. To view a Jump List for an application, click start, point to the pinned program near the top of the menu list, point to the item and click it. It then opens up.
To add an item to the jump list, click start, hover the program in your start menu, hover the item you want to pin, click on the little "push pin" icon and click "Pin to this list". To remove the item follow the previous directions and click the "push pin" icon again. Next choose, "Unpin from this list."
Follow the same process on the taskbar but start by hovering and then right-click. Now practice your new productivity in Windows 7.
