Using the Windows Vista Quick Launch Toolbar

Adapted From: Windows Vista All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies:

Vista's Quick Launch toolbar is a little tray of icons that sits next to the Start button. Here, you can stick shortcuts to start all your favorite programs, folders, Web favorites, or anything else you can create a shortcut to. It's one of the handiest features in Windows.

Unless you or your evil twin turned it off, your Quick Launch toolbar appears immediately to the right of the Start button: If you see tiny icons to the right of the Start button, Quick Launch is on duty.

If you can't see the Quick Launch toolbar, you need it quick. Here's how to get it back: Right-click any open spot on the Windows taskbar and choose Toolbars --> Quick Launch.

Many gadgets for the Vista Sidebar take on the functions of the Vista Quick Launch toolbar. If you prefer the bright lights of a quick-launch gadget, by all means go ahead and give the standard Vista Quick Launch the heave-ho. But remember that those big, beautiful gadget icons take up a lot of screen real estate.

Adding your own icons to the Quick Launch toolbar is very simple, too, but you immediately run into problems trying to squeeze more icons into that tiny space. Here's how to avoid the problem in the first place:

1. Make sure that the Quick Launch toolbar is showing (right-click an open spot on the Windows taskbar and choose Toolbars --> Quick Launch).

2. Unlock the taskbar so that you can increase the size of the Quick Launch toolbar. To do so, right-click an open spot on the Windows taskbar and deselect the Lock the Taskbar option.

Windows shows two small drag handles, one to the left and one to the right of the Quick Launch toolbar.

3. Grab the drag handle on the right and stretch it out (to the right) a bit.

4. Find a program that you want to put on the Quick Launch toolbar.

For example, if you have Microsoft Office installed and you want to put Word down there, choose Start --> All Programs and look for Microsoft Word.

5. Right-click the program and drag it down to the Quick Launch toolbar. When you release the icon, choose Copy Here.

You see a big, black I-beam on the Quick Launch toolbar that indicates where the icon will go.

When you drag icons to the Quick Launch toolbar, right-click and choose Copy Here so that the original program shortcut stays intact. If you click (or right-click and choose Move Here), the shortcut gets moved.

6. Drag as many icons to the Quick Launch toolbar as you like. When you're done, butt the right drag handle up against the rightmost icon and then right-click the Windows taskbar and choose Lock the Taskbar.

You have more "play" with the Quick Launch toolbar's resizing drag handles than you think. Try squishing the Quick Launch toolbar by setting the right drag handle on top of the rightmost icon and then lock the taskbar. When you right-click the taskbar and choose Lock the Taskbar, all the icons will probably appear anyway. It never hurts to tighten things a bit so that Windows can use as much of the taskbar as possible.