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The Taskbar is one of the busiest parts of the Windows user interface, but the notification area is far busier yet. To control what appears in the notification area, click the Notification Area tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, and then work on the Notification Area page . In the Icons group box, select the Hide Inactive Icons check box if you want Windows automatically to remove from the notification area any items that you haven’t used recently. Windows hides the items and displays a Show Hidden Icons button that you can use to display them. This option can be useful for keeping your notification area uncluttered. If you find it unsettling to have icons disappear, clear this check box. You can also customize how Windows handles notification-area icons by clicking the Customize button and working in the Customize Notification Icons dialog box . Select the item in the Current Items list or the Past Items list, and then choose Hide When Inactive, Hide, or Show from the context menu. If you mess up, click the Default Settings button to restore Windows’default behavior with the notification area. Click the OK button to return to the Taskbar and StartMenu Properties dialog box. In the System Icons group box, select or clear the Clock check box, the Volume check box, the Network check box, and the Power check box to tell Windows which icons to display permanently. The Power check box is available only if your computer can run on battery power - for example, if it’s a laptop. The Power icon lets you see whether the computer is running on battery power or AC power and whether the battery is charging.

Making the Clock Display the Day and Date

When the Taskbar is displayed as only one row at the top or bottom of the screen, the clock displays only the time. To display the day and date as well, increase the Taskbar depth to two rows or more.

Customizing the Start Menu

Windows Vista introduces a new-look Start menu  that’s different from Windows XP’s Start menu, which in turn differed from the Start menu in earlier versions of Windows. The Start menu automatically adjusts its contents to show your most recently used and most used programs. You can also configure the Start menu to make your computing easier. If you prefer the “classic” Start menu used in Windows 9x, Windows NT 4, and Windows 2000, you can easily restore it:

Select the Classic Start Menu option button on the Start Menu page of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, and then click the Apply button. This article assumes that you’re using the Windows Vista–style Start menu, so if you choose the classic Start menu, you’ll need to choose Start menu commands a little differently. The section after next discusses how to customize the classic Start menu, but after that, all coverage uses the Windows Vista Start menu.

Customizing the Windows Start Menu

To customize the Windows Vista Start menu, take the following steps:

1.  Right-click the Start button, and then choose Properties from the context menu. Windows displays the Start Menu page of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box .

2.  In the Privacy group box, select or clear the Store and Display a List of Recently Opened Files check box and the Store and Display a List of Recently Opened Programs check box, as appropriate. Having these lists can be handy, but it may allow someone else to see which files and programs you’ve been using.

3.  Click the upper Customize button.

4.  In the main list box, choose which items to display and for some whether to display them as links or as menus:

•    For example, the Computer item initially appears as a link, so that clicking it opens a Windows Explorer window showing the Computer folder. Instead, you can display the Computer item as a menu that cascades off the Start menu. •    The items you can display as links, menus, or not at all are Computer, Control Panel, Documents, Games, Music, Personal Folder the folder with your username, and Pictures. •    Other items you can turn on or off. These include Connect To, Default Programs, Favorites Menu, Help, Network, Printers, Run Command, and Search. •    You can configure search further. In the Search Files area, select the Search This User’s Files option button, the Don’t Search for Files option button, or the Search Entire Index option button, as appropriate. You can also restrict searching by selecting or clearing the Search Communications check box, the Search Favorites and History check box, and the Search Programs check box.

5.  Choose other settings for the Start menu:

Enable Context Menus and Dragging and Dropping check box    Select this check box if you want to be able to right-click items on the Start menu to produce a context menu of commands. Selecting this check box also lets you drag items from one place on the Start menu to another, which is usually helpful.

Highlight Newly Installed Programs check box    Leave this check box selected if you want Windows to display a yellow highlight on the Start menu and its submenus to show you the path to newly installed programs. Windows removes the highlighting once you’ve used the program. This highlighting can be useful, but because Windows applies it to each new shortcut the freshly installed program has created, the highlighted path persists until you’ve used each shortcut - which may be awhile for shortcuts to uninstall features, Help files, and documentation. If you don’t like the highlighting, clear this check box.

Open Submenus When I Pause on Them with My Mouse check box    Leave this check box selected as it is by default if you want the Start menu to display its submenus when you hover the mouse pointer over them for more than a few milliseconds. Clear this check box if you prefer to have the submenus appear only when you click them.

Sort All Programs Menu by Name    Select this check box if you want Windows to sort the items on the All Programs menu by name. Alphabetical sorting makes for an easy way to find programs, but you may prefer to turn this setting off so that you can use drag-and-drop to rearrange the All Programs menu into an order you prefer - for example, your most used programs first.

Use Large Icons check box    Select this check box if you want to use large icons on the Start menu.

Start Menu Size group box In the Number of Recent Programs to Display text box, spec- ify how many programs the Start menu should display. You can set any number from 0 to 30.

Show on Start Menu group box    To display an Internet item on the Start menu, select the Internet Link check box; to remove this item, clear the check box. If you leave the check box selected, use the drop-down list to select the program used for browsing the Internet. Similarly, to display an e-mail item on the Start menu, select the E-mail check box and specify the program in the drop-down list.

6.  Click the OK button. Windows closes the Customize Start Menu dialog box.

7.  Click the OK button. Windows closes the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box. Besides customizing the Start menu using the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, you can also customize it in the following ways:

•    To prevent Windows from moving an item on the Start menu, pin it in place. Right-click the item in the Start menu and choose Pin to Start Menu from the context menu.

•    You can also pin an item to the Start menu by dragging it to the Start button and dropping it there.

•    To unpin an item, right-click it in the Start menu and choose Unpin from Start Menu from the context menu.

•    To remove an item from the most-used section of the Start menu, right-click the item and choose Remove from this List from the context menu.

•    To add an item to the All Programs menu or one of its submenus, drag the item to the Start button, hover the mouse pointer there until Windows displays the Start menu, drag the item to the All Programs button and hover there, then drag to the location on the menu where you want the item to appear.

Customizing the Classic Start Menu You can customize the classic Start menu so that it contains exactly the items you want.

To do so, you add items to the menu, remove existing items, and sort the menu if necessary. To customize the classic Start menu, follow these steps:

1.  Right-click the Start button and choose Properties from the context menu to open the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

2.  Select the Classic Start Menu option button it should already be selected.

3.  In the Privacy group box, select or clear the Store and Display a List of Recently Opened Files check box and the Store and Display a List of Recently Opened Programs check box, as appropriate. These lists give you quick access to the files and programs you’ve used recently, but they can be a security concern.

4.  Click the lower Customize button.

5.  Add items to the Start menu and remove items from it:

•    To add an item to the Start menu, click the Add button and follow the steps in the Create Shortcut Wizard that Windows displays.

•    To remove an item from the Start menu, click the Remove button. Windows displays the Remove Shortcuts/Folders dialog box. Select the item you want to remove, and then click the Remove button.

•    To add and remove items freely, click the Advanced button. Windows opens an Explorer window showing the Start menu. You can then create and delete shortcuts as you see fit by using standard Explorer techniques.

•    To sort the Start menu alphabetically, click the Sort button.

•    To clear the details of recently used documents, programs, and websites, click the Clear button.

Manipulating the Start Menu via Explorer

Your Start menu folder is stored in the \Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\ Start   Menu\ folder, where Username is your username. You can navigate to it by using Explorer and manipulate it without opening the Customize Classic Start Menu dialog box.

6.  In the Advanced Start Menu Options list box, choose settings for the following options:

Display Administrative Tools check box    Select this check box to have Windows display the Administrative Tools menu on the Programs menu. You can also access these tools through the Administrative Tools page of Control Panel, but using the menu is quicker for frequent access.

Display Favorites check box    Select this check box to have Windows display the Favorites menu on the Start menu. This menu lets you quickly access your favorites, but it can become unwieldy if you have a large number of favorites.

Display Log Off Select this check box to make Windows display a Log Off button on the Start menu.

Display Run check box    Select this check box to have the Start menu include the Run item, which you can use for running a program. Clear this check box to remove the Run item. You might want to remove Run to help discourage users from running programs not on the Start menu.

Enable Context Menus and Dragging and Dropping check box    Select this check box if you want to be able to right-click items on the Start menu to produce a context menu of commands. Selecting this check box also lets you drag items from one place on the Start menu to another, which is usually helpful.

Expand Control Panel check box    Select this check box if you want Windows to display a menu of Control Panel items instead of opening a Control Panel window when you select Start   Settings   Control Panel. This menu gives you faster access to the Control Panel items than does opening a Control Panel window.

Expand Documents check box    Select this check box if you want Windows to display a menu listing the items in the Documents folder instead of displaying a window when you choose Start   Documents. This menu gives you quick access, but it can be hard to navigate if you accumulate many documents and folders in the Documents folder.

Expand Network Connections check box    Select this check box if you want Windows to display a menu of network connections instead of displaying a window when you choose Start   Settings   Network Connections.

Expand Pictures check box Select this check box if you want Windows to display a menu listing the items in the Pictures folder when you choose Start   Documents   Pictures.

Expand Printers check box Select this check box if you want Windows to display a menu of printers instead of displaying a window when you choose Start Settings Printers and Faxes.

Scroll Programs check box Select this check box if you want Windows to display the Programs menu as a scrolling menu when it is too tall to fit on the screen. With this check box cleared, Windows displays the Programs menu as two or more columns.

Show Small Icons in Start Menu check box    Select this check box to have Windows dis- play small icons instead of large icons in the Start menu. Small icons let you pack more items on the Start menu but make it harder to read.

Use Personalized Menus check box    Select this check box to have Windows automatically tailor the Start menu to what it thinks are your needs. For example, if you don’t use a program for a long time, Windows removes its item from the Start menu on the assumption that you don’t need it. When Windows has removed items like this, it displays a button at the foot of the menu with a double arrow pointing downward to indicate that more items are available. Click this button to display the items that have been removed.

7.  Click the OK button. Windows closes the Customize Classic Start Menu dialog box, returning you to the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

8.  Click the OK button. Windows closes the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box and applies your choices.