Configuring the Taskbar

The Start Button

Setting Start Button Options

By default, the Start button resides on the far left of the taskbar. The Start button's purpose is to give you a leg up on getting your work done. After you click the Start button, a menu pops up that contains several items. You can use the Start button to launch programs, start Help, shut down Windows 98, and find files. You also can access the Control Panel to configure many of your system settings and devices.

You can quickly display the Start button on the taskbar by pressing Alt+S or by pressing the Windows key found on some newer keyboards.

Windows 98 gives you several Start button options to customize according to your tastes. You can set up the Start button menu with the programs or files you use most often to give you one-button access to them. You might use WinCIM to dial into the CompuServe Information Service, for example. Place WinCIM on the Start button to quickly start it each time you want to dial CompuServe.

Windows 98 places items in the Programs folder in alphanumeric order. If you want to change the order of an item on the Programs folder, you can change the name of that item so that it appears in the order you want. Or, you can rename the item and include a numerical value in front of the name. If you want an item named Zipper to come first in the folder, for example, rename the item 1. Zipper.

Another way to take advantage of the Start button menu is to add documents or specific files that you use all the time. This may be a daily spreadsheet you fill out or a document template in Word for Windows.

By default, the Start menu shows large icons and a Windows 98 logo. You can reduce the size of the menu by using the Show Small Icons option on the Taskbar tab, as shown in the following steps:

1. Right-click any exposed part of the taskbar.
   
2. Choose Properties to display the Taskbar Properties dialog box. Make sure that the Taskbar Options tab is selected.
3. Select the Show Small Icons in Start Menu option and click OK.

Adding and Removing Start Menu Items

The Start menu contains programs that are placed there during the Windows 98 installation. If you install Windows 98 over your existing Windows 3.x or Windows 95 setup, Windows 98 automatically places all your installed applications on the Start menu. As you use Windows 98 and install new applications, you can add these programs to the Programs folder on the Start menu, much like you can add program groups to Program Manager in Windows 3.x.

If you upgrade your system from Windows 3.x to Windows 98, Windows 98 automatically converts your old program groups to folders. You can locate these programs by choosing Start, Programs and looking at the folders that appear.

Another way to see the contents of the Programs folder is to view it in Windows Explorer. You can view the Programs folder by opening the folder in which Windows 98 is stored and then choosing Start, Programs. You then can view items, delete items, and drag and drop other items to the Programs folder.

You can add items to the Start menu by following these steps:

1. Right-click any exposed part of the taskbar.
2. Choose Properties to display the Taskbar Properties dialog box.
3. Select the Start Menu Programs tab.
4. Click Add to display the Create Shortcut Wizard.
5. In the Command Line textbox, enter the full path to the program or file shortcut you want to add to the Start menu.
6. Click Next.
7. In the Select Program Folder dialog box, click the folder in which you want to place the program or file shortcut. Generally, you'll add the program to the Programs folder or create a new folder by clicking New Folder and entering a new folder name.


To add a program or shortcut to the Start menu, add the program or shortcut to the Start Menu folder in the Select Folder To Place Shortcut In listbox.


8. Click Next.
9. In the Select a Title for the Program dialog box, enter a name for the program in the Select a Name for the Shortcut box.
10. Click Finish.

If you want to add more programs or shortcuts, click the Add button on the Start Menu Programs tab. If you are finished, click OK to close the Taskbar Properties dialog box.

Like in Windows 95, you also can add a shortcut to the Start menu by dragging the item onto the Start button. With Windows 98, however, if you drag an item onto the Start button but do not release your mouse button, the Start menu will open up. You then can continue dragging the item to any location in the Start menu — even subfolders.

You also can rearrange your Start menu this way. Click the Start button and drag any item on the menu to a new location with your left mouse button.

Click the plus sign (+) next to a folder to expand it.

You can remove a program, file, or folder shortcut by clicking the Remove button on the Taskbar Properties dialog box and following these steps:

1. Scroll down the list of items in the Remove Shortcuts/Folders dialog box.
2. Click the item to remove.
3. Click Remove.
4. Continue selecting and removing items, as needed. When finished, click Close.
5. Click OK.

You can click the Advanced button on the Taskbar Properties dialog box to see your Start menu in Explorer view. You can add items to the Start menu using this view by clicking the Advanced button and then opening another session of Explorer. Next, from the Explorer view that contains all your directories, drag items into the Start Menu Explorer view.

You also can remove items from your Start menu using this view. To do so, click the item you want to remove and press Delete. After the Confirm File Delete message appears, click Yes to send the item to the Recycle Bin.

Clearing the Documents Folder

Another feature available on the Start menu is the Documents folder. This folder contains shortcuts to the last 15 files that you worked with in Windows 98, giving you quick access to these files for editing or reviewing. You can click on a document name to launch the application associated with that document and display the document.

To remove the items from the Documents folder, use these steps:

File Management

One part of working with Windows is learning how to work with the documents you save and store on your system. Think of your computer's hard drive as a filing cabinet. To keep your files organized, you can set up folders. Folders on the hard drive represent drawers in the filing cabinet, and each folder can hold files or other folders. (In previous versions of Windows, folders were called directories.) You can open and close folders, view a folder's contents, copy and move folders, and create or delete folders.

Viewing Contents

Changing How the Contents of a Window Are Displayed

You can view the contents of a window in a variety of ways. By default, Windows uses large icons to display the contents of a window. If you want to see more of a window's contents at one time, you can change the view to Small Icons. You can also display such details about an item as its type, its size, and the date it was last modified. Changing the way a window displays its contents can make it easier to find what you need.

The View command affects only the current window. Windows will retain this view in that particular window until you make a change.

1. In the window you want to change, click the View menu and then select the view you want.
2. The window displays the contents in that view (in this case, the Details view).

Sorting the Contents of a Window

You sort the contents of a window so that you can more easily find the files you want. Windows enables you to arrange the files in a folder by name, type, date, and size. Sorting the files is even easier if you choose to view them by the file details first. You can sort files viewed as large or small icons or as a list.

You can also sort by name in alphabetical order, by file type, or by date from oldest to most recent by choosing the appropriate command from the View, Arrange Icons submenu. You can also click the column header in Details view to sort by that column.

If you are working in the My Computer window, you have different options for arranging the icons. You can arrange by type, size, drive letter, or free space.

1. Open the window you want to sort and change to the view you want. In this case, the window is displayed in Detail view so that you can see the results of sorting by different columns.
2. Click View, select the Arrange Icons command, and choose the sort order you want (in this case, by Size).
3. Windows sorts the files in the selected order. For instance, this view shows the files sorted by size from the smallest to largest.

Changing the View Style

You can choose to display the contents of a window as links, which makes working with that window similar to browsing the Internet or an intranet (an internal network set up like the Internet). With a single click, you can open files, folders, or drives.

To return to the Classic style, open the View menu and choose the Folder Options command. Choose Classic style and click the OK button.

1. Click View, and then select the Folder Options command.
2. Click the Web style radio button.
3. Click the OK button.
4. The contents of the window are displayed in Web style, so working with the window is similar to browsing a Web page. The folders and files are displayed as links.

Working in Web View

In Web view, you can single-click an item to activate it. You can also view more information about the window contents in two separate panes.

To go back to the Classic style, open the View menu and choose the Folder Options command. Choose Classic style and click the OK button.

The Web Page command under the View menu is turned on automatically.

You can customize the view to your own settings. Click the View menu, select the Folder Options command, and choose Custom. Click the Settings button, and then make your selections. After you're satisfied with the selections you've made, click the OK button.

Finding Files and Folders

After you've worked for months with your applications, your computer will become filled with various folders and files, which can make it nearly impossible for you to know where everything is. Luckily, Windows includes a command that helps you locate specific files or folders by name, file type, location, and so on.

You can use the characters * and ? (known as wildcards) in the search. For example, to find all files ending with the extension .doc, you could type *.doc. Similarly, you could type chap??.* to find all files beginning with chap, followed by any two characters, and ending in any extension.

If you do not know the name of the file but you know what type of file it is, click the Advanced tab in the Find dialog box. From the Of type list box, choose the type of file you're searching for (such as Application, Configuration, Help, Microsoft Word Document, or Text Document). Click the Find Now button, and Windows performs the search.