Author Topic: Why didn't anyone tell me I could make the Windows 7 taskbar height non-obscene? (Read 20604 times)

mouser · « **on:** February 06, 2014, 05:44 PM »

This is a public service announcement for those of you who do not like the Windows 7 taskbar being so damn tall eating up desktop space for no reason.

You can change it go to back to the sane pre-Windows7 height and format:

Screenshot - 2_6_2014 , 5_39_47 PM_ver001.png

Screenshot - 2_6_2014 , 5_39_47 PM_ver001.png

It's the small icons setting which reduces the height. I also change the taskbar buttons (grouping) option so that each program running gets it's own taskbar entry until it runs out of space; I hate the new behavior of combining taskbar buttons for multiple copies of explorer, etc.

Note: One thing that happens when you reduce the taskbar height is you lose the full date shown in the bottom right. To solve that I install Tclock and configure it to show full textual date+time on the taskbar.

tomos · « **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2014, 06:06 PM »

To solve that I install Tclock and configure it to show full textual date+time on the taskbar.
-mouser (February 06, 2014, 05:44 PM)

I didnt know that it could show all that info on a 'small' taskbar.

Eh... have you just upgraded from XP mouser?
Or are you one of those productive people who dont mess around with all the possible UI options on their OS

mouser · « **Reply #2 on:** February 06, 2014, 06:25 PM »

have you just upgraded from XP mouser?
Or are you one of those productive people who dont mess around with all the possible UI options on their OS

both.

tomos · « **Reply #3 on:** February 06, 2014, 06:29 PM »

^ I avoid a new OS install like the plague because I spend ~~hours~~, no, days, trying to get it the way I want it
(but I think I'd prefer to be more productive).

x16wda · « **Reply #4 on:** February 06, 2014, 07:22 PM »

I didnt know that it could show all that info on a 'small' taskbar.
-tomos (February 06, 2014, 06:06 PM)

There's plenty of room on the "small" taskbar!

mouser · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2014, 07:26 PM »

x16, your image shows the double height normal size win7 taskbar. i'm talking about the half-height option.

oh -- is that TClock you have showing that info? Didn't know it could display two-lines. nice.

Deozaan · « **Reply #6 on:** February 06, 2014, 07:28 PM »

I've had this option set for so many years that I forgot it wasn't like that by default. In fact, every single Windows 7 computer (including everybody else's computers) I've used has the smaller taskbar, so I'm still not sure I believe that it's not small by default.

BGM · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2014, 07:32 PM »

I use small icons on a vertical taskbar so that I can easily access it between two monitors.
This lets me "stack" more taskbar buttons than I could have horizontally.

screenshot_Microsoft® Windows® Operating System (Windows Explorer) [explorer]_004.png

screenshot_Microsoft® Windows® Operating System (Windows Explorer) [explorer]_004.png

I've got 16gb of RAM, so it is easy to have so many apps running in the system tray,too. On a horizontal taskbar I would never be able to see them all at once.

x16wda · « **Reply #8 on:** February 06, 2014, 07:41 PM »

x16, your image shows the double height normal size win7 taskbar. i'm talking about the half-height option.

oh -- is that TClock you have showing that info? Didn't know it could display two-lines. nice.
-mouser (February 06, 2014, 07:26 PM)

By golly, you're right! I set small taskbar on every other machine I get on (at least all our servers, anyway)... but at home I have two 1920x1080 monitors so I didn't notice! Fixed now, though, I just set the text in T-Clock to size 8 Marlett instead of 10...

BGM · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2014, 07:46 PM »

Another thing I did was this: I created a PowerPro toolbar that docks to the top of my screen and had it display a clock there.

My monitor is 1920x1080, so it might seem big to some folks.
The reason I'm showing this is because it's another way to have a custom clock.

As you can see in the image, there are other things too: icons that contain menus, a volume-slider (just scroll over it to adjust volume!), and a run box.

PowerPro, if you haven't tried it, is wonderful.

Vurbal · « **Reply #10 on:** February 06, 2014, 10:56 PM »

I don't have a problem with the standard height of the taskbar. The only time mine is even visible is when I want to look at it and at that point the increased height is an advantage. If you really want to make it useful, though, I recommend giving 7+ Taskbar Tweaker a look.

IainB · « **Reply #11 on:** February 07, 2014, 03:14 AM »

I use small icons on a vertical taskbar so that I can easily access it between two monitors.
This lets me "stack" more taskbar buttons than I could have horizontally.
(see attachment in previous post)
I've got 16gb of RAM, so it is easy to have so many apps running in the system tray,too. On a horizontal taskbar I would never be able to see them all at once.
-BGM (February 06, 2014, 07:32 PM)

Ditto. For years now - in XP and Win7-64 - I have used a vertical Taskbar configuration with auto-hide ON. Current example:

Taskbar - vertical as used.png

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #12 on:** February 07, 2014, 03:34 AM »

Must be my eyes but on my 24" screen can't see a damn thing when it is set to small icons. Simpler to use auto hide if you want the space.

I have 3 x 24" monitors so the taskbar is not an issue for me

CleverCat · « **Reply #13 on:** February 07, 2014, 04:22 AM »

I have a "Laptop' Desk clock...

IainB · « **Reply #14 on:** February 07, 2014, 04:28 AM »

Must be my eyes but on my 24" screen can't see a damn thing when it is set to small icons. Simpler to use auto hide if you want the space.
I have 3 x 24" monitors so the taskbar is not an issue for me
______________________
-Carol Haynes (February 07, 2014, 03:34 AM)

Yes, LCD screens are a problem for my eyes too. Clarity of vision is essential. My laptop is a 14" display, and I couldn't read it without wearing specs. I have to use prescription reading glasses for reading, but they are of no use for reading the laptop display, because it is approx. twice as far away as one would hold a book, and the shallow depth of field of the specs doesn't cover the distance.

After some trial-and-error, I found that a pair of cheap ($10.00) 1.5 magnification off-the-shelf reading glasses from a supermarket did the trick. They have quite a deep depth of field, which enables me to use them for easy reading of the laptop, and for reading labels on products on supermarket shelves at roughly arm's length, and for reading a book if I don't have my reading specs handy (the prescription reading specs are preferable for books as they magnify the print a bit more than the cheaper specs).
If I want to see close up on something small - e.g., when soldering on a printed circuit board - I find that bringing both pairs of specs down in front of my eyes works a treat.

I always wear the cheaper specs on a lanyard around my neck. Thus exposed, they occasionally get broken, but it's not the sort of heart-stopping event as when you break your expensive prescription glasses.

BGM · « **Reply #15 on:** February 07, 2014, 08:46 AM »

@Vurbul - That Windows7 Taskbar Tweaker is wonderful! I use it to do only ONE thing - disable the tooltips on the taskbar buttons. They were always getting in the way when I passed the mouse from one monitor to the next.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #16 on:** February 07, 2014, 09:53 AM »

I have a "Laptop' Desk clock...

That's the one thing I do like about Win8 UI. Mouse to the corner to bring up Options sidebar. Hover on Options. It displays time and other info nice and large.

TaoPhoenix · « **Reply #17 on:** February 07, 2014, 09:58 AM »

Heh if we consider Win 8.1 as a "service pack", then with that new engineering focused MS CEO, MS could be right in line for their pattern of "One OS Good, Next one bad"!

Here's hoping they make Win9 good!

app103 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 07, 2014, 10:16 AM »

I use small icons on a vertical taskbar so that I can easily access it between two monitors.
This lets me "stack" more taskbar buttons than I could have horizontally.
(see attachment in previous post)
I've got 16gb of RAM, so it is easy to have so many apps running in the system tray,too. On a horizontal taskbar I would never be able to see them all at once.
-BGM (February 06, 2014, 07:32 PM)
Ditto. For years now - in XP and Win7-64 - I have used a vertical Taskbar configuration with auto-hide ON. Current example:
(see attachment in previous post)
-IainB (February 07, 2014, 03:14 AM)

Love the purple, too!

BGM · « **Reply #19 on:** February 07, 2014, 10:54 AM »

I love threads like this where everyone shows off their computers. After all, its the most important part of the entire windows interface we are talking about - our entire workflow revolves around the taskbar!

IainB · « **Reply #20 on:** February 07, 2014, 06:29 PM »

... Love the purple, too!
-app103 (February 07, 2014, 10:16 AM)

Well, it's all about ergonomics as far as I am concerned. It's not a bad colour, I agree, but it's a rather poor compromise - what I was actually trying to do was replicate the standard optional XP "Rose" colour scheme, as that:

was really easy on the visual perception (good ergonomics);
was a reddish tint (balances your circadian rhythms affected via your photoreceptors);
was close to pink without being too bright (good ergonomics - calming effect);
included a seriffed font (good ergonomics as it is an aid to faster reading comprehension) - I forget the name of the font, but it was similar to Times Roman;

Anyway, trying to replicate the standard XP "Rose" theme was just too hard. I did manage to get closer to it by disabling a lot of the Win7 Vista/glassy/transparency stuff and sticking with the "Classic" display, but the result looked/was kludgy and mis-proportioned, and was not ergonomically satisfactory. So I ended up getting as close as I could using the standard features and left it at that.

The best thing about using a vertical Wn7 Taskbar is that you can pack all that useful content because the graphics display resolution was better and enabled smaller objects - except you really did then need good eyesight or specs to be able to read that laptop display!

app103 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 07, 2014, 08:06 PM »

... Love the purple, too!
-app103 (February 07, 2014, 10:16 AM)
Well, it's all about ergonomics as far as I am concerned. It's not a bad colour, I agree, but it's a rather poor compromise - what I was actually trying to do was replicate the standard optional XP "Rose" colour scheme, as that:
was really easy on the visual perception (good ergonomics);
was a reddish tint (balances your circadian rhythms affected via your photoreceptors);
was close to pink without being too bright (good ergonomics - calming effect);
included a seriffed font (good ergonomics as it is an aid to faster reading comprehension) - I forget the name of the font, but it was similar to Times Roman;

Anyway, trying to replicate the standard XP "Rose" theme was just too hard. I did manage to get closer to it by disabling a lot of the Win7 Vista/glassy/transparency stuff and sticking with the "Classic" display, but the result looked/was kludgy and mis-proportioned, and was not ergonomically satisfactory. So I ended up getting as close as I could using the standard features and left it at that.

The best thing about using a vertical Wn7 Taskbar is that you can pack all that useful content because the graphics display resolution was better and enabled smaller objects - except you really did then need good eyesight or specs to be able to read that laptop display!
-IainB (February 07, 2014, 06:29 PM)

Let me introduce you to my purple, vertical, autohiding taskbar (XP)...the one that has a reputation of scaring most DC members:

Why didn't anyone tell me I could make the Windows 7 taskbar height non-obscene?

Now you know why I like your taskbar.

IainB · « **Reply #22 on:** February 08, 2014, 03:50 AM »

@app103: Oh! It's my old XP Taskbar, and, unless I am much mistaken, it looks like it's the "Rose" colour theme as well - is that so?
I think I still rather prefer that (your) Taskbar to my current Win7 one. Maybe it's just nostalgia.
Cute wallpaper.
I used to have some handy gadgets and things on the Desktop too, mostly organised using Samurize, and it included sort of a real-time dynamic notepad (editable object) with my ToDo list on it. (Samurize could be a very nifty tool - if you invested the time necessary to learn how to use it. Setup was a non-trivial exercise.)

app103 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 08, 2014, 07:45 AM »

@app103:[/b] Oh! It's my old XP Taskbar, and, unless I am much mistaken, it looks like it's the "Rose" colour theme as well - is that so?
-IainB (February 08, 2014, 03:50 AM)

Not the Rose theme. It was a color I picked out of the first wallpaper I had on the desktop of my first XP machine and then tweaked it a bit to create an entire custom theme that was purple, but as easy on the eyes as the default gray.

This is the palette it uses:

purple theme palette.png

And this is the wallpaper it is based on:

Why didn't anyone tell me I could make the Windows 7 taskbar height non-obscene?

IainB · « **Reply #24 on:** February 08, 2014, 09:16 AM »

OIC. Very similar colours to the XP Rose theme - per this screenshot. (I guess you can find it in the OS settings yourself.)

(Click to enlarge image.)

xplorer² - Desktop XP Rose theme 20091024 221901.jpg

Why didn't anyone tell me I could make the Windows 7 taskbar height non-obscene?