In a previous tip, we showed you how to change the color of selected menu items (and icons): Right-click on the desktop, select Properties, click on the Appearance tab, choose Selected Items under Item, then take your pick of colors. You can use this same dialog box to change the font and size of the text on your Taskbar items (and in your window title bars--it's all the same option). Select Active Title Bar in the Item list, then play around with the Font and Size. (Make sure to use the Size option next to Font; the one next to Item affects the size of the Active Title Bar.) Click on Apply or OK, and your changes will show up on the Taskbar and the title bars of open windows.
A reader writes, "Somehow, I lost the volume control on my Taskbar. Can you tell me how to recover it?"
Microsoft could have made life simple by placing an option to display this icon (or not) right in the Taskbar Properties dialog box. But they didn't. Instead, you'll need to make your way to the Multimedia Properties dialog box to access this setting.
Open the Control Panel, double-click Multimedia, and on the Audio tab of the Multimedia Properties dialog box, select Show volume control on the Taskbar. Click OK, and that little yellow speaker returns to the Taskbar.
A reader writes, "When I read one of your tips that I want to keep around for future use, I do a quick cut-and-paste into WordPad. How do I install WordPad on my Taskbar--as opposed to a desktop shortcut--so it's more easily accessible?"
There are two options you may wish to consider. The first is to create a hot key for WordPad, so you can open it at the press of a keyboard combo. Right-click the shortcut you use to open WordPad and select Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, then click inside the text box next to Shortcut key. Type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to open the program, for example, W (Windows 98 fills in the Ctrl-Alt part). Click OK, and from now on, pressing Ctrl-Alt-W opens WordPad.
Your other option is to add a WordPad shortcut to your Quick Launch toolbar (the row of icons to the right of your Start button). Click and drag your current WordPad shortcut down to this toolbar between two existing icons (or on either edge of the bar). A black line will appear to let you know you've chosen an acceptable place to create a shortcut. Let go, and you now have Taskbar access to WordPad!
(Tip: Use the above techniques to create quick access to any of your favorite applications.)
Want to change the font and size of the text on your Taskbar? All it takes is a quick trip to the Display Properties dialog box.
Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Click the down arrow below Item, then scroll up and select Active Title Bar. (Note: As you might guess, this change affects the text of your window title bars, too.)
Use the Font and Size options (in the bottom row of settings) to change the appearance of the text, and you'll see the change right on the title bars in the preview area. When you like what you see, click Apply or OK to keep the change.
In a previous tip, we showed you how to jump directly to a Web site using the Run command: Select Start, Run, type the URL you want to go to, and click OK. If you have IE 4.x or beyond installed, you can set up direct Web access right on your Taskbar using the Address toolbar.
Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Toolbars, Address. Poof--an Address bar similar to the one you see in your browser window appears right on your Taskbar. (To resize it, hold your mouse pointer over the vertical bar at its left edge, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag in either direction.) Type an address (or the first few letters of it--the rest pops up automatically), press Enter, and off you go.