How to Make Windows 7 Taskbar Look More Like Before

Windows 7 is coming to retail on October 22nd 2009 and promises to be the best Windows Microsoft has put out.
The most easily noticeable change is to the Taskbar. By default the Taskbar is radically different from previous versions of Windows (such as Vista or XP). In this guide you will learn how to make act in a more familiar way.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer with Windows 7

1. By default the taskbar will look something like this. Text labels are gone and programs are shown even if they aren't open (note: you can tell which programs are open by whether or not they have a white-ish backgrround. See the picture for more detail).

2. The first thing to do is to right click on the taskbar itself (not the icons on it). The following menu will appear (see image).

3. Click on "Properties" (the option on the bottom) and the properties window will appear (see image)

4. Click on the drop down menu to the right of "Taskbar button" (where it says "Always Combine, Hide Labels".
   Select "Combine when taskbar is full" (see image) and click "OK"

5. Your taskbar will now look like this.

Tips & Warnings

• You can rearrange the items in your taskbar by clicking and dragging
• For further tips on how to become more familiar with the new Windows 7 taskbar, see my other articles