What is the Windows Taskbar

The little strip or band at the bottom of the screen with the Start button is the Windows Taskbar. The taskbar is a great feature that makes handling applications very easy, smooth, and manageable while running windows. The windows taskbar was introduced as a novel GUI (Graphic User Interface) with the Windows 95 series. It has the following major components.

The Start Area

This has the windows Start button. Aptly named, clicking it will begin your windows experience. The Start button will throw up a menu for the different programs installed on your system. The Start menu has undergone a revolutionary change ever since it was first introduced. The menu has links to various things you can do on the computer, like opening programs, accessing recently used documents, links to the Control Panel and other settings, the Help and the Search menu, etc.

Quick Launch Area

The Quick Launch area is just adjacent to the Start button. As the name suggests, it holds shortcuts or links to programs that you can immediately start loading just with one click, without having to go through different menus and folders. You can quickly start the programs that are placed here. By default, the Quick Launch area will have tabs for the Internet Explorer, Show Desktop feature, Switch between Windows features, and the Windows Media Player. You can also add your own programs that you need to frequently use, like Yahoo Messenger or Microsoft Word.

The DeskBand

The DeskBands are invisible and allow for programs that are currently running but are not displayed. This is for programs like windows media player that will keep playing in the background while you go about your computing.

The System Tray

The system tray shows all the current active and inactive programs that have been minimized to it. This can include, for example, programs like chat clients or internet connection icons. The system tray is just adjacent to the Notification area.

The Notification Area

The notification area is on the opposite end of the Start button. This will show information like the System Time and Date, Volume, Networking icons, etc. Most of the icons here will show status of a particular program or process.

The Taskbar Area

This is the strip that will show the current running programs along with minimized "taskbar buttons" for application windows that have been minimized.

Although we generally do not notice it, the windows taskbar is a great feature that allows us to work smoothly and efficiently. If you hide the taskbar you will immediately appreciate the utility of this tool. Ever wondered why the taskbar was designed so or why is it so adaptive and easy to use? The basic concept of the windows taskbar is no coincidence. It has been developed using the Fitt's law. This is related to particular human response and behavior while using pointing devices.