One item I noticed when watching people use PCs is they love to have many applications open. If you look at their taskbar, I am amazed at how many items display. It's quite common for me to see people with a dozen items. Although the PC can handle these items, it can become difficult for the user to distinguish between the items. This can be more cumbersome if there are multiple instances of the same application. We have some quick solutions and freeware for Windows XP users to help organize and switch between your open items.

The solutions we present fit into two groups and all are free. The first group doesn't require you to download any programs. The second group represents free software you can download that will enhance task switching.

Solution 1: Change your Windows Taskbar Properties

Many users who have multiple instances of a program open could cut the clutter by grouping similar items. As example, if you have multiple emails open, you'd benefit by grouping these items. Rather than each email displaying in the taskbar, it becomes an item within a group. The same is true with browser windows such as Internet Explorer or multiple Excel files.

To adjust your taskbar properties,

1. Right-click a blank area of the taskbar.

2. From the menu, select Properties.

3. In The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog, check Group similar taskbar buttons.

4. Click OK.

If you look at the screen below you'll see that instead of having an icon for each email, I have a group of seven including Outlook. I can click the group button and see which items are included. From there, I can easily navigate to a specific item. The grouping doesn't start until you run out of room on your taskbar. In other words, if I only had two email messages, I wouldn't see a group since I still had room to display both on my Windows taskbar.

Solution 2: Microsoft's Alt-Tab Replacement Power Toy

We've briefly mentioned Microsoft's Power Toys before when discussing the Places Bar . These are utilities written by Microsoft employees, but aren't supported by the company. They tend to be enhancements the programmers wished were in the operating system, but never made it.

If you were to use Windows default task switcher by pressing your ALT+Tab keys, you would see a window such as the one below. There is an icon for each open application. Using your Tab key, you can navigate though the list and select an item. The program's description displays underneath for the selected item. In the screen below, my focus is on the My Yahoo! page in Internet Explorer.

In contrast, the Microsoft Power Toy enhances this functionality by adding a preview of the item. Instead of seeing an icon labeled My Yahoo!, I can also see a decent sized image. This preview functionality makes it easier to distinguish between similar items. This application also picked up an application we use to monitor our backups.

The program is easy to use since it uses the same ALT+Tab keys. It will also install a start up entry called CoolSwitch. If you want to temporarily change to the original task switcher, you can stop the TaskSwitch.exe process using Windows Task Manager.

(Note: The Microsoft Power Toy page lists all their power toys. The Alt-Tab Replacement is the sixth item in the Download section on the right side of the page. )

Solution 3: NTWinds TaskSwitchXP

The third solution is the one I prefer. Like the Microsoft Power Toy, this Windows task switcher has added a number of features. On the surface, the program is similar in that it provides a preview of the highlighted item. What sets this program apart is that it is configurable. In my case, I prefer to have the information stay on my screen until I dismiss it. I don't have to worry about holding down keys and tabbing through the entries. I also find it useful to have the items displayed in a list so I can easily find the item of interest.

This program will also add an item to your start up called TaskSwitchXP. Although this program can detect if your have the Microsoft Power Toy installed, my suggestion is to use just one of these programs.

Additional Resources

• TaskSwitchXP Home Page
• Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP

Related Article

• Tweaking the Places Bar in Windows and Office