Page 161 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

Note

If you’re resizing a taskbar that’s on the top or bottom of the screen, it automatically changes its
size in full taskbar-height increments. You can’t fine-tune the height; you can only double or triple
it, for example.

If it’s on the left or right edge of your screen, however, you can resize the taskbar freely. If you’re
not careful, you can make it look really weird.

The dialog-box way. In the Properties dialog box for the taskbar
(right-click it; choose “Taskbar settings” from the shortcut menu),

an option called “Use small taskbar buttons” appears. It cuts those
inch-tall taskbar icons down to half size, for a more pre-Win7 look.

Moving the Taskbar to the Sides of the Screen

Yet another approach to getting the taskbar out of your way is to rotate it so
it sits vertically against a side of your screen. You can rotate it in either of
two ways:

The draggy way. First, ensure that the taskbar isn’t locked (right-
click a blank spot; from the shortcut menu, uncheck “Lock the

taskbar”).

Now you can drag the taskbar to any edge of the screen, using any
blank spot in the central section as a handle. (You can even drag it

to the top of your screen, if you’re a rebel.) Let go when the
taskbar leaps to the edge you’ve indicated with the cursor.

Tip

No matter which edge of the screen holds your taskbar, your programs are generally smart enough
to adjust their own windows as necessary. In other words, your Word document will shift
sideways so it doesn’t overlap the taskbar you’ve dragged to the side of the screen.

The dialog-box way. Right-click a blank spot on the taskbar; from
the shortcut menu, choose “Taskbar settings.” Use the “Taskbar