(Credit:
CNET)
I use both Windows and Mac machines at my desk for testing and reviewing software for each platform. While both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages, I recently found a simple program that fixes one of my pet peeves about Windows.
One small Windows XP and Vista interface quirk that has always bothered me is the inability to move items in the taskbar. Though it might not bother other people, I always like having my programs set up in a certain way--Outlook on the left, my browser after that, my chat program, and then other programs to the right of those. The problem is that sometimes I open programs in a different order depending on what I'm doing, and I've even gone so far as to quit programs and re-open them in order to get them set up the way I want. Maybe I'm crazy, but it's just the way I like to work. I always figured if I could shift tabs around in Firefox, I ought to be able to do the same thing with the Taskbar.
A simple settings window lets you have the program start with Windows and a few other useful options.
(Credit: CNET)The other day, I stumbled across a free program called TaskBar Shuffle whose sole purpose is to be able to shift items around on the taskbar and in the system tray. With Taskbar shuffle running, simply drag and drop the item or icon, and that's it--just like tabs in Firefox. Even if you like to use group buttons, Taskbar shuffle lets you reorder those up or down within each group. As an added bonus, you can tweak the settings so a middle click to a taskbar item closes that item immediately. You also can check a box in the settings to have it start up with Windows so you never have to think about it again.
This program isn't newly released, but it was definitely new to me and now that I know about it, I've installed it on all of my Windows test machines. I even showed it to my coworker, Jessica Dolcourt, and she included it in her one-trick applications collection because she had always wanted something like Taskbar Shuffle, too. The bottom line is, if you've always wanted to be able to move those items around in the Taskbar because you have a particular way of doing things, this free simple program is an easy way to do it.
I'd say that XNeat Windows Manager is tooting its own horn a little much if it weren't for "neat" being the first descriptor to bubble up when using it. Perhaps some new descriptors are in order.
A semitransparent system tray.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Regardless, XNeat (as the application shall henceforth be known) tweaks XP and Vista's shell to unlock customizations in the appearance and behavior of your task bar and system tray. With XNeat, you can assign important windows always-on-top status, can hide windows, and can adjust the transparency of windows when you hover or focus on them. That's small potatoes if you're using Vista, but XP-jockeys get the benefit of Vista's simulated effect without having to trade in an OS, but with access to XNeat's other commendable features.
For instance, with my usage patterns, the feature to drag-and-drop buttons on the taskbar (the open programs) is enormously helpful. I often have so many applications open that they spill into two or three layers. Instead of closing instant-message conversations and auxiliary programs to have my applications in obsessive order, I can sort them with a click and a drag. No joke, if I can keep the first four programs in my lineup the same every time, I save seconds by going straight to them and avoid hunting for the application I want in the process. Closing an application with a click of the middle mouse button is also convenient--unless you're using my mouse.
Choosing the contents of the context menu.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Others will find it extremely useful to futz with system tray's appearance. You'll be able to play with transparency for the entire icon strip, and nix any element that drives you batty, including the clock and Start menu. I'm not sure why anyone would want to do that--Launchy fans with something to prove?--but it's cool knowing you can.
By now, you're starting to get a feel for the shape of this application that treats nearly every aspect of the task tray and task bar family as a separate, optional entity. One last pointer--to save an important application for later, you can temporarily minimize it to the system tray. Let's say it's an open Word document. Right-click on the title bar, select "Send to tray," and from the tray, click once to open the document anew. If you minimize it the normal way, it'll sink back onto your taskbar. That's definitely 'neat.'
It would be nice if XNeat ran quietly in the background instead of implanting itself in your system tray, and the options interface wouldn't hurt from a makeover. I'd also like to see functionality to drag-and-drop buttons from the first taskbar layer onto subsequent layers, but it's hard to scrutinize a freeware application that makes for smoother handling.
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