The Windows Taskbar is that strip at the bottom of your screen which has the Start button on the left hand side. I find that, apart from those brief and occasional moments when I’m using it, it’s waste of screen space and creates visual clutter. The good news is that you can get it to disappear when you’re not actually using it.
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To do this right click on Start, then left click on Properties, and click on the Taskbar tab. Select ‘Auto-hide the taskbar’ and ‘Keep the taskbar on top of other windows’ (picture on right). I also recommend ticking ‘Hide inactive icons’ – more on that shortly. Click ‘OK’ and you’re done. Now the taskbar will politely hide out of sight when you’re not using it, and to summon it you just move your mouse to the bottom of your screen. If for any reason the taskbar won’t appear just press the Windows button.
You don’t have to use your Taskbar to switch between the programs that are open: Alt+Tab will do the same job.
Now, back to ‘Hide inactive icons’. This refers to the icons in your system tray, next to the clock on your taskbar. Selecting ‘Hide inactive icons’ will tell Windows to do just that and reduce screen clutter. If you want to control what happens to individual icons, e.g. there is one that you want to have permanently visible, click Customize and then click on the relevant item in the list.
To expose the hidden icons click on the double chevron (<<) that’s on your taskbar, and click it again to hide them.
One final tip: if you park your mouse pointer on the taskbar clock for a moment the date will pop up.
