Floating toolbar will not appear

[Guest]

I have two XP systems, both up to current levels and nearly identical. On both I have installed an application (Dicionario Aurelio) which has the option of reducing the normal application window to a floating toolbar (similar to that of the Windows Language bar when it is restored to the desktop).

On both systems the effect of this option is similar - the application disappears from the Applications tab of the Windows Task Manager but remains in the Processes tab.

It also produces (or should) its "floating tool bar" on the desktop. On one machine it does and on another it doesn't.

The only obvious difference between the setups of the two machines is that one produces the Language bar by default and the other does not. The one that DOES produce the Language bar does NOT produce the application tool bar.

Can anyone think of an explanation or approach to tracking this down? Also, what is the correct Windows term for these floating tool bars?

 

[Guest]

I'm not sure about this, but here is what I found.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314228&Product=winxp

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;825033&Product=winxp

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestions, but these refs don't seem to apply to my case - the Language Bar works fine, it's the third party app that doesn't (on one of my two not quite identical systems running XP 5.1.2600).

 

[Guest]

Very strange... It had occurred to me that my missing toolbar might simply be "appearing" off the bounds of my primary display and a Microsoft.com hit on "missing toolbar" for Vizio (as I recall) suggested just that possibility.

I have set up various dual display schemes in the very buggy ATI display driver and once (long ago) even played with their "extended desktop" option. Sooo... I hacked at their interface until once again I got an extended desktop on my secondary (video) display. Guess what? Up came the missing toolbar! But it did NOT come up on the extended display, it came up on the primary desktop, just as it should always have. ??? All's well that ends well? (If I can restore my now thoroughly clobbered display schemes without losing that toolbar again)