Start button issue

[Herb]

If I move the taskbar to the left-hand edge of the screen, with the XP
theme the Start button stubbornly refuses to be resized smaller than a
certain minimum size, which means that about one third of the width of
the taskbar is wasted, if you see what I mean.

 

[Herb]

If I move the taskbar to the left-hand edge of the screen, with the XP
theme the Start button stubbornly refuses to be resized smaller than a
certain minimum size, which means that about one third of the width of
the taskbar is wasted, if you see what I mean.

I sent thie message before it was quite complete, sorry.

I meant to say that I can provided a screenshot if my description isn't
clear enough.

On further reflection, I would be quite happy to hide the Start button
altogether (and use a shortcut to call up the Start menu when I need it)
- is it possible?

Thank you.

Herbert Eppel

 

[Joe]

I sent thie message before it was quite complete, sorry.

I meant to say that I can provided a screenshot if my description isn't
clear enough.

On further reflection, I would be quite happy to hide the Start button
altogether (and use a shortcut to call up the Start menu when I need it)
- is it possible?

Thank you.

Herbert Eppel

Here's a few things I would try:

- Set the Taskbar to Hide. When you move the pointer to the left, it
would open up. Or you could press the Windows key to open it.

- Try to rename the Start Button. If you named it *, eg, it might
adjust its width accordingly:

Smoker said:
There's a free app called TClock that will let you customize a lot of
things, Start button/icon, Start menu background color, etc.
http://homepage1.nifty.com/kazubon/

Trevor L. said:
I have downloaded My StartButton from http://www.sayesoft.com.au/mySB It
has to load at start-up, so initially the old Start Button sits there
while start-up is executing. After that it is fine.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
111. Change the Name of the Start Button

Find more posts to change it here:
http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=xp+rename+Start+button&start=10&sa=N&

 

[Herb]

Here's a few things I would try:

- Set the Taskbar to Hide. When you move the pointer to the left, it
would open up. Or you could press the Windows key to open it.

Hi Joe,

thanks for your reply.

I tried setting the taskbar to auto-hide, but I have come to the
conclusion that I'm not too keen on having to move the mouse to make it
visible.

I think I could possibly live with pressing the Windows key to open it,
but this seems to simultaneously display the Start menu which then
partially hides my taskbar because the taskbar is located on the
left-hand edge of my screen. Is there a keyboard shortcut to make the
taskbar visible without showing the Start menu?

- Try to rename the Start Button. If you named it *, eg, it might
adjust its width accordingly:

Thanks for the suggestion and the links, but I don't think it would
solve my issue - I tried the "Hide Start Button" utility (see
<http://www.datarecoveryi.com/hide-start-button-software-vt9.html>), but
I found that the empty space left by the Start button still prevents the
width of the vertical taskbar to be reduced further!

Anyway, I have now switched back to the classic theme, which has a
smaller Start button

Regards

Herbert Eppel

 

[Zilbandy]

Hi Joe,

thanks for your reply.

I tried setting the taskbar to auto-hide, but I have come to the
conclusion that I'm not too keen on having to move the mouse to make it
visible.

You have to move the mouse to select anything on the task bar anyway.
I didn't like it in the beginning either, but it grows on you, plus,
you get back the extra space for programs. My taskbar is 3 rows high
the way I have it set and hiding it is the only way to have a decent
work space in any program. If you want to see a screenshot of my
taskbar, here's a link:
http://www.zilbandy.com/taskbar.jpg

 

[Herb]

You have to move the mouse to select anything on the task bar anyway.

Yes, sure, but I like to see what's there at a glance without having to
make the taskbar visible first.

I didn't like it in the beginning either, but it grows on you, plus,
you get back the extra space for programs. My taskbar is 3 rows high
the way I have it set and hiding it is the only way to have a decent
work space in any program. If you want to see a screenshot of my
taskbar, here's a link:
http://www.zilbandy.com/taskbar.jpg

Thanks for the screenshot, but I prefer keeping my taskbar down to a
single line.

Regards

Herbert Eppel