Ed Bott - Windows 10 Support Secrets

28 CHAPTER 2 | Personalizing the Windows 10 experience The core functions of the taskbar are the same as they’ve ever been: I’ve already talked about the Start button on the far left; on the right side, the icons to the left of the clock should also be familiar. The Search box (which you can configure to just show the magnifying-glass icon, as in Figure 2-9) is new, as is the Task View button. On the far right, a notifications icon shows or hides the Action Center. Right-click any empty space on the taskbar to open a shortcut menu with options to show and hide some items as well as an extremely useful Lock The Taskbar option, which keeps users whose mouse skills are less than expert from accidentally dragging the taskbar to either side or the top of the display. A very small number of people prefer the taskbar at the top of the screen or, less frequently, along the side; but in my experience it most often occurs inadvertently, and causes consternation for the user who wound up with an extremely unfamiliar arrangement. (If you get a call from someone who’s done that, the solution is to have them drag it back into its proper place and then lock it.) Note Your users might be tempted to use an option on the taskbar menu to hide the touch keyboard button, especially if their PC is not equipped with a touchscreen. Don’t be too quick to make that change, though. Even on a conventional desktop PC, that onscreen keyboard works extremely well with a mouse. It’s useful for entering symbols as well as accented letters (click and hold the letter e or n, for example, to see options for è and ñ, which otherwise require memorizing obscure codes). And it’s ideal for entering emoji to add a light touch to a message or social-media post. If you’re using version 1511 of Windows 10, you’ll find taskbar settings in the old Control Panel. Effective with the Anniversary Update, you can find a Taskbar page under Personalization in the new Settings app. Figure 2-10 shows those settings in their new home. Figure 2-10: Beginning with the Anniversary Update, version 1607, these taskbar options move to the Settings app.