I’ve been using Windows 7 x64 beta 1 on my primary PC for several days. So far, it’s a big improvement over Vista and I really can’t wait for the RTM later this year. My major complaint so far is the removal of quick launch in the task bar. You now pin programs to the task bar, but they float around and opening new instances of programs like IE requires additional mouse clicks. Quite a step back in productivity and usability Microsoft!
But there is a way to get the functionality back, carefully following these steps. This general process was described by Naddy69 on the TechNet forums. Thanks!
1. Right click on the taskbar and unlock the task bar.
2. Right click on the taskbar and choose Toolbars -> New Toolbar…
3. Navigate to C:Users_username_AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInternet Explorer. Click ONCE on the Quick Launch folder and click on Select Folder.
4. The text Quick Launch will now be displayed on the task bar. Right click Quick Launch and DE-select Show Text and Show Title. Now you have your icons back and one click access to your favorite programs.
If you have a double high task bar, like I do, be sure to drag the new Quick Launch folder all the way to the left and make it double high. Otherwise I noticed that Windows would not put icons on the bottom row of the task bar. I then re-lock the task bar, so now it looks just like my Vista desktop.
