Windows 10 - Taskbar - Change to a list

[magpens]

"Pretty Please" to the following .....

TWO Issues/parts to my question -

Issue #1:
I don't like the "Preview" mode, which is the default for the Taskbar . "Preview" shows a small image of the screen for each Task.
I want a textual "List" of the open Tasks. . I know I can get it by having 13 or more open tasks, but I want "List" mode as the default.
I found this link, but it seems like a very complicated and unendorsed method, requiring a change to "Admin Status" using regedit, and maybe even some code change.
https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/replace-taskbar-previews-list-view-on-windows-10/
I am not a programmer and so I avoid such things (even if I could understand).
Anybody know an "Easy Way" ?? ( to convert the "Preview" form of the Taskbar to a "List" form )

Issue #2
I like my Taskbar to be as "permanent" as possible. . Right now, the Taskbar gets deleted if there is a software update and auto restart ... then I have to reconstruct Taskbar.
The Taskbar may even get deleted at other times ..... I have trouble keeping track of such things.
I want my Taskbar to be in "List" form, and I want it to be "permanent" ( meaning that any changes/deletions must be done by me - no auto deletions ).
Anybody know if this is possible, and how to do it ?? . . There are some Settings options for Taskbar, but I find the "lingo" almost incomprehensible ... "computereze !!"

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer ( I did not have these issues under Windows 7 - or do not recall having them - but Win 10 is a new "experience". . )

Muchas gracias mi amigo ! ( I don't speak Spanish ... just another way to say "Thanks a lot" ! )

 

[elyk864]

Sounds like a lot of the options you are looking for are in the taskbar settings. Just right click on the taskbar below, click on Taskbar settings.

 

[monophoto]

Mal

Sounds like you need a teenager!

I'm not the real guru on this subject but - - -

1. I've never seen a 'list' version of the task bar. However, there is a 'task manager' which is a form of a list, although I don' t know if it can be made permanent. Right click on the task bar, and choose 'task manager'.

2. To get the task bar to be permanent, I think you need to 'lock' it. Right click on the task bar, and choose 'task bar settings' - locking is the first item on the list. I have mine locked, and the task bar is automatically restored every time the computer boots - no reconstruction required.

 

[magpens]

@monophoto

Teenagers have long gone from this house ... and none of them ever were computer geeks ( nor are their progeny ) .

Thanks for suggestions. . But ... my Taskbar is already showing "Locked" and still the Taskbar gets deleted.
It is possible that I did the "locking" this morning in my pre-dawn fiddling, but I don't think so.
However, you say that you have yours locked and that you don't experience the problem I am reporting .... so perhaps there is "hope".

BTW, the Taskbar switches from "Preview" mode to "List" mode ... on my cmptr ... when there are 13 or more tasks open ... but I want "List" always.

 

[1080Wayne]

Must be nice to usually have less than 13 tasks to do , but I find it even nicer to completely ignore the existence of the taskbar.

 

[magpens]

Must be nice to usually have less than 13 tasks to do , but I find it even nicer to completely ignore the existence of the taskbar.

@1080Wayne

Yeah, I would kinda like to ignore it most of the time ..... but it comes in useful once in a while. .

Thing is that it's "in your face". . So how do you get rid of it totally ? . I would appreciate knowing how to do that. . Can you switch it off ?

 

[ecrouse]

That change is actually pretty easy to make and I could make you a reg file that would do it automatically for you if you'd like. Of course you have to trust a stranger from the internet to make changes to your computer in this case

As far as permanent task bar, I *think* what you are describing is your task bar being populated at boot with a few applications automatically, then as you open apps they also go in to the task bar but after a reboot you are back to the initial basic list and you have to open all the apps you previously opened. If so, that one is easy. Fron your start menu right click all the apps you want to be always in your task bar and select pin to task bar

 

[magpens]

@ecrouse

Thanks for tips. . I'll have to think about this and experiment. . It's not Apps, per se, that I want to be loaded to taskbar at boot time, its URLs.

To me there is a diff, but could be because I don't understand things so well. . Hope I am talking sense and being clear.

BTW .... how do you get those black boxes (listing things to do) on your screen ?

 

[ecrouse]

Oh, do you mean you want all your pages that were in your web browser to come back automatically? That is possible if you have a fixed list of places.

What browser do you use?

For the reg entry open Notepad and create a new file

Copy from here and paste the text between these lines (not the lines themselves) in to that notepad
_________________________________
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband]
"NumThumbnails"=dword:00000001
_________________________________

Save the file as anything.reg - make sure notepad is set to "all files" when you save or it will auto append a .txt to the end and it won't work.

Then right click that file and click merge. It will warn you it might cause problems and ask you if you want to continue, you click Yes.

If you ever want to remove that entry and go back edit the file above and change the dword thing to a hyphen like this

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband]
"NumThumbnails"=-

That will remove the entry.

 

[ecrouse]

Those black boxes show up when you click on an icon with the right mouse button (for a right handed mouse)

If you are set to a left handed mouse it's the left button. Basically the button you don't normally use for clicking things

They are called context menus

 

[magpens]

Thanks ..... it is going to take me some time to read and study what you posted ..... bear with me, please.

I have never done anything with a "reg entry".

My browser is Firefox.

"want all your pages that were in your web browser to come back automatically? "

Yes, that's what I want .... a fixed set of URLs to be permanently stored and restored as "clickable" destinations on Taskbar on every boot-up .

 

[ecrouse]

Get your browser set the way you like it, with all the URLs open you want to always come back, then go in to settings and on the "Home Page" setting there is a button called "Use Current Tabs". If you click that button it will make all of the currently open tabs come back every time you open Firefox.

That said, I'm not sure it is a great idea to have 26 home tabs, it might slow Firefox down quite a bit but if it is really what you want is it done like this

How to set the home page | Firefox Help

Learn how to change what page you see when you first start Firefox, click the home button or open a new window.

support.mozilla.org

To undo it you would close all the tabs you don't want to be opened automatically and go back in to settings and click that button again.

 

[magpens]

Thanks.

I probably won't be back again until tomorrow.

I have a Dad who is going to turn 100 in May and I am trying to keep him (through my sister, with whom he lives) apprised of coronavirus

So I have to give some attention to that now.

Thanks again, and cheers.