Stop Grouping Similar Taskbar Buttons in Windows 7
Article by George Norman
On 14 Dec 2009
By default, the Windows 7 operating system will group together similar taskbar buttons in the taskbar. Let’s say that you have two instances of the same program open, or that you have several files in a single program open. Windows 7 will automatically detect windows from the same program and group them into a single taskbar button. You can preview the open windows by hovering the mouse over the taskbar button.

Just point to a button on the taskbar -> then point to a thumbnail and you will notice that all other open windows will temporarily fade out to reveal the selected window. Point the mouse away and the preview will go away. Click the thumbnail and the window you’re previewing will open.

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Under one taskbar button Windows 7 will group all instances of a specific program, or all the files you’ve opened with a specific program. Some users may not like this. There is a simple way of stopping Windows 7 from groping similar taskbar buttons on the taskbar.

Here is what you have to do to:

Step 1. Right click the Taskbar and select Properties.
Alternatively you can click Start -> right click an empty space in the Start Menu -> click Properties.
Or if you want to take the long route, you can click Start -> Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> Taskbar and Start Menu.

Step 2. Click the Start Menu tab from the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window that appears.

Step 3. Click the Taskbar tab -> from the dropdown menu next to Taskbar buttons, under Taskbar Appearance, select Never Combine.

Step 4. Click Apply -> click OK and you’re done.

Tips and warnings
  • If you want to remove the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop (see here) but would still like to easily access it, then you should know that you can pin the Recycle Bin to the windows 7 taskbar (see here).
  • You can also pin Windows Update to the taskbar.




Tags: Microsoft, Windows 7, Taskbar
About the author: George Norman
George is a news editor.
You can follow him on Google+, Facebook or Twitter

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