Solved How To Change Windows 8.1 Desktop Taskbar Behavior

paulbasel

New Member
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I have my installation of Windows 8.1 desktop taskbar set to never combine, use small icons and locked. With XP I could pin a program to the taskbar, click it once and the program would open. Click the program icon a second time and a new instance of the program would open. With Win 8.1 if you click the icon the second time the window simply minimizes. How can I restore the old XP behavior. I realize that I can right-click on the icon after one instance is open and open another instance of the program. However, that is an additional step that is a pain in the butt.

I should add that I use the latest version of Classic Shell and have look through the settings and don't see any that can change this behavior.

Paul
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Middle click/Wheel click or Shift + click.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion
  • PC2
    Tablet - Windows 10 Home
Yeah, I don't like the way programs pinned to the Taskbar work now either.

If you don't get on with shift clicking like the previous poster suggested, what you can do is put a Quick Launch toolbar on the Taskbar, drag it to the left of the taskbar and then put shortcuts to the programs you want to launch in there. That way the icons will stay there all the time and allow you to click them to launch multiple instances without needing to use the shift key.

A tutorial on using the Quick Launch toolbar can be found at the below link. If you un-tick the 'Show Text' and 'Show Title' and use large icons (all of which is shown in the below tutorial), you'll be left with just the icons you can click on:

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5069-quick-launch-add-taskbar-windows-8-a.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 64-bit
Give the taskbar a chance. The Windows 7 taskbar, which Windows 8 carries forward, is the biggest improvement in operating Windows since, well, ever. Enabling Quick Launch just takes away from the space in which you could be pinning programs and folders. Setting the taskbar to "Always combine, hide labels" is the most effective way to use it, as everything that is pinned stays in the same place, at the same size, which is great for learning your system, and you don't look at truncated labels all day. I also turn off "Use small buttons".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the late response, I was in the hospital.

I really tried to give the 7/8 taskbar a chance but I dislike it. I have unpinned the programs, moved it aside, implemented the Quick Launch toolbar, installed Classic Shell, tweeked the settings, eliminated the ridiculous libraries and now I am back to my beloved XP interface. Sometimes enhancements are not improvements!

Paul
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the late response, I was in the hospital.

I really tried to give the 7/8 taskbar a chance but I dislike it. I have unpinned the programs, moved it aside, implemented the Quick Launch toolbar, installed Classic Shell, tweeked the settings, eliminated the ridiculous libraries and now I am back to my beloved XP interface. Sometimes enhancements are not improvements!

Paul
You sound like me. LOL I too did the Quick Launch. I also have Classic Shell and use a custom Start button. I have 3 programs pinned to the taskbar. Explorer, Notepad and a YouTube to mp3 converter.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP h8 envy 1534
    CPU
    AMD FX-6200 (3.8GHz)
    Motherboard
    M3970AM-HP (Angelica2) (Gigabyte)
    Memory
    10GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Eyefinity Radeon HD 7570
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaskersky Internet Security 2016
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