Windows Vista Security: Praxisorientierte Sicherheit für Profis

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Chapter 2: Optimizing Windows Vista’s Interface

You can configure program notification behavior by completing the following steps:

1. Right-click an open area of the taskbar and then select Properties.

2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, click the Notification Area

tab.

3. To always display program notification icons, clear the “Hide inactive icons”

checkbox, click OK, and skip the remaining steps.

4. To hide inactive notification icons, as per the default configuration, select the

“Hide inactive icons” checkbox and then click Customize to display the Cus-

tomize Notification Icons dialog box.

5. Notification icons are listed by name and behavior. Click in the Behavior col-

umn to set the icon’s behavior as “Hide,” “Show,” or “Hide when inactive.”

6. Click OK twice.

You can configure system notification behavior by completing the following steps:

1. Right-click an open area of the taskbar and then select Properties.

2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, click the Notification Area

tab.

3. The System Icons panel options control which notification icons are displayed.

To display an icon, select its checkbox. To hide an icon, clear its checkbox.

4. Click OK.

Using Gadgets and Windows Sidebar

Gadgets and sidebars are new features in Windows Vista. A gadget is a small applica-

tion designed to perform a very specific function, such as providing a desktop calen-

dar or virtual notepad. You can add gadgets directly to the desktop or to a view pane

called Windows Sidebar. You can add Windows Sidebar to the left or right side of

the desktop; its sole purpose is to make it group your desktop gadgets.

Inspecting Your Computer’s Gadgets

Windows Sidebar and several default gadgets are displayed on the right side of the

desktop in most installations. The sidebar has a fixed size, allowing it to display sev-

eral gadgets in a vertical column. If you add more gadgets to the sidebar than can fit

in one column, additional columns are added to the sidebar and you can navigate the

columns of gadgets using the small arrow buttons at the top of the sidebar, as shown

in Figure 2-13. To the left of the small arrow buttons, you’ll find the Add Gadget

button. Clicking this button displays the Gadget Gallery dialog box, as also shown in

Figure 2-13.

Using Gadgets and Windows Sidebar

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The Gadget Gallery shows all the gadgets that are available on your computer. When

multiple pages of gadgets are available, you can navigate the pages using the Previ-

ous and Next Page buttons provided in the upper-left corner of the window. You can

also use the Search box to search for gadgets by name. As you type your search text,

the list of gadgets is automatically filtered to include only those gadgets matching the

search text you entered.

In the lower-left corner of the Gadget Gallery window, you’ll find a Show details/

Hide details button used to show or hide a Details Pane. Clicking a gadget with the

Show Details Pane expanded displays the gadget details, which include the gadget

name, version, and description. Double-clicking a gadget adds it to the uppermost

position on the first sidebar column.

You can visit Microsoft’s Gadget Gallery on the Internet by clicking either of the

links provided. Some gadgets are updated automatically when new versions become

available as part of the standard Windows Update process. Other gadgets you must

update manually by downloading the desired gadget update.

Windows Vista comes with several standard gadgets that provide a variety of func-

tions. Before discussing how to work with the sidebar and manage gadgets, let’s take

a closer look at the gadgets you’ll use the most.

Figure 2-13. Working with your computer’s gadgets