Windows XP in a Nutshell

Name

Toolbars

Synopsis

Toolbars are used to provide quick access to frequently used functions in a program. Windows comes with several toolbars, including those found in Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, Wordpad (and other applications), and the Quick Launch toolbars on the Taskbar (see Figure 3-34).

Figure 3-34. Wordpad’s toolbar provides access to eleven of the most commonly used functions, such as Open, Save, Print, and Find

Usually, the buttons in a toolbar don’t provide any functionality that isn’t otherwise accessible through the menus or via a keystroke or two. Toolbars are almost exclusively mouse oriented, so a toolbar that works with the keyboard is a rare occurrence.

The toolbars in most modern applications are configurable; that is, you can rearrange the tools to your liking, add new items, and remove the ones you don’t use. It’s definitely worth taking a few minutes to configure the toolbar with the features that you use the most, especially since the default toolbars in most applications are set up to showcase the most marketable features of the product rather than to make the program easier to use.

The configuration and features of a particular toolbar is typically the responsibility of the application that owns it, although most modern applications use Microsoft’s toolbar controls, which afford a good degree of consistency.

You can often right-click on an empty portion ...