Microsoft details the Windows 7 Taskbar

By Tom Warren, 21 November 2008 - 11:41  42 comments

Chaitanya Sareen, Windows Team at Microsoft, has produced a blog post detailing the new Windows 7 Taskbar.

In the post Sareen highlights the following areas of evolution:

In the post, Sareen also posts screen shots of one of the latest builds of Windows 7 at Microsoft, Build 6948.fbl_shell_dex.081112-1755. Most of the features we already know about from PDC but one interesting addition, that Microsoft didn't demonstrate at PDC, is overlay icons and progress bars in the taskbar. Microsoft now allows application developers to give feedback about progress by having their taskbar button turn into a progress bar. This is particularly useful for file copy progress, as shown below. An icon can now also be shown over a program's taskbar button.

If you are interested in the Windows 7 development or the new taskbar then it's a worth while read and explains some of the design decisions that Microsoft have made.

If you're interested in all the features being demonstrated on video then we recorded several videos at PDC where members of the Windows team demonstrated the new Taskbar, you can view them here.

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Comments (42)

  1. LeeŽ - 21 November 2008 - 11:44

    Very impressed with the new taskbar videos so far.

  2. +TCLN Ryster - 21 November 2008 - 12:27

    Indeed. I'm very much looking forward to the Technical Beta program kicking off.

  3. Ci7 - 21 November 2008 - 12:48

    This is particularly useful for file copy progress, as shown below. An icon can now also be shown over a program's taskbar button.

    that already is there with 6801 [unlocked of course]

  4. Tom W - 21 November 2008 - 12:55

    ah ok I hadn't noticed that. They didn't really demonstrate this at all at PDC though.

  5. +Brandon Live - 22 November 2008 - 00:30

    creamhackered said,
    ah ok I hadn't noticed that. They didn't really demonstrate this at all at PDC though.


    Yes we did There was even a whole session on that stuff which included the overlays and progress bars.

  6. leojei - 21 November 2008 - 13:07

    I'm not sure about the overlay icons, but the progress bar idea was implemented in build 6801 too (check the file copy dialog).

  7. 2Cold Scorpio - 21 November 2008 - 13:41

    Very neat stuff; I'd love to get my hands on the Beta when it hits.

  8. Pegasus124 - 21 November 2008 - 15:45

    Not trying to get anyone to flame me, but the Windows 7 'Superbar' seems to have some similarities to the controlled area in Windows 1.01, just thought I'd point that out.

  9. Pegasus124 - 21 November 2008 - 15:46

    http://lowendmac.com/orchard/06/art0825/win101tile2.gif

    And a link (if direct linking is allowed?)

  10. +dave164 - 21 November 2008 - 15:53

    this is what they were talking about in PDC, its also evidence that the new style taskbar is Windows, and has been since 1985.

  11. Sacha - 21 November 2008 - 16:20

    Gasp! Proof of Windows 1.01 code still existing in Windows 7! They just made better graphics and jump menus.

  12. Athernar - 21 November 2008 - 17:02

    Sacha said,
    Gasp! Proof of Windows 1.01 code still existing in Windows 7! They just made better graphics and jump menus.


    Interesting, the similarities between the Superbar and the OS X dock must mean that Microsoft hacked Apple and stole their source code!

    :rolleyes:

    Next up from Sacha, Windows has code from (Insert) because both use an LDA operand!

  13. +dead.cell - 21 November 2008 - 17:15

    lol @ Athernar. Too true.

  14. georgevella - 21 November 2008 - 17:49

    Athernar said,
    Interesting, the similarities between the Superbar and the OS X dock must mean that Microsoft hacked Apple and stole their source code!

    :rolleyes:

    Next up from Sacha, Windows has code from (Insert) because both use an LDA operand!

    lol ... he was sarcastic (i think)

  15. Quillz - 21 November 2008 - 19:10

    georgevella said,

    lol ... he was sarcastic (i think)


    Microsoft even said they were "stealing from themselves." Frankly, it's good to see very old ideas being reused and fixed up.

  16. LTD - 21 November 2008 - 19:44

    Pegasus124 said,
    http://lowendmac.com/orchard/06/art0825/win101tile2.gif

    And a link (if direct linking is allowed?)

    Um . . . aren't those just icons on the desktop, with the open Windows covering most of the desktop?

    Than again I've never used Windows 1.0, and I don't recall Windows 3.1 having a dock-like feature.

    Right? Wrong?

  17. +statm1 - 22 November 2008 - 02:34

    LTD said,
    Um . . . aren't those just icons on the desktop, with the open Windows covering most of the desktop?

    Than again I've never used Windows 1.0, and I don't recall Windows 3.1 having a dock-like feature.

    Right? Wrong?

    No it was a bar. Windows 1 didn't have a desktop to my knowledge. But that bar was taken out in Windows 2 if Im not mistaken.

  18. shakey_snake - 21 November 2008 - 16:39

    "We'll always had overlay icons throughout Windows"

    Who wrote this blog post, lol?

  19. +Brandon Live - 22 November 2008 - 00:31

    shakey_snake said,
    "We'll always had overlay icons throughout Windows"

    Who wrote this blog post, lol?


    Not sure what you mean. We've had icon overlays, like, forever.

  20. +Kirkburn - 22 November 2008 - 20:02

    Brandon Live said,
    Not sure what you mean. We've had icon overlays, like, forever.

    Twas a poke at the grammar, methinks.

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