Windows Taskbar tips

Below are some quick Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 10 Taskbar tips that help you be more productive.

Shortcut the first ten Taskbar icons

The first ten Taskbar icons are automatically shortcuts and can be opened by pressing Windows key and numbers 1 through 0 on the keyboard's top row.

For example, if you wanted to open the first icon on the Taskbar without using your mouse, press Windows key+1.

Program properties

Holding down Shift and right-clicking an icon on the Taskbar shows the properties for that program.

Quickly open new instance of program

Hold down Shift and click any icon on the taskbar to open a new instance of that program. For example, if you had an Internet Explorer window open, pressing Shift and clicking that icon opens a new IE window.

Open as administrator

Holding down Ctrl+Shift and clicking any program icon in the Taskbar opens that program and runs it as administrator.

Switch between open windows of program

If you have multiple instances of a program open, pressing and holding down Ctrl while clicking the program icon cycles through each of the program's windows.