Enable the Quick Launch Bar in Windows XP

The Quick Launch bar is an area of the Windows Taskbar that allows you to easily access commonly used applications with just a single click on the appropriate shortcut icon. Having a shortcut to an application on the Quick Launch bar means there is no need to spend time navigating through the Start menu to find it. Also, while open windows may obscure your desktop shortcuts, you can still easily access your Quick Launch icons.

Earlier versions of Windows generally came with the Quick Launch bar already enabled and ready for action. However, in Windows XP, the Quick Launch bar may not be enabled by default. The good news is that enabling the Quick Launch bar on your XP system only takes a few mouse clicks!

To enable the Quick Launch bar:

1. Right-click on the "Start" button and then click on "Properties".
   
   
   
2. When the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" window appears, click the "Taskbar" tab and then put a tick in the check box labelled "Show Quick Launch".
   
   
   
3. Click "OK" to exit the properties window.

The Quick Launch bar should now appear just to the right of the Start button. By default, it may already have icons for your web browser, email client and other programs, but you can add and delete shortcuts as required. To add a new shortcut, simply drag a shortcut icon on to the Quick Launch bar. To remove a shortcut, right-click the icon and press "Delete" or drag it to the Recycle Bin. If there are more icons than can fit into the available space, access them by clicking on the chevron (>>) to the right of the bar.

To disable the Quick Launch bar, go back to "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" as described above and uncheck "Show Quick Launch".

Alternative method:
You can also enable and disable Quick Launch by right-clicking the taskbar, choosing the "Toolbars" sub-menu and ticking or un-ticking the "Quick Launch" item.