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I know this is a minor issue, but it is driving me insane. I just switched from XP to Windows 7 (Pro, 64-bit), and my standard setup is to have a two-line TaskBar because I frequently have many Windows open at a time. But in Windows 7, the items don't line up properly.

It seems like such a minor issue, but it breaks my attention when I'm working and slows me down because I can no longer easily scan my taskbar for a particular window.

Does anyone know how I can fix this?

enter image description here

Notes

  • The items align correctly if I unlock the Taskbar, have the "Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar" option unchecked, and have my Quick Launch set to a specific width, but I prefer to keep the taskbar locked so I don't drag/drop items by mistake.
  • Removing the Quick Launch area on the left causes them to line up better, but not completely
  • I have my TaskBar items set to Combine when Full
  • I'm using Small Icons.
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I'm also having the same problem, but with the "classic" (XP) theme, no quick-launch and no combine. I always run with 2 rows of taskbar, and second row buttons are a few pixels wider than the top row. Very annoying. – ingredient_15939 yesterday
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2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

Try resetting taskbar icon widths:

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the run command
  2. Type int "regedit" (without quotes) and press OK
  3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Control Panel -> Desktop -> WindowMetrics
  4. Find the "MinWidth" entry and delete it.
  5. Log off and log back in or restart to see if this trick works.
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I do not have a MinWidth entry – Rachel Sep 6 '11 at 16:58
You may create that entry and set its value to 52. While in WindowMetrics window, right click on an empty space and select New -> String Value. Name this entry MinWidth. Double click on the MinWidth entry and enter 52. Log off and log back in or restart to see if it works. – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Sep 6 '11 at 17:02
Now not only are my items not aligned correctly, but they're all miniature and hard to read. I don't think that works :) – Rachel Sep 6 '11 at 17:09
Well, you may delete that entry anytime to undo; but what I wonder is, does setting a constant value for MinWidth make all items lined-up? It apparently needs to be larger than 52... – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Sep 6 '11 at 17:15
No, the 2nd row of items still didn't line up – Rachel Sep 6 '11 at 17:16
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up vote 0 down vote accepted

I've realized that what causes the items not to line up is that similar programs are grouped together with no space between them, while there is a small space between the different program groups.

After working with it for a while, I realized I actually like this change. I just needed to give my brain the chance to adjust to it.

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