Quick Start menu (XP Prof. SP2)

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Hello experts. I have been told that too many short cuts on the desktop slows boot up time quite considerably as they are all opened at start up. Does moving the said short cuts to the Quick Start menu stop this from happening and speed up the boot up time? I currently have 14 icons in the said list, is that a reasonable amount or is there a recommended limit? Regards S Fox

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That’s the first I have heard of shortcuts on the desktop being opened on Start Up! Where did you hear that from?

Shortcuts to programs in the Start > Programs > Startup menu will run at start-up as they are meant to – is that what you are thinking of?

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Hello Leif, I think what Hans responded with answered my question but seeing you were kind enough to reply I will expand on what you said a little. The remark about too many short cuts on the desktop slowing the boot up time came from a friend who sat in front of my computer a couple of days ago as I endeavoured to download some information for him that he needed for a new external Seagate drive which he was unable -for some reason – to do on his computer. As for the second comment you made! I haven’t a clue all I know is I clicked the three tabs you suggested and as the screen shot shows, the said folder is said to be EMPTY….. a folder I have never had reason to delve into seeing my horizon in I.T. land is very low. Please excuse my limited knowledge and enlighten me as to the purpose [benefits if any] of this folder as, in the eight years I have been using computers I have never had cause to open it yet my computers seem to have functioned OK. Regards S Fox

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If you place a shortcut to a program in Start | (All) Programs | Startup, the program will be started automatically each time you start Window. If you don’t need this, you don’t have to bother with it.

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I don’t think that having 20 or 30 shortcuts on the desktop has a significant impact on Windows startup. Yes, it takes a bit of time to display the icons, but that takes a second or two, while the whole startup process takes minutes.
Having 15 shortcuts in your Quick Start toolbar is not a problem either – it’s up to you to decide which programs you want to be available quickly. If you add many more, the Quick Launch toolbar would take up too much space in the taskbar, but you can work around that by making the Quick Launch toolbar less wide. Icons that can’t be displayed in the toolbar itself will be moved to a popup menu indicated by a chevron ».

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Many thanks Hans, nice to know about the little effect 30 or so short cuts on the desktop will have on the Quick Launch menu. As you inferred, the more icons dragged to the said menu does take up Task bar space but I noticed that only the first three remain visible and that to access the others, one only has to click the >> tab. Must add though Hans, I did not make any adjustments to any settings to restrict the permanently visible icons to three, I’m not that clever. This must happen automatically as one adds more than three short cuts to the said Quick Launch tab. Many thanks Hans, if I may be permitted to say so, you & all the other Moderators are a God send to learners like me. Kind regards S Fox.

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So far as the three icons being shown in the Quick Launch “notification” area, you apparently have the “hide Inactive Icons” box checked.
Right click in open area of QL, then Properties.

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Hi Bob,
I think that is another part of the Taskbar, the tray (Notification Area, whatever).

Though the OPs issue seems to be answered, I would like to mention one “easy” way to reset the QLB (Quick Launch Bar).

post 718,172
“Must add though Hans, I did not make any adjustments to any settings to restrict the permanently visible icons to three,”

As mentioned by Hans and Silver Fox, and as many know, the QLB can hide some icons, but it can also be extended. To reset it to three icons showing, OR to change between the three “modes” it can be set to:

• Unlock Taskbar (right-click Taskbar and click “Lock the Taskbar” to clear the check mark.
• Position the cursor above the first (vertical) separator line to the right of the Start button, see screenshot (actually it doesn’t matter if you use the second separator line, but since it it will jump around in the exercise, it’s better to focus on the first. )
• Double-click on the separator line: to expand QLB; to move Taskbar buttons [i.e. in most cases programs that you are working with] to the right; or to contract the QLB again.
  [/list]Of course it’s possible to drag and resize the QLB to any place in the Taskbar (often in combination with a two rows Taskbar), but it can sometimes[?] be difficult to get it back in place. To double-click the separator line is an easy way to achieve that, then drag it to a place one like. Or just a quick way to expand it in its normal place.

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Yep, that is the notification area, formerly known as the quick launch bar or as you say “whatever”.
It would be nice if they kind of stuck to similar nomenclature to what is really the same place in XP, Vista or whatever!
There also seems to be some confusion as to Desktop shortcuts and shortcuts in the toolbar area. Both do the same thing but just placed in another area.

I happen to like using Desktop shortcuts but I have eliminated some of the large number of shortcuts that show up by creating a FOLDER on the Desktop an grouping similar shortcuts in the folder.
For example, I have a UTILITIES desktop folder and store a group of miscellaneous OS utilities shortcuts there.
Strictly a matter of choice or preference. Some may like using the Start menu and going from there.

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Umm, the notification area, formerly known as the system tray, is the right hand part of the taskbar, with the system clock.

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…in combination with a two rows Taskbar…

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[/indent]Which happens to be the case with me. In a two-row situation, I have plenty of real estate to let the QL bar show ALL of its icons and still not take up too much room on the Taskbar. I’ve really come to like the two-row setup because it also lets me have plenty of space for running apps before the Task Bar IDs start to get smaller and smaller.

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Lots of great comments guys and very much appreciated. As Big Al alluded to in an earlier post the amount of icons showing in the QLB is a matter of personal preference & the fact that only three show is fine by me as I only have to click the >> tab once to see all the others listed. Like Argos I made no changes to any setting to restrict the icons to three, that happens automatic as the right vertical bar is dragged to the left. With icons set to a minimum in the Sys Tray that leaves me ample space on the Task Bar for the number of files I usually have open at any one time. The info I have derived from the thread is the essence of what I asked for in the first place, namely that it does not seem to make much difference regardless of how many short cuts are on either the desktop or in the QLB. Many thanks SFox.

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Hi,
Exactly Al, which is why I mentioned that; with more real estate comes a possibility to move it, to expand it etc. Though most probably leaves it in place [next to Start], and either expand it or the Taskbar (or both as you did, still plenty of room left for buttons, for those who like two-row).

My focus was to mention that it is possible to double-click [no dragging around, even if that is also easy] the separator line to quickly achieve what the OP mentioned. (Such as changing between “show all” and “show default number [3]”. And some other things; like having a full screen QLB and Taskbar buttons reduced to only one with a “toggle”.

I think we have seen posts were people happen to get the QLB all wrong when trying to drag it around & expand it at the same time, then have trouble to get it back. Double-click to contract, then move it.

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You can also add toolbars, including the address bar, to your taskbar. This, combined with two-row(+) layout and autohide, gives a great combination of maximum screen area, maximum taskbar area, and convenient access to any and all the shortcuts you want. Setting up folders as toolbars in the taskbar lets you have cascading flyouts to as many levels as you can cope with.

And if you can keep track of where everything lives, such toolbars, and the taskbar, can be set up on any, or all, edges of your screen, without loss of screen real estate when combined with autohide.

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“You can also add toolbars, including the address bar, to your taskbar.”

Yes, I know. Though I have never used it, hasn’t the Address bar been removed in Service Pack 3? (I’m on SP2.)

“… gives a great combination of maximum screen area, maximum taskbar area, and convenient access to any and all the shortcuts you want.”

And maximum clutter when it comes back from its auto-hidden state. No, just kidding! I agree that one can populate it with all sorts of toolbars, and even folders as such. This can be really useful and work as great short cuts. And the more one populate and expands it, the more useful becomes autohide, I guess. So I agree with you, even though I don’t have exactly that setup.

Bob mentioned also the good use of folders as a way to group similar tools, less short cuts on the Desktop for those who like that.

And further to the QLB:
If you expand it slightly [from 3 icons default state] so you can get an empty area (which of course can be removed later), you can right-click that empty area and get some “new” alternatives (that can be reached only with unlocked Taskbar). It’s possible to right-click the separator line itself instead of an empty area though a bit tricky:
-Show Large or Small icons. (Large will increase Taskbar approx. 70-80 %.)
-Open Folder (i.e. open up the QLB folder in WE).
-Show Text (text in combination with the icons).
-Show Title (well, that’ll be “Quick Launch” ).

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Actually same goes with right-click on other toolbars, though I don’t use Address or Links etc. See for ex. screenshot; show “Desktop toolbar”, and uncheck “Show Title”; now you have direct access to first icon on Desktop “My Computer” in Swedish MSFT translation “Den här datorn”.

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As far as I know, the only thing that happens with shortcuts on the desktop is that their icons are “rendered” each time the screen is refreshed. This doesn’t take long, so should not be a concern to you either at boot time or other times during the day. I see people who have LOADS of icons on the screens and no apparent slowup.

On the QuickLaunch bar, I don’t think it would cause any slowdown in boot either, since none of those programs is loaded or run just because its icon is on the QL bar. I have about the same number that you have and my QL loads very quickly. I do tend to “police” mine well so that programs I don’t run often DON’T get an icon on the QL by their installer. An example might be your inclusion of Belarc – do you run it often enough to need it on the QL? Your call obviously.

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