Microsoft Windows 7 Unleashed

You see throughout this book that the group policies offer unprecedented control over the Windows 7 interface without having to modify the Registry directly. This is particularly true of the Start menu and taskbar, which boast more than 60 policies that do everything from removing Start menu links such as Run and Help to hiding the taskbar’s notification area. To see these policies, launch the Group Policy Editor and select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Start Menu and Taskbar.

Most of the policies are straightforward: By enabling them, you remove a feature from the Start menu or taskbar. For example, enabling the Remove Run Menu from Start Menu policy prevents the user from adding the Run command to the Start menu (or hides the Run command if the user has already added it) and disables the Windows Logo+R shortcut key. This is handy if you’re trying to restrict a user to using only those programs and documents that appear on the Start menu.

Here are a few policies that I think are the most useful:
. Clear History of Recently Opened Documents on Exit—Enable this policy to
remove all documents from the current user’s Recent Items list whenever Windows
7 exits.

. Remove Drag-and-Drop Context Menus on the Start Menu—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from rearranging the Start menu using drag-and-drop tech-
niques.

. Do Not Keep History of Recently Opened Documents—Enable this policy to
prevent Windows 7 from tracking the current user’s recently opened documents.

. Prevent Changes to Taskbar and Start Menu Settings—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from accessing the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties
dialog box.

. Remove Access to the Context Menus for the Taskbar—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from seeing the taskbar’s shortcut (also called context) menus by right-clicking the taskbar.

. Do Not Display Any Custom Toolbars in the Taskbar—Enable this policy to
prevent the current user from adding custom toolbars to the taskbar.

. Remove User Name from Start Menu—Enable this policy to prevent the current user’s name from appearing at the top of the Start menu. This is a good idea if you need more room on the Start menu for the pinned or favorite programs lists.

. Turn Off All Balloon Notifications—Enable this policy to prevent the current user from seeing the balloon tips that Windows 7 displays when it prompts you about new hardware being detected, downloading automatic updates, and so on.

In addition to the predefined taskbar toolbars, you can create new toolbars that display the contents of any folder on your system. For example, if you have a folder of programs or documents that you launch regularly, you can get one-click access to those items by displaying that folder as a toolbar. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Right-click an empty spot on the toolbar, and then click Toolbars, New Toolbar. Windows 7 displays the New Toolbar dialog box.

2. Select the folder you want to display as a toolbar. (Or click New Folder to create a new subfolder within the currently selected folder.)

3. Click Select Folder. Windows 7 creates the new toolbar.

After you’ve displayed a toolbar, there are a number of options you can set to customize the look of the toolbar and to make the toolbars easier to work with. Right-click an empty section of the toolbar and then click one of the following commands:

. View—This command displays a submenu with two options: Large Icons and Small Icons. These commands determine the size of the toolbar’s icons. For example, if a toolbar has more icons than can be shown given its current size, switch to the Small Icons view.

. Show Text—This command toggles the icon titles on and off. If you turn on the titles, it makes it easier to decipher what each icon does, but you’ll see fewer icons in   a given space..

.Show Title—This command toggles the toolbar title (displayed to the left of the icons) on and off.