Problems 'pinning' items to the Win7 Taskbar

Reader Kevin Nolan is a bit annoyed with Win7 — and with me!

     "I cannot believe you have not come across a serious shortcoming with 'Pin to Taskbar' in Win7. There is a hidden list of default names that cannot be contained in another program's name, or else pinning to the Taskbar will be denied.

      "As an example that frustrated me no end: Ashampoo's Uninstaller, which has the executable name uninstaller.exe, refuses to be pinned, because it includes the reserved word 'install' in the name. Win7 does not flag the issue and there's nothing in the help files either. But after much trawling, I found a West-Wind.com blog that identified the problem.

      "Disappointed you failed to notice it."

Well, hold on there, Kevin. You are correct that you can't pin just any application to the Win7 Taskbar — but this limitation makes sense to me.

You can't, for example, pin shortcuts. Why? Because a pinned item is a kind of shortcut. Creating chains of multi-level, interdependent shortcuts (one shortcut calling another) is bad practice. Snip or alter a shortcut in the middle of a chain of shortcuts, and you're left wondering why the orphaned, upstream shortcuts no longer work.

In the rest of this item, I explain what can and cannot be "pinned" to the taskbar, and you can decide for yourself whether this is a major or minor thing.

Other topics in my column:

• Reader suggests a handy app for FLAC decoding
• Windows 7 won't eliminate XP coverage in the newsletter
• Adding wallpaper to Win7 Starter Edition
• Choosing between 32- or 64-bit Windows

Here's the full issue rundown this week: http://WindowsSecrets.com

Free content posted on March 18, 2010:

TOP STORY By Robert Vamosi New security tools help protect your PC New top choice for router-based firewall Security suites provide adequate protection Sources for managing Windows and application patches Finding the latest on browser vulnerabilities LOUNGE LIFE By Tracey Capen The wisdom of running under Windows admin mode Interesting questions raised in the Lounge WACKY WEB WEEK By Stephanie Small Snoring canine companion rattles the windows

   
Paid content (pay whatever you think it's worth for a full year's access; there's no set subscription fee):

LANGALIST PLUS By Fred Langa Windows 7 won't eliminate XP coverage No Windows XP content in this newsletter? Problems 'pinning' items to the Win7 Taskbar Reader suggests a handy app for FLAC decoding Adding wallpaper to Win7 Starter Edition Choosing between 32- or 64-bit Windows

WOODY'S WINDOWS By Woody Leonhard New names, new threats from fake security apps Rogue anti-malware — many names, many disguises New and improved scareware: Internet Security 2010 If it looks suspicious, it's probably a rogue Money drives the bogus protection come-on

PERIMETER SCAN By Ryan Russell Tools for safely removing rogue anti-malware Scareware installs fake antivirus tools Current favorite scareware removal tools More resources for removing rogue anti-malware

A portion of your support helps children in developing countries Each month, we send a full year of sponsorship to a different child. Your contributions in March are helping us to sponsor Cristian, an 8-year-old boy from Mexico. Children International channels development aid from donors to Cristian and his community. We also sponsor kids through Save the Children and Plan USA. More info

Full signup info: http://www.windowssecrets.com/

Posted via email from Fred's posterous