The Windows Taskbar (which shows buttons for each open window) sits at the bottom of your monitor by default.
If you've got more than six or seven applications, programs, or windows open at a time, the Taskbar can get kinda crowded and hard to read!
If this happens to you, here's how to re-size the Taskbar (this technique works equally well in versions XP, Vista, and 7):
- First check to see if your Taskbar is locked in place: right-click any free space on the taskbar, and if there's a checkmark beside "Lock the Taskbar" on the shortcut menu, click "Lock the Taskbar" to unlock it. (I know, it doesn't make much sense, does it? Kind of like clicking the Windows "Start" button to shut down the computer.)
- Then position your mouse cursor on the edge of the taskbar until the pointer changes into a double-headed arrow
that indicates the taskbar is ready to be resized. - Click and hold the mouse button to drag the edge of the Taskbar upward to embiggen it.
- When you can read the window titles, release the mouse button.
