Not all Internet users that use Windows 7 on the other hand like the tab preview feature, especially those who regularly open many tabs in the web browser at once. The number of thumbnails are limited based on the screen resolution of the computer monitor.

Once a certain threshold is reached the thumbnail previews will be changed to a list mode which eventually will make use of a scrollbar to display all open tabs on the screen.

Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera have options to disable the taskbar preview feature in Windows 7. Only Google Chrome does not seem to have an option to disable the Aero Peek feature but it might be introduced at a later time by the developers.

Disable taskbar previews in Firefox

Firefox users can disable thumbnail previews in their web browser in the about:config configuration screen. All they need to do is to type about:config in the Firefox address bar and filter for the parameter browser.taskbar.previews.enable (users who have entered this for the first time need to confirm that they know what they are doing first).

The feature is disabled by default in the web browser. It might have been activated in the past. The value true indicates that the taskbar preview feature is active while false indicates the opposite.

A double-click on the parameter or a right-click and the selection of Toggle will change the parameter to either false or true depending on its initial value. The parameter needs to be set to false to disable the taskbar preview feature.

Disable taskbar previews in Internet Explorer

The tab previews can be disabled in Internet Explorer in the Internet Options. A click on Tools > Internet Options will open the configuration window. Locate the Settings button under Tabs in the General tab of the configuration window.

This opens the following menu:

Uncheck the option “Show previews for individual tabs in the taskbar” to disable the feature in the Internet Explorer web browser.

Disable taskbar previews in Opera

Opera users need to enter opera:config in the address bar of their web browser. There they need to locate User Prefs and the Use Windows 7 Taskbar Thumbnails option. Unchecking that option will disable the taskbar previews in the Opera web browser.

Are you using the taskbar previews? Let us know in the comments.

The developer of WinShake has used these two concepts as the foundation of the application. But instead of being satisfied with the functionality additional features were added. WinShake offers the following core features to the user:

• Improved version of Show Desktop: This version only minimizes windows that can be minimized (it keeps gadgets for example on the desktop). It also remembers the window that was on top before minimizing and restoration works even if new programs are opened in the meantime.
• Shake functionality similar to Aero Shake in Windows 7: All but the selected windows can be minimized by double-clicking the title of that window.
• Peek functionality similar to Aero Peek in Windows 7: A ctrl-click on the WinShake icon in the taskbar displays the computer desktop to the user. The items on the desktop are accessible to the user.
• Peek Top: Option to make a window on top of another window transparent. A double-click on the X button of the window will do the trick.
• Taskbar Peek: A middle-click on an icon in the taskbar will display that window to the user.

Several settings are available after right-clicking on the WinShake icon in the Windows taskbar. It is for example possible to change transparency levels, edit the animation speed or change the mouse-keyboard combination that is used to initiate the action. It should come as a surprise to many users that WinShare uses less than 4 Megabytes of computer memory while running. WinShake is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003. It can be downloaded at the developer’s website.

AeroPeek for Windows XP and Windows Vista tries to mimic that behavior. It works by clicking on the program’s system tray icon which will hide all active windows and display the computer desktop instead. Another click on the icon will display the windows again. This is different from the behavior in Windows 7 as it is now possible to interact with desktop elements.

The main use for this feature however is the display of desktop gadgets and other information that are displayed on the desktop. It is different from pressing [Windows D] which will minimize all windows and bring them back upon pressing the keyboard shortcut again. Windows D may change the active window when used while Aero Peek will always return to the window that has been active before.

Still most users will probably prefer the Windows D shortcut as it does not require another software to be running permanently in the background. Aero Peek requires the Microsoft .net Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and a computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista.