Disable the Grouping of Similar Taskbar Items in Windows 7

When Microsoft released Windows 7, I think it made some major strides for the desktop OS, and when compared to Vista, there’s just no comparison. But, there still exist some minor ‘features’ or changes that Microsoft made to its latest OS that drive me nuts. Fortunately, even though Microsoft doesn’t offer the user control over many of these things directly, various tweaking programs exist to help you change what you need to.

Thanks to the cursor being missing in the below screenshot, it’s a little hard to tell what’s going on, so I’ll explain it. In Windows 7, Microsoft decided to fuse together all taskbar items that are related to one another – in the case of the screenshot, folders. This means that as you open more and more folders, the entry in the taskbar becomes one, and when clicking on any one of the folders and move it around, the entire group moves with it, not only the one you’re clicking on.

I tend to have a lot of folders open at once, and don’t want that functionality. It impedes my workflow because I can’t keep the folders in the order I’d like them to be in, and can’t separate them in general. After complaining about this issue to fellow colleague Jamie Fletcher, he sought out a solution, and found me one almost immediately. It’s called “7 Taskbar Tweaker” – can’t get much more self-descriptive than that, can you?

Various options are offered within this small app, but it was the “Grouping” option I was after. Once I clicked “Don’t group”, the change was made immediately, and I was once again able to move my open folders independently. Why, I have to ask, Microsoft doesn’t offer the user this simple option right inside of the OS itself, is truly beyond me.

Other options include tweaking the pinning ability, middle-click action, what happens when you double-click on an empty space, and so forth. Overall, it’s a simple app, and doesn’t need to be installed. You simply run it, tweak what you need to, and then delete it right off of your computer. Tres simple!