CertiGuide to A+ (A+ 4 Real)  9  Chapter 1: What are Operating Systems and How Do They Work?       9  Operating System Features

The Recycle Bin 1 The Task Manager

The Task Bar is the horizontal grey panel usually found at the bottom of the screen. Its primary purpose is to allow for easy navigation between open windows and applications. When a new window is opened (either an application or an Explorer window), a button is added to the Task Bar. Clicking on the button brings the application to the front of the screen, or if minimized, returns it to a visible state. Window minimizing was covered earlier in the chapter. The correct term for a running application is a “task”⁵, hence the name “Task Bar”.

On the right hand, side of the Task Bar is a recessed area called the System Tray. This tray contains the icons of running applications to show their status or to provide quick access to some of their options. Not all applications create an icon in this tray area when running, although many have a configuration option to do so.

There is no set standard for how icons in the System Tray should behave. Most conform to one of two standards; either displaying some information when the cursor is placed over them, or by popping up a context sensitive menu when right clicked.

The Recycle Bin 1 The Task Manager