Increase Number of Windows Open before XP Starts to Group Them

Contributed by shamanstears August 2, 2006  
Tagged: Windows networking

Windows XP will group multiple open windows (IE windows for example) into one group on the task bar to keep the desktop clear. This can be annoying at times - especially when comparing different web pages because you have to go back to the task bar, click on the group and then click on the page you want and then you only get one page because you have to click on each one seperately. I think the default for this is 8 windows - any combination of apps or utilities open.

You can modify this behavoir by adding this reg key at:

Change number of windows that are open before XP will start grouping them on the Taskbar

HKEY_CURRRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\

add reg_Dword “TaskbarGroupSize”

modify “TaskbarGroupSize” entry to be the number of windows you want open before XP starts to group them on the task bar. A value of 2 will cause the Taskbar buttons to always group.