• Additional panel for the desktop. Quick Launch Toolbar

    Hello. If you remember, then I already wrote O Winstep Nexus . This is a beautiful panel quick launch programs, opening folders and files. But, firstly, then I only described the installation to you and gave you two archives with animated, stunningly beautiful icons, and did not consider the settings, believing that they were in Russian and you could handle them yourself. I was wrong - I repent. There were a lot of questions about setting up this panel.

    Secondly, it came out new versionWinstep Nexus 12.2. Even more super effects have been added to it. I can’t describe this beauty in words - you have to see it. To the effects when hovering over labels, they were added to the appearance or disappearance of the panel itself. Now it can burn, flare up, etc.

    Complete with the animated shortcuts that I gave you in the first article (two archives - for all occasions), a new Winstep Nexus 12.2 It causes complete shock among my friends. For the first couple of minutes they can't talk at all. And their first words are “And for me, install it for me too!!!”

    Below I will tell you in more detail and show you where to find and how to set up all these wonders. So, don’t hesitate and read on...

    On the fifth try I managed to catch the effect when hiding the panel called “Flash”...

    The program icons are not animated (a shoemaker without boots) - they make everything look even more beautiful.

    So... I won’t describe the installation - it is shown in the first article. I provide links to download Winstep Nexus 12.2. By the way, if you think that by clicking the “Check for updates” button you will be told that you have outdated version and you need to update it, then you are deeply mistaken - when you click on it, there is complete silence. I don't know the reason for this behavior of the program.

    Download Winstep Nexus: 31 MB

    Setting up Winstep Nexus

    By the way, if you are afraid that the program will not work on your weak computer, you are mistaken, it works on any configuration, it has been tested. You just need to disable some effects on very weak machines and that’s it.

    When you first launch it, the appearance of the panel is very modest and filled with unnecessary icons. I personally immediately delete them by right-clicking on them and selecting the appropriate item in the drop-down menu or by dragging them down from the panel - where they burn up in a nuclear explosion. That's where they go.

    Now right-click anywhere on the panel and see...

    This is us in the full version and there are two settings options...

    A blue, live arrow indicates which panel we are making settings for.

    Be careful here. Experimentally set the delay for hiding the panel and the method for activating it. After any changes to the settings, do not forget to click “Apply”. And most importantly - the effect when appearing or hiding...

    Play around with them - keep the one you like the most.

    This additional settings sub-folders. This is when when you hover over a folder, its contents drop out. There is also animation, etc. The top checkbox is responsible for triggering when you hover the mouse over a folder. Without this checkbox, just click on the folder and it will open.

    Icon size, shadows, whether captions are needed (I removed mine), transparency, spacing, background color and indicator running programs, which you can select.

    Everything is in Russian... Now the second menu item is simply “Settings”...

    Here you can create or delete, and also configure where to display additional panels.

    Here you can choose how your panel will look - there are a lot of options. At the top there is a button where you can decide for which panel you are choosing a theme. There is also bottom panel with tabs, where you can also hang a lot of things, but you didn’t notice it?

    And here you need to uncheck all the checkboxes if you have downloaded and are using full version according to my second link. Otherwise you will be “burned”. Basically, in free version This function is also useless - it doesn’t work for some reason.

    How to change program icons in Winstep Nexus to live, animated ones

    Right-click on the icon and...

    Panel Windows tasks changed from version to version, but its purpose remained unchanged: launching programs and switching between them. This panel is used all the time, so it would be a good idea to customize it to suit your needs.

    Choosing a location for the taskbar

    From the first Windows versions It is customary that the taskbar in the system is located at the bottom. Apparently, then they could not predict the appearance widescreen monitors. Nowadays, on huge screens, a wide taskbar takes up extra space. Therefore, it is better to place it vertically.

    If your taskbar is undocked, you can drag it to the desired corner of the screen. Or simply specify the position of the taskbar by right-clicking on it and selecting Options.

    Place icons in the center

    By placing icons in the center, you will give the taskbar a Dock-like appearance. This is useful if you are used to working with a Mac. Besides, it's just beautiful.

    To move icons to the center:

    • Unpin the taskbar. To do this, right-click on it and uncheck “Pin the taskbar”. Then click on the taskbar again and select “Links” from the “Panels” menu item. Drag the icons to the center.
    • Right-click on the "Links" menu and uncheck the boxes next to "Show captions" and "Show title."

    To return the icons to their usual position, simply remove “Links” from the taskbar.

    Disable the taskbar on additional monitors

    I've never been an Apple fan, but I still welcome some of the options and details. For example, the design of smartphones and Macbooks. Certain functions of their work. When I first had the opportunity to work on a Mac (it was a long time ago), the first thing I remember and found very convenient was their desktop organization. A quick launch bar I still need for a long time was missing in Windows. A lot of time passed before, quite by accident, I came across the RocketDock utility, which exactly repeated panel for quickly launching programs in Mac OS style. Since then I have not parted with her.

    Rocketdock for Windows 7

    The first is necessary download rocketdock. The best way to do this is from the official website. Install and enable the utility.

    The panel will appear at the top of the window. To configure the application, click on the icon shown in the figure below.

    In the window that opens, click “General” and set the following parameters.

    This is the interface language “Russian” and starts when the system boots.

    I set the values ​​in “Icons” as follows.


    I made changes to the Display Quality, setting it to High. Completely eliminated transparency. And since I don’t have very many applications currently running, I set the size of the shortcuts appropriately.

    I chose the “position” for myself at the bottom of the desktop, like on Mac OS, and so that the panel would be hidden behind the windows while working.

    The style is selected in the application tab of the same name.

    There are more than 10 types of them, and you can download more on top of everything else. For icon captions (if you use them), you can use the desired font, its color and background, which is also very convenient.

    We also choose the animation when hovering over the icons to suit our taste.

    As you can see in the screenshot, I did not enable the “Automatically hide” and “Activations on top of windows” functions. If you need it, just check the box next to it.

    How to add an icon

    Everything is very simple here, you need to drag the utility shortcut from the desktop directly to the panel with the mouse. If there isn't one, create one. And repeat the procedure again.

    Or, right-click to open the menu and select the appropriate item.

    Changing the icon in RocketDock

    If the user wants to change the original program icon to another one (for example, already loaded into it), the following must be done:

    First, you need to right-click on the panel on the existing one that you want to change. After which in context menu check “Customize icon...” A window of the same name should open, where you select another one to launch the software. In its “Properties” settings everything should already be set to default. The name of the program is included in the “name”, a link in the “object” to the application, as well as in “ working folder" to the folder. After that, click “ok”. Now, by clicking on this icon, the process of launching a specific utility will begin.


    Winstep Xtreme- this solution serves to change appearance worker Windows desktop, Start menu, taskbar as you wish. The program will add various panels, docks and widgets to your desktop. After installation, you will have at your disposal several independent modules - NextSTART, WorkShelf, FontBrowser, Start Menu Organizer), each of which can work individually together with other modules of this program, each module performs a specific task in the design of the shell and has its own unique set of functions .

    System Requirements:
    -500 MHz processor.
    -256 MB of RAM.
    -30 MB of free hard disk space.
    -Screen resolution 800x600 or higher.

    Torrent Quick Launch Panel - Winstep Xtreme 17.12.0.107 details:
    NextSTART module will completely replace the Start menu, taskbar and system notification area (tray), while not only replacing, but allowing you to use many settings that are not in the standard Windows Explorer. The WorkShelf module is a desktop replacement, FontBrowser is convenient viewer fonts, NeXuS - multi-level panel quick access to your most frequently used applications. NextSTART is a convenient replacement for the start menu and taskbar that supports changing skins.

    WorkShelf- A powerful, multi-page desktop replacement, application launcher and document organizer. WorkShelf can be used as an alternative to the standard OS desktop. It has various modules - a clock that can synchronize time via the Internet, weather forecast, check mail, etc.

    NeXuS- quick launch utility necessary programs, which allows you to organize your most frequently used programs and place them in special docks.

    FontBrowser - fast browser With simple interface For convenient work with fonts.
    Winstep Xtreme has the following modules: talking atomic clock, shopping cart, audit program email, a weather monitor, a program for displaying CPU usage, network and memory sensors and the impressive Wanda Wanda program. Latest modules are added tirelessly.

    Features of the program
    Completely transform your look with design themes
    Adding the latest panels, widgets and gadgets to your desktop
    Integrated utility for organizing and cleaning rations "Launch"
    Support Windows Vista and Windows 7
    Unlimited flexibility and expansion of desktop space
    Reducing clutter on the desktop
    Adding Windows 7 taskbar functionality to Windows XP or Vista
    Full support for multiple monitors
    Allows you to drag and drop explorer object icons in the Winstep panel
    Supports PNG, TIFF and ICO files for panel icons
    Probability of using passionate buttons
    Multilingual interface with Russian language support

    Treatment procedure
    - Install software Winstep.
    - Do not run after installation is complete.
    - Run Activation with administrator rights. Confirm the replacement and continue.
    - Open the Winstep program, use any name and key to register in the Settings / Registration tab. Restart the program for the changes to take effect.