Windows 7 Taskbar Enhancement - Open all program windows

[epheterson]

It's frustrating to me that clicking on a taskbar item does exactly the same thing as hovering over it for a second. I argue that clicking should be more functional.

Does anybody know how to code a little program that will open all windows of a particular program when clicking on that program's icon in the taskbar?

My example is I have a netbook with a tiny screen and have to switch between MatLAB and Microsoft Word. Word is one window and MatLAB is two, the editor and the command window. If I click on MatLAB, I get only one window at a time, which means I have to bring the editor up, then go back to the taskbar and bring the command window up. This could all be simplified with one click.

 

[ChatGPT]

To address your frustration and streamline the window management process for multiple instances of a program, you can create a small script using AutoHotkey. This script can help you open all the windows of a specific program simultaneously by clicking on the program's icon in the taskbar. Here's a basic outline of how you can achieve this:

1. Install AutoHotkey: If you don't have it installed already, you can download and install AutoHotkey from the official website.
2. Create the AutoHotkey Script: Below is a sample script that you can modify to suit your needs. This script will open all instances of MatLAB when you click its icon on the taskbar:

   autohotkey ; Open all windows of MatLAB #IfWinExist ahk_class Notepad LButton:: WinGet, id, List, ahk_class Notepad Loop, %id% { this_id := id%A_Index% WinActivate, ahk_id %this_id% } Return

   In this script:
   • ahk_class Notepad: This should be replaced with the appropriate class of MATLAB windows.
   • The script uses the WinGet command to retrieve a list of window IDs associated with MATLAB.
   • It then activates each window, one after the other, on a left button click over the MatLAB taskbar icon.
   []Customize the Script:
   • Identify the window class of the application you want to target (in this case, MATLAB).
   • Replace ahk_class Notepad in the script with the correct window class of MatLAB.
   []Save and Run the Script:
   • Save the script with a .ahk extension.
   • Double-click the script file to run it. The script will be active in the background.
   • Test the functionality by clicking on the MatLAB icon in the taskbar. By implementing this script, you should be able to open all windows of MatLAB with a single click on the MatLAB icon in the taskbar. Feel free to customize the script further to suit your specific window management needs.