If you’re one of the folks currently running a pre-release version of Windows 7, you already know how cool it is to pin apps and folders to the taskbar. But I’ve found that while I’d love to pin a handful of less commonly used apps — like my assortment of photo editing programs, for example, I don’t want them hogging up all that prime real estate on the task bar. The solution? A free utility called 7stacks, which lets you use a Jump List-like feature to stack programs, folders… even files.
7stacks mimics the behavior of the Mac’s OSX stacks — or so the site claims. Personally, I don’t have a lot of experience with the Mac. When you click a 7stacks icon in the taskbar, it displays the contents of a folder stored somewhere on your computer in the form of a jump list. (It’s not a true jump list, and you activate it with a left click instead of a right click.)
As I mentioned, the folder can contain anything — app shortcuts, other folders, and even files you commonly use. So unlike Windows 7’s default taskbar behavior, you can group a related set of programs, folders, and files, and pin them all to the task bar in one place, instead of spreading them out across various icons. I love the way you can stack a bunch of programs (I’ve pinned Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop and Lightroom to the same icon, for example). And the program makes great use of Aero, so it looks cooler than a standard jump list as well.
My take: 7stacks is free and belongs on every Windows 7 desktop.
