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View Full Version : Shortcut Key to Hide Windows Vista Sidebar Behind Other Windows



shahjinn
27.02.08, 14:38
If you've used Windows Vista for any length of time, you probably already know that using the Win + Space key combination will bring the Sidebar and all the gadgets to the front… but how do you send it back behind your open windows?

This was the question reader Kyle asked me earlier tonight, and after some research I discovered that there wasn't one… so I wrote a utility with this functionality, assigned to the Ctrl+Win + Space key combination.

So you first used the Win + Space key to bring the sidebar and detached gadgets to the foreground:

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/1713/image71ad1.png

Now you can use Ctrl+Win + Space to send the sidebar and all detached gadgets back behind the previous foreground window.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1883/image72zf9.png

Installation

Download and unzip the file, then copy the VistaSidebarHider.exe application into a directory you'd like to keep it in.

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7065/image73up4.png

Type the following into the Windows Explorer address bar, which is a shortcut to quickly open your Startup folder.


shell:startup

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/269/image74ns1.png

Create a shortcut in that folder to the VistaSidebarHider.exe application.

Running the Application

Just double-click it.

Usage

Use Ctrl+Win + Space to send the sidebar and gadgets to the back.

Shutting Down the Application

You'll have to use Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, and then select the process in the list and click on End Process.

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/1093/image75ch9.png

Download-Link (http://www.howtogeek.com/geekers/VistaSidebarHider.zip)

Enjoy: :top: