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A taskpad view
is a custom configuration of the MMC results (right) pane for a given
snap-in. By default, the results pane shows a list of the snap-in’s
contents—for example, the list of categories and devices in the Device
Manager snap-in and the list of installed services in the Services
snap-in. However, you can customize this view with one or more tasks
that run commands defined by the snap-in, or any program or script that
you specify. You can also control the size of the list, whether the
list is displayed horizontally or vertically in the results pane, and
more.
Here are the steps to follow to create a custom taskpad view:
1. | Select a snap-in in the tree pane, as follows:
If you want to apply the taskpad view to a specific snap-in, select that snap-in. If
you want to apply the taskpad view to a group of snap-ins that use the
same snap-in type, specify one snap-in from the group. For example, if
you want to customize all the folders, select any folder (such as the
Console Root folder); similarly, if you want to customize all the Link
to Web Address snap-ins, select one of them.
| 2. | Select Action, New Taskpad View to launch the New Taskpad View Wizard.
| 3. | Click Next to open the Taskpad Style dialog box, shown in Figure 1.
| 4. | Use the following controls to set up the style of taskpad you want:
- Style for Results Pane—
Select an option for displaying the snap-in’s results: Vertical List
(this is best for lists with a large number of items), Horizontal List
(this is best for web pages or lists with a large number of columns),
or No List (choose this option if you want only tasks to appear in the
results pane).
- Hide Standard Tab—
After you create the new taskpad view, the MMC displays two tabs in the
results pane: The Extended tab shows your custom taskpad view, and the
Standard tab shows the default view. To keep the option of displaying
the default view, deactivate the Hide Standard Tab dialog box.
- Style for Task Descriptions—
When you add descriptions for your tasks later on, you can have the MMC
display each description either as text below the task link or as an
InfoTip that appears when you hover the mouse over the task link.
- List Size—
Choose the size of the list: Small (good if you add lots of tasks),
Medium (this is the default), or Large (good if you have few or no
tasks).
| 5. | Click Next. The Taskpad Reuse dialog box appears.
| 6. | The
wizard assumes you want to apply the new taskpad view to all snap-ins
of the same type. If you only want to apply the taskpad view to the
current snap-in, select the Selected Tree Item option.
| 7. | Click Next. The Name and Description dialog box appears.
| 8. | Type a name and optional description for the taskpad view, and then click Next. The final wizard dialog box appears.
| 9. | If you don’t want to add tasks to the new view, deactivate the Add New Tasks to This Taskpad After the Wizard Closes check box.
| 10. | Click Finish. If you elected to add tasks to the view, the New Task Wizard appears.
| 11. | Click Next. The Command Type dialog box appears.
| 12. | Select one of the following command types:
- Menu Command— Select this option to create a task that runs an MMC or snap-in menu command.
- Shell Command— Select this option to create a task that runs a program, script, or batch file.
- Navigation— Select this option to create a task that takes you to another snap-in that’s in your MMC Favorites list.
Note
To add a snap-in to the MMC Favorites list, select the snap-in in the tree pane and then select Favorites, Add to Favorites.
| 13. | Click Next.
| 14. | How you proceed from here depends on the command type you selected in step 12:
- Menu Command—
In the Menu Command dialog box, first select an item from the Command
Source list: Choose Item Listed in the Results Pane to apply the
command to whatever item is currently selected in the results pane;
choose Node in the Tree to select a command based on an item in the MMC
tree pane.
- Shell Command—
In the Command Line dialog box, use the Command text box to specify the
path to the program executable, script, or batch file that you want the
task to run. You can also specify startup Parameters, the Start In
folder, and a Run window type.
- Navigation— In the Navigation dialog box, select the items from the MMC Favorites list.
| 15. | Click Next. The Name and Description dialog box appears.
| 16. | Edit the task name and description, and then click Next. The Task Icon dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2.
| 17. | Click Next. The final New Task Wizard dialog box appears.
| 18. | If you want to add more tasks, activate the When I Click Finish, Run This Wizard Again check box.
| 19. | Click Finish.
| 20. | If you elected to add more tasks, repeat steps 11–19, as needed.
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Figure 3 shows the MMC with a custom taskpad view applied to a Link to Web Address snap-in.
Note
To make changes to a custom taskpad view, right-click the snap-in and then click Edit Taskpad View.
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