Use Small Icons on the Windows 7/8/10 Taskbar and Desktop

It makes for a sleeker, sexier experience

With a default installation of Windows 7/8/10, you may have noticed a couple of things immediately, such as the large desktop icons and the large taskbar! I’m personally not a big fan of huge icons anywhere on my computer!

And to me, a large taskbar is a waste of precious real estate. I like the smallest taskbar possible without having to auto-hide, a feature I’m also not a fan of.

Here is what my desktop and taskbar looked like on Windows when I first installed it:

Way too big! In this article, I’ll show you how to reduce the size of the desktop icons and the taskbar in Windows 7/8/10.

Use Small Icons on Windows Taskbar

The options are slightly different between Windows 7 and Windows 10. First, here’s how to do it in Windows 7: right-click on an empty space in the taskbar and click on Properties.

On the Taskbar tab, check the Use small icons box. Then click the OK button.

Here’s a screenshot with the new smaller taskbar in comparison to the large desktop icons.

Much better! Of course, you can uncheck that box if you prefer the large icons on the taskbar. For Windows 10, you right-click on the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings.

This will bring you to the new Settings screen in Windows 10. You should see an option called Use small taskbar buttons. Make sure to click the toggle to turn it on.

Reduce Size of Desktop Icons in Windows 7/8/10

OK, so how about those large desktop icons? That’s also very easy to change. It’s also the same for Windows 7/8/10. Simply right-click anywhere on the desktop and click on View. In the menu, you can choose how large you want the icons to be.

I prefer small icons, so that I can fit more on my desktop and see more of my wallpaper in the background. Large icons are absolutely huge and probably only useful if you have vision problems.

As you can see, now I’m using small icons on the desktop and in the taskbar! Excellent! However, that’s not even the easiest way to change the size of your desktop icons. If you have a mouse that has a scroll wheel, all you have to do is single click on any desktop icon to highlight it, then hold down the CTRL key and scroll your mouse up or down.

When you hold down the CTRL key and scroll up, the desktop icons will get progressively bigger and when you scroll down, they will get smaller. What’s nice about this method is that you have way more size options than just Large, Medium and Small.

Of course, you need to have a mouse with a scroll wheel in order for this to work. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications. Read Aseem’s Full Bio

The Small Flies: What You Can/Should Do

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Home » Flies » The Small Flies: What You Can/Should Do

by David Moore
Manager of Technical Services and Board Certified Entomologist
with contributions by Eric Smith, PhD, BCE

Flies can usually be separated into two major groups , large and small. Larger flies (also known as filth flies) are typically about 1/8-3/8″ long. They breed outdoors and can come into the home (i.e. the housefly ). Small flies exist in a variety of types, which includes gnats. They are common pests in the home, and are often problematic in commercial areas like offices, restaurants, food processing plants and grocery stores.

Why Flies Are A Problem

The presence of flies is definitely a nuisance, and for more reasons than just their buzzing and flying around. All flies breed in some form of decaying organic matter, and they therefore may carry disease-causing pathogens and can affect human health and food safety. They’re also a health risk because:

• Many breed in unsanitary conditions and may spread disease through simply landing on various surfaces.
• Some, once they are dead, can trigger asthma due to the accidental inhalation of their broken body parts.
• Many breed, hatch and grow rapidly and can create an infestation in as little as eight days.

Flies and gnats don’t just breed outdoors, however. They can also easily breed indoors and cause unsanitary conditions. Finding and eliminating the source of their food and breeding is imperative to ending an infestation.

Correct Identification

Knowing which kind of small fly or gnat that you have in your home will help you determine where they are coming from. Each has a preferred feeding and breeding place. But their flight habits and/or breeding sites will also hint at the kind of fly that’s infesting your home.

Small flies have one pair of wings and belong to the insect order Diptera, and they grow through a complete metamorphosis from egg to larva to pupa to adult. They come from three specific families of insect

Small Fruit Flies (Family Drosophilidae)

Also known as vinegar or drosophila flies, these flies get their common name from their tendency to lay eggs in decaying fruit, as the fermenting sugars provide their food. They also tend to grow in the liquids of improperly sealed containers of fruits and vegetables.

Some of their characteristics include:

• Size: About 1/8″ (3 mm) long. Many are small enough to be able to penetrate regular mesh screening.
• Color: Tan to brownish yellow or brownish black. Eyes usually red.
• Antennae: Short and bristly
• Flight: Hovers in small circles
• Eggs: Females lay about 500 eggs at a time
• Life Cycle and Favored Areas: Complete growth to adulthood in about 8-10 days. This means that they can also lay eggs in temporary sites like dirty dishcloths, mop heads, fruit bowls and buckets of stagnant water. They can also be found in garbage and recycling bins, refrigerators, compost piles, discarded dishes and bottles and in spilled liquid. Any place where yeast and fermentation are present, fruit flies may find a breeding site.

Drain Flies (Family Psychodidae)

Also known as moth, filter and sewer flies, these flies get their name from their hairy, fuzzy appearances and their tendency to develop in pipes, sewers and drain areas where stagnant and dirty water is present.

Some of their characteristics include:

• Size: 1/16-3/16” (1.5-5 mm) long. These flies are also often able to get through regular door and window screening.
• Color: Pale yellowish to brownish gray to blackish
• Antennae: About half the body length, beadlike
• Wings: Broadly oval and hairy
• Flight: Short hops, or hovering above drains, but rather weak in extended flight
• Eggs: Females lay 30-100 eggs at a time in masses on the film that covers water-free drains and filters of sewage treatment plants. Larvae feed on the algae, bacteria, fungi and sludge of the filmy substance that forms in these locations.
• Life Cycle and Favored Areas: Complete growth in 7-28 days, alive for about two weeks. They commonly breed in slimy drains, sewage, garbage cans, clogged gutters and storm drains, saucers under potted plants, bird baths, compost, AC units, rain barrels and sewage treatment plants.

Fungus Gnats (Family Sciaridae)

These flies are named for their tendency to nest in excrement, fungi and decaying vegetation. They are small, slender and long-legged, and look similar to mosquitoes.

Some of their characteristics include:

• Size: 1/32-7/16” (1-11 mm; usually 5 mm or less) long. They can fit through ordinary screening.
• Color: Usually black, sometimes brownish or yellowish
• Antennae: Typically long and threadlike
• Wings: Usually dark-colored
• Flight: Weak fliers, prefer to run in jerky movements
• Eggs: Females lay their eggs on decaying vegetation, fungi, or excrement in which the larvae feed
• Life Cycle and Favored Areas: Growth can take as little as 10-12 days. They tend to be found in shaded, moist areas, though adults are attracted to light and may gather at windows. They may breed in overwatered potted plants, mulch and overwatered lawns

What To Do About An Infestation

Preventative measures can go a long way to ensuring an infestation does not occur, but these techniques can also be used to help end an infestation. Some techniques include:

• Sealing exterior wall and vent holes
• Installing tight mesh over doors and windows and keeping it in good condition
• Keeping door frames tight, with no gaps
• Practicing good landscape maintenance
• Regularly removing trash from the home
• Keeping the home clean and free of sticky spills, food particles, standing or stagnant water, dirty cloth materials and open food containers
• Regularly cleaning floors, sinks, drains and baseboards
• Making sure to not overwater plants

In some cases, adding a protective foam or silicone filling to small openings can also prevent flies from entering the home. A pest control professional can help you determine what’s best for your home and can use specialized techniques to protect your home against flies. If you think you have an infestation or don’t want one to start, contact us for a free inspection today!

Flying Windows 1.3

Эта маленькая программа значительно облегчает работу за компьютером и включает в себя несколько полезных инструментов:

1. Flying windows
При включенной опции можно перетаскивать при нажатой клавише Alt любое окно за любое место, а не только за заголовок. Очень удобно, когда одновременно открыто много окон или панелей инструментов. В некоторых приложениях дает неожиданный эффект, перетаскивая вместо окна его дочерние элементы. Но это случается крайне редко, мне пока встретилось всего несколько таких программ.

2. Intelligent mousewheel
Эта опция дает возможность прокрутки окон колесиком мышки без установки на них фокуса. Опять же удобно когда открыто много окон.

3. Enabler and unhider
Эта опция позволяет открывать пароли за «звездочками», активировать отключенные кнопки, поля ввода, убирает лимиты количества символов с полей ввода, в качестве побочного эффекта «отвязывает» любые открытые модальные окна. Открытие паролей работает не во всех приложениях. Опция включается через меню или нажатием колесика мыши на иконке в трее. Отключается нажатием колесика мыши на главной иконке в трее или любым нажатием на собственную иконку Enabler’а. Настоятельно не рекомендуется держать Enabler постоянно включенным! Это связано с тем, что создается дополнительная нагрузка на систему и некоторые программы могут работать нестабильно. Также принудительная разблокировка всех подряд элементов во всех окнах может привести, например, к такой ситуации: вы поставите галочку в настройках какой-нибудь программы, а потом окажется что она изначально была заблокирована и взаимосвязана с другой настройкой. К чему это в результате может привести остается только догадываться.

How Do I Get Rid of Gnats in My House?

Question: How do I get rid of gnats? I’m pretty sure they are gnats at least. They are really, really tiny and look like black dots. I bought a house spray and have been spraying about 4-6 times a week. They are only in my kitchen at the base of my back door. I can’t tell where they are coming from. What must I do? P.S. My home is new construction. Would this be a factor?

Answer: If you have gnats in the house, it usually means the presence of one or both of these small flies:

FUNGUS GNATS

The larvae are common in the moist soil of the plants that have been overwatered and the soil remains wet or very moist. This may occur in the fall when plants are brought inside for the winter, or in the winter when house plants (or office plants) are overwatered. Read more about gnat control.

FRUIT FLIES

fruit fly illustration for in the house

PHORID FLIES

Phorid fly illustrationphorid fly illustratoin for in the house

Related Questions:

The Orkin Man used the information above to also answer the following questions submitted by Orkin.com users:

• Question: I live in the 60136 area, and I have a BIG problem with gnats. I can’t open my windows ever! I even had the pests during this past winter when I opened my window «just a little bit.” I don’t want to be turning on my air conditioner just to get crisp fresh air! What can I do?
• Question: I have small black flies in my home. I notice them in the bathroom and on the window sills. We recently bought two new house plants and it seems that most of the flies are in the same room. I have done research, I think they are gnats or fruit flies (no fruits lying exposed). Can you help me identify what type of flies I may have? Also, what measures can I take to get rid of them?
• Question: How can I kill gnats? How much is your service usually?
• Question: I have gnats, I think, and I want to know how to get rid of them or how much it would be for you to get rid of them. They are out of control.
• Question: We have these pesky, small flies. We have no fruit plants. They seem to come from nowhere and we don”t know how to get rid of them without getting rid of our plants or destroying them in the process.

• Question: I have these tiny green bugs with wings that I keep finding in one room in my house. I find them dead in the windows, around the floors and on the top of the table. They look like a super tiny mosquito. ANSWER: These are probably midges that are active this time of year (outside) and are attracted to lights at night … so it might be helpful to turn off outside lights.
• Question: What can I do about «gnat» bugs? I have a ton of them on my front door and around my windows at night.
• Question: I have these small flies in my bathroom and kitchen areas. They are very small and they show up in bunches and die within a day. I clean the areas but they are back the next day in small amounts and build up.
• Question: My apartment has been invaded by these tiny flying insects (I think they are gnats). They don’t bite, they’re just very annoying and are now getting into my refrigerator.
• Question: How do you control little flying gnats?
• Question: What can we do to get rid of gnats in our office?
• Question: My apartment has become a home to these tiny flying insects. I don”t know what they are, I just call them gnats. I don”t believe they are mosquitoes because I don’t see or feel any bites on me. They buzz by my ear, making that tiny high-pitched buzzing sound. I have killed at least 30 of them, but they are next to impossible to catch and kill. I’ve been swatting at them with anything I can find. I first started noticing them in my bathroom, but now they have taken over the entire place. I know they are crawling on me as I sleep and I can”t handle that! I want to have someone come out and get rid of them! What are they, and what should I do?
• Question: I have a problem with tiny flying gnats. They are very small—smaller than fruit flies. I have them year round. They are attracted to light and white surfaces. I live in Ohio and there are woods about 50 feet from my house.
• Question: Where do gnats come from? Do they live in the fruits?

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