Customize taskbar grouping in Windows Vista
By default, taskbar grouping comes into play only when the taskbar fills up. Even if you have multiple windows from the same application open, if there's room for a separate button for each window, that's what you get.
You might prefer to have all similar windows grouped together all the time. To do that, you'll need to edit the registry Use Registry Editor to open HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. Create a new DWORD value named TaskbarGroupSize
This setting controls how many windows are allowed before Windows starts grouping them under a single taskbar button. A setting of 2 groups related items as soon as you open a second window, even if there's plenty of room on the taskbar; 3 enables grouping as soon as you have three or more similar windows; and so on.
If you prefer to prevent taskbar grouping unless your taskbar gets really crowded, use a higher setting (say, 5). You must log off and then back on before this setting takes effect.
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