Windows 8 : Getting Around the Windows Desktop - Using Jump Lists

Jump lists were a new feature of Windows 7 that enhance the usefulness of the icons and pin items on the taskbar. Windows 8 continues to use jump lists. Jump Lists add the most recently used objects from the application to a pop-up menu. Just right-click the icon to view the Jump list (see Figure 1).

FIGURE 1 A Jump list for Microsoft Word

Other applications written for Windows 8 offer additional capabilities in the Jump menu. For example, Internet Explorer 10 offers a command to let you open a new tab (see Figure 2).

FIGURE 2 Open a new browsing tab in the IE Jump menu

You don’t need to do anything to set up Jump lists — they happen automatically. Whenever you want to use a Jump list, just right-click a taskbar icon and choose from the list the item you want to open.