I would like to have the Winstep quick-launch bar operate the way the Windows 7 taskbar works, which is:
1. there is no "task list" (to use your term for it), and
2. the icons on the taskbar (your quick-launch bar) are highlighted if the related application is currently running, and not if it is not.

I managed to turn off the task list, but now I simply have no idea what is running, nor any easy way to access the running applications.

As an alternative solution, it would be acceptable if I left the task list running, as long as I can shrink the active icons down to only icon width. I tried turning off the text labels, but the application bar still remained an inch or so wide, instead of shrinking down to just the icon. This is awkward because, if I have many applications running (which I *always* do at work), Winstep gives me this multi-row task list, with only a few application icons visible at a time. This is *much* less handy than Win7's technique...

Is there a clean, Winstep-ish method to solve this issue?

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Well, okay, I got the alternative solution to work... there was an option in Preferences: display the Taskbar in Windows 7 Style,
which did this. Sadly, it doesn't quite really display icons in the Windows 7 Style... the quick-launch icons are completely separate from the active-program icons in the task list. If I close the program, its icon disappears from the task list, so I need the quick-launch bar as well.

So, while this is adequate, it is quite redundant! I still wonder if there's some way to actually obtain Windows 7 Taskbar functionality??

Full Windows 7 functionality, where running applications are *mixed* with pinned applications, is, unfortunately, still on the to-do list, both for the NextSTART taskbar and for docks.

As you've noticed, you can make the taskbar buttons display a single icon with no text, although this might be problematic on older themes which were made before Windows 7 if the authors defined 'fixed width' tasklist buttons.

The problem is that the Windows 7 taskbar can get away with mixing running with pinned applications because it has nearly zero customization abilities. What you see is *all* that you get.

The NextSTART taskbar, on the other hand, is highly customizable. You can even get rid of the taskbar itself and display the tasklist and the system tray as independent units floating anywhere on your desktop. This, among some other features, is not really compatible with the way the Windows 7 taskbar does things.

Furthermore, even though for you it doesn't seem to be the case, there are a lot of users out there who actually prefer the classic Windows way of doing things, i.e.; a Quick Launch section separate from the list of running applications.

Anyway, as I said above, there is still a lot of room for improvement for NextSTART, and I'm sure some of the missing Windows 7 features (such as jumplists and a Search box) will be implemented soon, especially now that Windows 8 is coming and those features will be needed more than ever.

Thanks for the comments, Mr Winstep!

It is true, I definitely *don't* prefer the Classic Windows style of duplicate icons (quick-launch plus currently-running), especially at work where I typically have more than one row of running applications... using the up/down arrows to select which applications I can actually select, is definitely NOT handier than Win7's method.

However, I haven't tried the floating task list, I'll try that out and see what I think.