Accessing A Hidden Taskbar David,
Thanks for your reply. Somehow over the many years I've been associated with Windows, I've missed the CTRL+ESC key combination for accessing the Start menu. Apparently it does act exactly the same as the Windows key alone.
Now, what I meant was when the Windows taskbar has the "Auto-hide the taskbar" property ticked.... thus, when the cursor is not on the taskbar... it hides... and no matter how long I place the cursor in the vicinity of the hidden taskbar... it does not reappear. Now not a problem if the CTRL+ESC when sent, responds correctly. at the distant end.