See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ShowTaskPane.htm
Note that the add-in you download contains a dialog that need be used only
once, to choose the preferred behavior; you can then remove the add-in from
Word's Startup folder (and if you don't, it will cause problems in fully
updated Word 2003).
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org
I realized that the installation of a new scanner yesterday started the problem. I found the add-in "Abbyy FineReader 6.0 Sprint" in the Word 2002 startup folder, and since I don't really need that add-in I simply deleted it. Now the task bar behaves again like it should. Thank You!