This article describes how to alter the taskbar settings in Windows 11 so that you may move the icons around, alter the size of the taskbar buttons, and more.
Move Start Button & Icons to the Left
The Start menu and other icons are now located in the middle of the taskbar rather than on the left for the first time in Windows 11. It need not, however, continue in that manner.
You may make this really simple modification by going to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors.
Change Pinned Icons
Just the Start button has to be present on the taskbar. You can change anything else, which includes hiding Widgets and other default icons and adding new icons to the taskbar. You can drag icons around to reorder them.
How to Hide Default Taskbar Icons
To conceal any of the taskbar buttons for search, task view, widgets, or chat, follow these instructions.
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Open the Settings.
You may access the Settings search box or the Power User Menu by right-clicking the Start button.
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Now Select Taskbar.
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Choose the toggle button next to any button you wish to conceal, such as Task view or Chat, from the Taskbar items area at the top.
Als0 Read: How to Change the Display Settings on A Chromebook?
How to Pin Programs to the Taskbar
For easy access to your favorite programs, you may add objects to the Windows 11 taskbar. Nevertheless, you cannot drag and drop objects on the taskbar to pin them, unlike earlier versions of Windows.
There are a couple of alternative methods, though:
- To pin an application to the taskbar, open the program, then right-click the taskbar icon.
- Choose Pin to taskbar from the context menu after finding the program in the Start menu.
- In File Explorer, find the application shortcut (like on the desktop), right-click it, and select Display more options > Pin to the taskbar.
Right-click a non-default taskbar item and choose Unpin from the taskbar to remove it from the taskbar.
Auto-Hide the Taskbar
When not needed, you may conceal the taskbar in Windows 11. It won’t expand out of the bottom of the screen unless you click on it with the mouse or press the Windows key to make it do so.
The taskbar is automatically hidden under this option’s name. It is reachable through the taskbar settings.
Change the Taskbar Size & Color
Unfortunately, there isn’t a standard, click-here-to-change option in Options to modify the size of the whole taskbar. To make the adjustment, you must instead access the Windows Registry.
On the other side, it’s much simpler to change the taskbar color:
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Personalization may be found in the left panel of Settings after you open it.
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The option for Colors is on the right.
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Pick your mode, then choose Custom from the menu that appears.
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Pick Dark from the drop-down option next to Choose Windows mode as your default.
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Move down and switch Turn on the taskbar and start accent color.
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Choose a hue from the Accent color palette.
Show or Hide System Tray Icons
Near the clock on the taskbar’s far right are the system tray icons. If there are objects on the taskbar that you’d prefer not to view or if there are icons that are hidden but that you need rapid access to, you may alter this area of the taskbar.
Two methods exist:
- Drag and drop icons in and out of the overflow menu.
- Access Taskbar under Settings > Personalization. Toggle any item’s visibility on or off, expand the Other system tray icons, and choose the button next to any item.
With Windows 11, you cannot conceal the volume or network icons.
You may also require these taskbar icons to always be shown, but the setting for doing that isn’t included in Settings. Instead, open the Run dialogue box (Win+R), type the command below, and choose Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar from the drop-down menu.
shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
Disable the ‘Show Desktop’ Button
There is a tiny Show Desktop button in the taskbar’s extreme right corner. If you’ve ever accidentally clicked it and all of your open windows have been minimized, you might find it to be more of a hassle than a useful tool.
Thankfully, disabling is very simple:
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Right-clicking a spot on the taskbar that isn’t currently being used will bring up the taskbar settings.
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Taskbar activities are expanded toward the bottom of the page.
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Choose the checkbox next to To display the desktop, choose the taskbar’s outside corner.
Combine Taskbar Buttons
As there are no options in Windows 11 that allow you to accomplish this, you can only deactivate taskbar button grouping in Windows up to version 10. Alternatively, a third-party tool can be used to ungroup taskbar icons.
One such application with this feature is StartAllBack. Open the program’s Taskbar menu and set the Combine taskbar buttons option to Never in order to ungroup taskbar buttons in Windows 11. The modification will go into effect right now.
You may apply many additional modifications to Windows 11 with this software. For instance, you may change the Start menu items, reposition the taskbar to the top or side of the screen, and enlarge the icon sizes.
