The taskbar is one of the most useful parts of Windows. The best thing about the taskbar is that it has a very minimal footprint on the overall screen. It also does a lot of work and gives fast access to many of your favorite apps, the Start menu, Settings, browsers, system tray, focus assist, and more. This guide shows how to further customize the taskbar in Windows.
Table of Contents
- 1. Hide the Taskbar When Not in Use
- 2. Fit More Items on the Taskbar
- 3. Pin Your Favorite Apps by Dragging
- 4. Add Widgets
- 5. Make Taskbar Blurry, Transparent or Add Fluent Design
- 6. Add Task View to Taskbar
- 7. Change the Position of the Taskbar
- 8. Disable Notifications
- 9. Make Taskbar Display Badges and Flashing
- 10. Increase Taskbar Height
1. Hide the Taskbar When Not in Use
When you hide the taskbar in desktop mode, the taskbar will only be visible when you move your mouse down to the bottom of the screen.
Find an empty space on the taskbar, and right-click to open Taskbar Settings. On a new window in Windows 11, look under Taskbar behaviors -> Taskbar alignment. Check the box next to Automatically hide the taskbar.
Windows 10 users will have to either Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode or Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode.
Opting to hide the taskbar in tablet mode is handy if you have a hybrid tablet/laptop. When the tablet is detached from the keyboard, the taskbar will only appear if you swipe your finger up from the bottom of the screen. Learn how to fix it if your taskbar is disappearing altogether instead of hiding.
2. Fit More Items on the Taskbar
Space on the taskbar can fill up quickly, which isn’t ideal for those who prefer to have many programs within easy reach. Fortunately, you can add more icons to the taskbar. This is one of the more useful applications to customize your taskbar in Windows.
On Windows 11, go to Taskbar Settings. Under Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels, choose Always (the default setting) or When taskbar is full.
For Windows 10 users, right-click on the taskbar, and uncheck Lock the taskbar. Drag the taskbar up or down to fit more items.
3. Pin Your Favorite Apps by Dragging
The taskbar lets you pin your favorite apps (but not documents and files) simply by dragging them from the desktop or any other folder. What many users, including me, do not like is that this feature has been somewhat deprecated in Windows 11. In Windows 10, there is still a Pin to taskbar option.
If you are curious, all the shortcuts you add to the Links toolbar are stored in “C:\Users\<username>\Favorites” You can create shortcuts in this folder.
Also notable: customize your Windows taskbar with additional options using TaskbarX.
4. Add Widgets
Adding favorites is one thing, but what about widgets? This superb Windows 11 feature has both its supporters and critics. It’s really a feature for power users, combining weather, news, and photo galleries into one cohesive Windows experience.
To add widgets to the taskbar, go to Settings -> Personalization -> Taskbar -> Taskbar items, and turn the Widgets toggle on.
The Widgets app will automatically send news and other updates to the far left of your taskbar, without interrupting your work. You can also view these updates on the lock screen. While Windows 10 does not have this feature, it does have something similar.
5. Make Taskbar Blurry, Transparent or Add Fluent Design
You can change the color of the taskbar, and make it semi-transparent. Go to Settings -> Personalization -> Colors, and select Dark under Choose your mode. Turn Transparency effects to On below this option, then go to Accent Color, and choose Manual.
Select your custom color, and enable Show accent color on Start and taskbar.
You can also use the free app TranslucentTB, which can make the taskbar completely transparent, add a blur effect, or even Fluent design with a single click. Inside the app, select the design mode from the Regular menu.
6. Add Task View to Taskbar
This feature is incredibly useful. Windows 11 includes Task View, which feels like having an extra set of hands. All your open applications are visible with a simple tap on the taskbar, allowing you to scroll through them using arrow buttons. You can also create multiple desktops, as needed.
To add Task View to the taskbar, go to Taskbar items, and turn on Task View.
7. Change the Position of the Taskbar
By default, Windows positions the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. This is generally good enough for most users. However, using the Settings app, you can customize the taskbar in Windows to display on the sides or top of the screen. Changing the taskbar position to a side is particularly useful if you have a widescreen or ultra-widescreen monitor, as you will get more vertical space by removing it from the bottom of the screen.
Changing the taskbar position has been disabled in Windows 11 and the latest versions of Windows 10. However, you can modify this using registry settings.
8. Disable Notifications
Program and system notifications will make the taskbar pop back up again. While simply closing the notification bubble will result in an easy fix, it is still a recurring problem.
Click the taskbar on the right, and a new Notifications window will open. Turn on Do not disturb from the Notification settings menu.
Apart from the taskbar, there are many other easy ways to disable unnecessary notifications on your device. You can also customize the taskbar with Focus Assist and other features.
9. Make Taskbar Display Badges and Flashing
Showing badges and flashing in taskbar apps is a subtle way to receive lightweight notifications and draw necessary attention to important apps. This taskbar customization feature isn’t intrusive, doesn’t drain system resources, and is easy to enable.
To enable, go to Taskbar Settings -> Taskbar behaviors, and check the options for both Show badges on taskbar apps and Show flashing on taskbar apps.
10. Increase Taskbar Height
Though only available in Windows 10, this is a useful feature for those who want an expanded taskbar to view their apps better. If your taskbar is full, Windows will display a scrollbar so that you can move back and forth between all apps on the taskbar. If you don’t like this behavior, you can increase the taskbar height to create additional space.
Right-click on the taskbar, and uncheck the Lock the taskbar option. Place your mouse on the top edge of the taskbar, and drag it upwards to increase the height of the taskbar. Once you are satisfied, right-click on the taskbar, and check the Lock the taskbar option. It may not look pretty, but it does improve the usability on a crowded taskbar.
These basic taskbar customization tricks can be simply tweaked from your Taskbar menu. However, there are also some advanced taskbar customization tips, such as pinning web pages, adding a volume mixer, and working taskbars on multiple monitors. Read on if your Windows taskbar is not working.
Image credit: DALL-E 3. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.
