Seven Ways to Make the Windows 11 Taskbar Even More Useful
The Windows 11 taskbar is one of the best features of the new operating system – sleek, minimalistic and visually distinct. However, this could be improved. For example, by default you can’t move the taskbar to any position or even change its size. But you don’t have to live with it as is—there are ways to play with the settings to customize the taskbar exactly how you want it.
Disable Microsoft Copilot and other rubbish
The Windows 11 taskbar has a lot of buttons that you’ll (probably) never use. On the left edge is a Widgets button that likes to show news updates and advertisements. On the right is a new Microsoft Copilot button that you may or may not find useful. And in the middle, next to the Start icon, is a big old search bar. Luckily, Microsoft was forced to remove the Chat button in the Windows 11 2023 update, so there’s some consolation in that. But you’ll be surprised how much better the taskbar will be if you remove all those unnecessary features. It becomes minimalistic, sleek and much smarter.
To hide unnecessary features, right-click any empty area of the taskbar and go to taskbar settings. In the Taskbar Items menu, be sure to disable the Widgets, Task View, and Co-Pilot features. From the Search menu, select the Hide option.
Pin any app to the taskbar
Windows 11 does not yet support Windows 10’s taskbar drag-and-drop feature, which allows you to simply drag an app icon to pin it to the taskbar. As a workaround, go to the Start menu, right-click the selected application, and click the Pin to taskbar button. You can pin any currently open app by right-clicking the app icon and selecting the Pin to taskbar option.
Align taskbar icons to the left
Missing Windows 10 taskbar layout? Microsoft allows you to change the arrangement of icons on the taskbar. Right-click the taskbar, go to Taskbar Settings , and under Taskbar Behavior, select the Left option in the taskbar alignment feature.
Customize taskbar behavior (auto-hide, icons, etc.)
Windows 11 has a separate section that allows you to customize the behavior of the taskbar. Right-click the taskbar, click the Taskbar Settings button, and select the Taskbar Behavior section.
If you’re using a touchscreen laptop or a device with a small screen, you might want to hide the taskbar to free up more screen space. If yes, turn on “Automatically hide the taskbar.” Now the taskbar will only appear when you move your cursor to the bottom of the screen or swipe up from the taskbar area.
Similarly, you can disable icons on taskbar icons using the Show icons in apps on taskbar feature. If you don’t like the icons blinking on the taskbar, turn off Show blinking apps in the taskbar .
If you use multiple displays, use the Show my taskbar on all displays feature to turn the taskbar on or off on all your monitors.
Place the taskbar at the top of the screen
Microsoft has pinned the taskbar to the bottom of the screen and won’t let you move it around at will. It cannot be placed on the left or right side of the screen, but you can move it to the top of the screen using a registry hack.
Go to Start > Registry Editor and enter the following location in the top bar:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3
In the StuckRects3 folder, double-click the settings file. The Edit Binary Value window will open, showing you a table full of values. Go to the second row and find the fifth value from the left. The default is “03”.
Place the cursor to the right (end) of this value, press Backspace once and change the value to “01”. Click OK and exit the Registry Editor application.
Then open the Task Manager app and restart Windows Explorer .
Make the taskbar smaller or larger
Another big change in the Windows 11 taskbar is the fact that you cannot easily change its size, whether you want it to be larger or smaller. But again, although there is no settings menu where you can change this, you can do this using a registry hack.
Go to Start > Registry Editor and enter the following location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Right-click an empty space and choose New > DWORD Value (32-bit) . A new entry will be added to the bottom of the Advanced folder. Rename it TaskbarSi .
Double-click the TaskbarSi file. In the Data Value field, enter “0” if you want to make the taskbar smaller and “2” if you want to make it larger (1 is the default). Click OK .
Restart your computer or restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager. You should see the taskbar appear in a new size.
Bring back the Windows 10 taskbar
If you’ve tried all the settings and are still not satisfied, we have one final recommendation for you: abandon the entire enterprise and return to the Windows 10 taskbar. Or at least return some Windows 10 elements.
You can use a free, open-source app called ExplorerPatcher to bring back the entire taskbar and Start menu from Windows 10. All you need to do is install the app and it will instantly take you back to the good old days. The best part about the app is that you can go into settings and customize every part of the taskbar. For example, you can return to the Apps view from Windows 10 while retaining the system tray and flyout menus from Windows 11.
Customization is really key here, as it will even allow you to go back to Windows 8 era menus. We talked about ExplorerPatcher in more detail in our dedicated guide , so be sure to follow the steps to customize your taskbar perfectly.