How to Customize the Taskbar in Windows 11
Windows 11 is a huge improvement when it comes to visual appeal and features like the new Start menu, widgets, Android app support, and more. However, Microsoft has significantly reduced the taskbar customization options in its latest desktop OS. You can no longer move the taskbar up or sideways and resize it. So, in this guide, we bring you a detailed guide on how to customize the taskbar in Windows 11. If you prefer to customize the taskbar by placing it at the top or moving the taskbar icons to the left, here are all the possible taskbars. settings options in Windows 11.
Customize the taskbar in Windows 11 (updated October 2023)
We've added instructions for using the Registry Editor to resize the taskbar, move the taskbar up, and more. You can even bring back the classic Windows 10 Start menu if the Windows 11 redesign didn't impress you. With that said, let's dive right in.
1. Change Windows 11 Taskbar Icon Alignment
In Windows 11, Microsoft changed the default alignment of the taskbar and start menu to the center. However, if you want to revert back to the default left-alignment as in Windows 10, you can do so through the Settings app. To begin our journey of customizing the taskbar in Windows 11, let's move on to the new Settings app.
1. Use the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut "Windows + I" to open the "Settings" app and then switch to the "Personalization" tab on the left sidebar. After that, click on "Taskbar".
2. Expand the "Taskbar Behavior" section and set the "Taskbar Alignment" to left instead of center. Now all the taskbar icons will immediately move to the left edge without restarting your Windows 11 PC.
2. Personalize the Windows 11 taskbar using the Settings app.
1. In addition, you can personalize menus, icons, and taskbar items on the settings page. Right-click on the taskbar and open Taskbar Settings.
2. Here, in the Taskbar Items section, you can enable or disable the search box, task view button, widget bar, and Teams chat shortcut. We even have a dedicated guide on how to disable the Teams Chat widget on the Windows 11 taskbar.
3. You can then add the pen menu to the taskbar if you have a Windows 11 touchscreen laptop with a stylus. In addition, you can also add a touch keyboard and a virtual touchpad to the taskbar.
4. Regarding taskbar corner overflow icons, here you can choose which icons can be shown and which ones will be hidden. This is how you can customize the icons on the taskbar in Windows 11.
5. Finally, in the Taskbar Behavior section, you can choose to hide the taskbar when not in active use, show icons on pinned apps, and enable the Show Desktop button at the far right of the taskbar. The best part is that you can now display the full clock taskbar across multiple monitors.
3. Move the taskbar to the top or side in Windows 11.
We have a dedicated article on how to move the taskbar up or to the side in Windows 11, but here we'll briefly outline the steps so you can get a broader idea. So, go ahead and learn how to customize the taskbar in Windows 11 and move the taskbar to the position you want.
1. First, press the Windows key and type "regedit" in the search box. Now open "Registry Editor" from the search results.
2. Then copy the path below and paste it into the address bar of the registry. After that press Enter to go directly to the StuckRects3 entry.
ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerStuckRects3
3. After that, double click "Settings" in the right pane and find the fifth value in the line 00000008. By default, its value will be set to 03. Now double click to highlight this value to replace it.
4. To move the taskbar up, set the value to 01. Similarly, you can set the value to 00 or 02 to move the taskbar to the left or right on a Windows 11 PC respectively. However, the taskbar does not load when moving it to the left or right. I tested it on the latest stable build of Windows 11 (Oct 12, version 22000.1098) and it still has bugs. Therefore, for now, I suggest not moving the taskbar either to the left or to the right.
For a quick reference, take a look at the values and their corresponding position on the taskbar below:
- Left taskbar - 00
- Top taskbar - 01
- Right taskbar - 02
- Bottom taskbar - 03
5. After setting the value, restart your computer. You can also open the Task Manager with the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + Esc" and restart Windows Explorer if you don't want to reboot the system.
6. The taskbar will now be moved to the top position on your Windows 11 PC.
4. Resize taskbars in Windows 11.
Here's a great way to customize the Windows 11 taskbar using the Registry Editor. Microsoft doesn't officially allow you to resize the taskbar in Windows 11, but you can use the Registry Editor to do it manually. You can shrink or enlarge taskbar icons on Windows 11 PC using this workaround. Here's how:
1. As in the previous step, press the Windows key once and type "regedit" in the search box. Now open "Registry Editor" from the search results.
2. After opening the Registry Editor, paste the path below into the address bar of the registry and press Enter.
ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced
3. Next, right-click on an empty space while the Advanced folder is selected and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
3. Set the name of the DWORD value as TaskbarSi and press Enter to save the changes.
4. Now double click "TaskbarSi" to set its value. Detailed information about the size of the taskbar icons and their corresponding numbers are given below:
- Small taskbar - TaskbarSi value 0
- Default Taskbar - TaskbarSi value 1
- Large taskbar - TaskbarSi value 2
5. Depending on your preference, set to 0 or 2, assuming you don't like the new default taskbar size in Windows 11. Notably, third-party app icons will look a bit pixelated when using the large taskbar. Look at the images below to see the difference in taskbar icon size in Windows 11:
5. Once you have set your preferred value, reboot your system or open the Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + Esc" and restart Windows Explorer.
5. Ungroup Windows 11 Taskbar Icons
One of the most requested features, the ability to ungroup icons, is still missing from the Windows 11 taskbar. Luckily, with a little utility called ExplorerPatcher, you can bring that functionality back without breaking the taskbar. We already have a detailed guide on how to set Windows 11 taskbar icons to Never Merge, but in this guide, we will briefly demonstrate the steps. Here's how you can personalize the taskbar and ungroup icons for better visibility.
1. Download ExplorerPatcher from Github . Now install the application and it will automatically set the left alignment of the taskbar icon. The best part about this app is that the default taskbar icons never merge, so you don't have to do anything.
3. Then right-click on the taskbar and select "Properties" to adjust the settings.
4. In the Taskbar section, you can customize the new centered Windows 11 taskbar to your liking. You can make changes to "Merge taskbar icons in main taskbar: never merge (default)". You can also set the taskbar style on Windows 10 or Windows 11 to your liking. Be sure to click "Relaunch Explorer" in the bottom left corner to apply and see the changes.
6. Customize the Windows 11 taskbar with third-party apps.
There are many third-party apps that support taskbar customization in Windows 11. Tools such as Start11 ( Paid for $5.99 with a 30-day free trial) and StartAllBack ( Paid for , $4.99 with a 100-day free trial) are paid and offer many interesting features. However, I like ExplorerPatcher as it is completely free and open source. Along with taskbar customization, all of these programs offer personalization of the Start menu, File Explorer, taskbar, and other system elements.
With these apps, you can even restore the classic Windows 10 start menu to Windows 11. Depending on your budget, you can choose from one of the apps. But here I am going to show you how to customize Windows 11 Taskbar using ExplorerPatcher.
1. First download ExplorerPatcher from its GitHub page . Then run the program and it will instantly change the taskbar and start menu to Windows 10 style.
2. Now you can right-click on the taskbar and select "Properties" from the context menu.
3. Here in the Taskbar section, you can customize the Start button style, notification area icons, taskbar icon size, secondary taskbar alignment, and more. Once you've made your changes, click "Restart Explorer" and you're done.
7. Change the look of the Windows 11 taskbar
If you want to customize the look of the Windows 11 taskbar, we have several apps that offer visual modifications. Among them, the TaskbarXI tool ( Free on the official website , $0.99 on the MS Store ) can turn your Windows 11 taskbar into a macOS-style dock. It also allows you to set per-element DPI scaling and supports multiple monitors. Also, you have software like RoundedTB ( Free ) and TranslucentTB ( Free ) which offer more visual style options.
RoundedTB can add margins and rounded corners to the Windows 11 taskbar, and you can even define the corner radius in this tool. As for TranslucentTB, this application allows you to make the taskbar translucent and add color effects to it. So if you want to make the taskbar more visually appealing, these are some of the best Windows 11 apps you can use for advanced customization. In this guide, we are going to show you how you can use TaskbarXI to customize the appearance of the Windows 11 taskbar.
1. Download the TaskbarXI application from its official website for free. After that, extract it using the built-in ZIP unpacker in Windows 11, or use applications such as WinZip and WinRAR.
2. After extracting the zip file, open the folder and double click to run "TaskbarXI.exe".
3. After a few seconds, your Windows 11 taskbar will turn into a macOS-like dock.
4. Now you can open "TaskbarXIMFCGUI.exe" to customize the taskbar.
5. In the TaskbarXI Configurator application, you can set various styles of the taskbar, including transparent, transparent with gradient, opaque, blurry and acrylic.
Customize the taskbar as you like in Windows 11
So yes, those are all the cool customization options available for the taskbar in Windows 11. Since Microsoft is forcing users to stick to the bottom taskbar, a significant portion of Windows users are unhappy. While the Redmond giant hasn't changed its mind since the release of Windows 11 a year ago, we're skeptical that it'll be possible to change the taskbar location like in Windows 10 anytime soon. Until then, we hope these Registry Editor workarounds help you personalize the taskbar in Windows 11 to your liking. However, this is all from us. If you encounter any issues, please let us know in the comments section below.