How to move the taskbar to the top or side in Windows 11

Most users who have migrated from Windows 10 to Windows 11 find the new version of Windows to be quite smooth and easy to use. However, the taskbar is one area where users get annoyed by its limitations. You need to use third-party apps to simply ungroup icons on the taskbar, and prior to the Windows 11 2022 update, you were no longer able to drag items to the taskbar. There isn't really a built-in way to move the taskbar to the top. Having said that, we bring you a detailed guide on how to move the taskbar up or sideways in Windows 11. You can easily change the position of the Windows 11 taskbar with a few simple changes. On that note, let's move on to the guide.

Move the taskbar to the top or side in Windows 11 (2023)

Here are the steps you need to follow to move the taskbar up or left/right in Windows 11. We've added three different ways to change the position of the Windows 11 taskbar, so let's dive in.

How to move the taskbar up in Windows 11

1. To move the taskbar to the top in Windows 11, you need to make some changes to the registry. To get started, press the Windows key and type "registry" in the search bar. Then open "Registry Editor" from the search results.

2. Then copy the path below and paste it into the address bar of the registry editor and press Enter. This will take you directly to the desired entry.

ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerStuckRects3

3. Here, double-click the "Settings" key in the right pane and find the line 00000008 (usually the 2nd line).

4. In the 5th column of this line, change the value 03 to 01 right below FE. Now click OK.

5. Finally, use the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + Esc" in Windows 11 to open Task Manager. Then, under Processes, find Windows Explorer and restart it by right-clicking on it.

6. The taskbar will instantly move to the top in Windows 11. If it doesn't work, restart your Windows 11 PC to see it in action.

7. For reference, here are the taskbar position values ​​for each side. If you want to move the Windows 11 taskbar to a specific side, use the appropriate value below.

  • Left taskbar - 00
  • Top taskbar - 01
  • Right taskbar - 02
  • Bottom taskbar - 03

8. If you want to return the taskbar to the very bottom as usual, you just need to change the same registry value to 03 and restart Windows Explorer.

Move taskbar icons to the left side in Windows 11

Not many Windows 11 users are fans of center-aligned taskbar icons and want to go back to the Windows 10-like taskbar. Luckily, Windows 11 has a built-in option to change the alignment of the taskbar icon on the left. No need to fiddle with the registry to move the taskbar to the left in Windows 11. Here are the steps you need to follow.

1. Right-click on the taskbar and open Taskbar Settings.

2. After that, click "Taskbar Behavior" to expand the menu.

3. Next, from the "Taskbar Alignment" drop-down menu, select "Left".

4. That's it. The taskbar icons will now move to the left on your Windows 11 PC.

Change Windows 11 Taskbar Position Using ExplorerPatcher

If you are looking for a third-party application to quickly change the position of the taskbar, as well as the ability to customize the Windows 11 taskbar, we suggest downloading the ExplorerPatcher application. This is a fantastic free and open source program that allows you to change every element of the taskbar with ease. So here's how it works:

1. Download ExplorerPatcher from the link here .

2. After that, launch the program and it will immediately change the appearance of the Taskbar to the Windows 10 style. To further customize it, right-click on the taskbar and select "Properties".

3. In the "Taskbar" settings, change the style to "Windows 11" in the right pane. After that, set the "Primary location of the taskbar on the screen" option to "Top". Finally, click "Restart File Explorer" in the bottom left corner.

4. The taskbar will move up and the taskbar will also move to the Windows 11 style.

5. If you want to uninstall ExplorerPatcher and restore Windows 11 taskbar to default, go to About and click Restore Defaults. Then follow the instructions on the screen and click "Yes" in all prompts that appear.

6. After that, open the Control Panel and uninstall the program. The screen will go blank for a few seconds and then everything will reappear automatically.

Move the taskbar to your favorite location in Windows 11

So, these are the three ways that allow you to move the taskbar up, to the left, or to any other position. If you frequently use the registry, change the values ​​manually to adjust the alignment of the taskbar. If you want an easy solution, download the third party app we suggested above. However, this is all from us. To learn more about such registry hacks in Windows 11, go to our linked article. And if your Windows 11 PC is missing taskbar icons, we have a guide for that too. Finally, if you have any questions, please let us know in the comments section below.

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