How to Customize Taskbar in Windows 11?

The taskbar is the command center of your Windows 11, providing quick access to your most frequently used applications and tools. How to customize the taskbar is vital component that can transform your desktop into a personalized hub that affects your workflow and enhances your work productivity to customize taskbar in Windows. In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps on how to customize the taskbar in Windows 11. Customizing your taskbar can help you work more efficiently by providing quick access to your most-used applications and tools.

Windows Taskbar is a narrow bar that displays at the bottom of your computer screen. It acts as a central unit where you can access your favorite programs and manage open windows easily.

1. Program icons: The taskbar exhibits small images (frequently referred to as shortcuts) for the software that is either pinned or not, which you may choose to click on and alternate between multiple programs quickly.
2. Start Menu: The Start button is situated on the left area of the taskbar (this has the Windows logo). Accessing this will reveal the start menu with which you can search and start applications, get into settings, etc.
3. System Tray: Located on the right side of the taskbar is a system tray or notification area that contains small icons representing various background running programs such as antivirus, volume control, and clock among others.
4. Opened windows: If many windows are open at once, this section will have each of them displayed in the form of tabs. You can swap from window to window by clicking on these tabs.
5. Taskbar preview: A preview of an opened item can be seen by floating above it with the cursor. This makes it easy to know which window one wants to shift to through the mouse’s pointer hovering over its tab in the taskbar.

Customizing taskbar can transform the system into a personalized hub that affects user’s workflow and enhances overall work productivity. Here, we’ll discuss 7 methods to customize the taskbar in Windows 11.

Some icons on Taskbars we can’t remove by just simply unipin them. Well, we can hide them using the default taskbar settings Follow the below Steps to Do that.

First Right Click on the empty area on the Taskbar and then choose “Taskbar Settings” It will open a new window where we can customize the Taskbar.

In this window, you can see the list of items that are normally shown on the Taskbar like the Search, Task-View, widgets, and Chat. We can see the switch in front of every option of Enable and Disable. Just Turn off the Toggle for the item you don’t want to see on the Taskbar. When you do this that Specific icon will disappear from the taskbar.

To Change taskbar alignment or to move the Taskbar from the Right side to the Left side you need to Click on Empty taskbar and again choose “Taskbar settings“. Then Scroll down and Click on the “Taskbar Behaviour” section and change the alignment option to Left to change the alignment to Left or change it to right or in the Centre if you want it.

To Pic icons to the taskbar, Simply use the Windows Search feature to find the app you want to pin. After searching for the app, right-click on its icon in the search results. From the menu that appears, select the option that says “Pin to taskbar.” That’s it! The app’s icon will now be pinned to your taskbar for quick access.

To enable the taskbar auto-hide function, right-click on an empty taskbar area and select “Taskbar settings.” Scroll down to the “Taskbar behaviors” section and Tick “Automatically hide the Taskbar“.

Make the taskbar match your desktop background and give it a transparent look in Windows 11. Follow the Below Steps.

Go to the “Settings” In the Settings window, choose “Personalization” from the left sidebar. After that click on the “Colors” option in the Personalization section.

On the Colors Settings Page, you’ll see an option called “Transparency effects.” Turn this option on by clicking the toggle switch.

To Change to taskbar color, Open the Windows 11 Settings In the Settings window, choose “Personalization” from the left sidebar, and then click on “Colors.”

Enable “Dark” mode from the Choose Your Mode section.

Now, look for the “Accent color” setting and change it from “Windows” to “Manual.” Scroll down and turn on the option that says “Show accent color on Start and taskbar.” This will reveal a color palette below. You can click on any color to set it as your taskbar’s color.

to change the size of taskbar icons in Windows 11 requires modifying the registry settings. Don’t worry, this process is safe as long as you follow the Below Steps.

Open the Registry Editor by searching for “regedit” in the Start menu search bar.

In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. 

Once you’re in the “Advanced” folder, right-click on it and select “New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.”

Name this new value “TaskbarSi” (without quotes).

Double-click on the newly created “TaskbarSi” value to open it. In the “Value data” field, enter one of the following numbers to set the taskbar icon size:

• 0 for small icons
• 1 for medium icons (this is the default size in Windows 11)
• 2 for large icons

Click “OK” to save the changes.

Restart the Windows Explorer process by opening the Task Manager, find the “Windows Explorer” process, right-click on it, and select “Restart.”

Customizing your taskbar is important for a good Windows 11 experience because it can make it easier to do things in the world of computers. Within a few steps, you can change preferences and thus personalize its location, look, and actions. You will be able to find all these options on the settings app if you want to move the icons to the left or change their colors or sizes. If you take time to calibrate your taskbar as per your wishes, then you will have a personalized and efficient workspace that will enhance both user satisfaction and productivity levels. So this was all about how to customize taskbar in Windows 11, change taskbar size and color in windows etc. In case you have any related queries, following frequently asked questions will definitely help.

How to Change Icons on Taskbar Windows 11?

• Remove Existing Icons:

1. Right-click on an empty area of the taskbar.
2. Select “Taskbar Settings.”
3. Toggle off the items you don’t want to see in the list of taskbar items like Search, Task-View, widgets, and Chat.

• Pin New Icons:

1. Use the Windows Search feature to find the app you want to pin.
2. Right-click on the app icon in the search results.
3. Select “Pin to taskbar.”

How to Change Taskbar Position in Windows?

• Open Taskbar Settings:

1. Right-click on an empty area of the taskbar.
2. Select “Taskbar Settings.”

• Change Alignment:

1. Scroll down to the “Taskbar behaviors” section.
2. Find the “Taskbar alignment” option.
3. Choose “Left” to move the taskbar to the left, or select “Center” to move it back to the center.

Can I Change the Taskbar Position in Windows 11?

Yes, you can change the taskbar position in Windows 11 by following these steps:

• Right-click on the Taskbar:

1. Select “Taskbar Settings.”

• Adjust Taskbar Alignment:

1. Scroll down to “Taskbar behaviors.”
2. Use the alignment options to choose the desired position.

Can I Rearrange Icons on Taskbar Windows 11?

Yes, you can rearrange icons on the taskbar in Windows 11:

• Drag and Drop:

1. Click and hold the icon you want to move.
2. Drag the icon to the desired position on the taskbar.
3. Release the mouse button to drop the icon in place.