If you have upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, you will notice that your taskbar is just not quite as flexible — and probably not as useful — as it once was. The old, familiar Start menu with its customisable Live Tiles, for example, is no longer available. The search box isn’t anymore at the taskbar, but can only be reached via the Start menu – an extra step.
One more update is that the taskbar has become attached to the bottom of the PC screen, so if you want it on top of the screen or on either side, you are out of luck.
As you would expect, PC users of the Windows operating system have already posted solutions for at least some of these difficulties – as long as you are okay with fiddling with your Windows Registry. There’s one that claims to enable you move the taskbar to the top of the screen, and the other which claims to let you modify the size of the taskbar.
Some of these features may be restored in future updates to the new operating system by Microsoft. For the time being, let’s focus on how to personalise the latest Windows 11 taskbar.
ATTACH AN APP TO THE TASKBAR
Trying to pin an application to the bottom of your taskbar might seem unusual. But t here are many options for dealing with it:
If an app is active, the icon will display in the taskbar with a line below it to show that it’s running. If you would like the icon to stay in the taskbar after you close it, right-click on it and choose “Pin to taskbar.”
You may also pin an application to the Taskbar if it isn’t running but has an icon on your desktop. Right-click the desktop icon and select “Show more options.” A lengthier option will appear; around two-thirds of the way down, you’ll notice “Pin to taskbar.”
You can alternatively click the Start button, then select the “All apps” option, and then right-click on the app you want. If you don’t see “Pin to taskbar” in the pop-up menu, select “More” and you’ll see “Pin to taskbar.”
TAKE AN APP OUT OF THE TASKBAR
Most applications are easy to unpin: simply right-click the icon and choose “Unpin from taskbar.”
Some of the icons require a lot more work to delete. The Start menu icon, as one might anticipate, is unremovable. However, there are four additional icons that cannot be removed but can be hidden. The simplest way to accomplish this is:
- Right-click the taskbar to bring up the context menu.
- Choose “Taskbar settings.” (Alternatively, go to “Settings” > “Personalisation” > “Taskbar.”)
- Toggle off any of the four icons that you want to hide: “Search,” “Task view,” “Widgets,” or “Chat.”
MOVE ALL OF YOUR ICONS TO THE LEFT
If you have used Windows 10 (or 7 or older versions) then you’re used to entering the Start menu from the bottom left side of the screen. If your hand continues sliding to that corner due to muscle memory, you can move the center app icons to the left instead, and here’s how;
- Right-click the taskbar and select “Taskbar settings.”
- Choose “Taskbar behaviors.”
- Search for “Taskbar alignment” and click the “Center” button on the right. Choose “Left” instead.
- When you close the settings window, you’ll notice that the app has been updated.
