# 7 Methods To Customize The Windows 11 Taskbar Easily

**URL:** <https://onehack.st/t/7-methods-to-customize-the-windows-11-taskbar-easily/218120>\
**Category:** Tutorials & Methods\
**Tags:** freebies, tips-tricks\
**Created:** [April 6, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/7-methods-to-customize-the-windows-11-taskbar-easily/218120 "2022-04-06T22:29:00Z")\
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**Author:** ![WhiteHat](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/whitehat/32/162514_2.png) [@WhiteHat](https://onehack.st/u/WhiteHat)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/7-methods-to-customize-the-windows-11-taskbar-easily/218120/1 "2022-04-06T22:29:00Z")

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Windows 11 brings a fresh new look to Microsoft’s range of operating systems. It features a redesigned file explorer, curved edges, and a taskbar with centered app icons. However, the reaction toward the new design is mixed. Some love the new look, while others miss the older Windows 10 taskbar.

If you’re in the latter group, you can do better than just reminiscing about the Windows 10 taskbar. There are tons of ways to customize the taskbar so you can make it look like Windows 10 or reimagine it yourself.

## How to Set Left-Align Taskbar App Icons in Windows 11

Like to see app icons sitting to the left of your taskbar? You can quickly bring the essence of Windows 10 back to the Windows 11 taskbar by left-aligning the app icons.

Start by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting **Taskbar settings**. Select **Taskbar behaviors** and change **Taskbar alignment** to **Left**.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/c/a/ca9591efc8ce93cc25dd62b67d5222e079e9a19d.jpeg)

## How to Hide or Unhide Default Taskbar Items on Windows 11

Windows 11’s taskbar has some items pinned to it by default. For instance, you might find the **Search** button useless in most cases since searching the Start menu gives you the same results. You can hide these items from taskbar settings.

Right-click on the taskbar and select **Taskbar settings**. You’ll find four taskbar items at the top: search, task view, widgets, and chat. All items except “chat” (a Microsoft Teams shortcut) are enabled by default. You can hide the items enabled by default by turning the toggle next to their names off.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/2/5/25d8b669ae0d9d131ad3255d7e1600dcd5971561.jpeg)

## How to Change Windows 11’s Taskbar Color

The taskbar’s color depends on the theme you choose for Windows, i.e., dark or light. However, you can give your taskbar pretty much any color.

Press **Win + I** to launch Settings and navigate to **Personalization \> Colors**. Select **Custom** next to **Choose your mode** and select **Dark** next to the **Choose your default Windows mode** option.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/e/1/e1637e808f0a30d32113e9b2b65651487a2f98f2.jpeg)

Scroll to the bottom of the screen and turn on the button next to **Show accent color on Start and taskbar**. Then, select a color for your taskbar.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/9/5/954fee7c873af489de107537c64d5410da2a2bce.jpeg)

## Choose the Apps You Want in the Windows 11 Taskbar Corner

The right end of your taskbar houses apps that are running, even though a separate window may not be open for it, along with other typical system tray icons like Wi-Fi and sound settings. There’s also a little arrow next to those apps, clicking which shows more apps in a smaller menu that pops out the top. This menu is called the taskbar corner overflow.

If you want some of those apps to appear in the taskbar corner rather than the taskbar corner overflow for easier access, you can change that from the Taskbar settings.

Right-click on the taskbar and select **Taskbar settings**. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select **Taskbar corner overflow**. Select all apps you want to keep on the taskbar corner. All unselected apps will be pushed into the taskbar corner overflow.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/2/3/23bc861e3efe9bf5c2d4ccc108924b5118669e0b.jpeg)

## How to Change Taskbar Alignment on Windows 11

Want to move the taskbar to the top, left, or right of the screen? Too bad. You can’t. At least not with any built-in options.

However, you can make changes to the registry to move your taskbar around the screen. Before you make any changes, make sure you backup your registry. If you mess something up in your registry settings, it could have dire consequences.

To that end, launch the Registry Editor by pressing **Win + R** , typing **regedit** , and pressing **Enter**. Copy and paste the following in the navigation bar at the top and press **Enter** :

```auto
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3

```

Double-click on the **Settings** key and change the value in the fifth column and second row. To change, place your cursor on the value and press **Backspace**. Change it to one of the following based on your preference:

- **Left-align taskbar:** 00
- **Top-align taskbar:** 01
- **Right-align taskbar:** 02
- **Bottom-align taskbar:** 03

When you’ve changed the value, click **OK** to exit the window. Press **Ctrl + Shift + Esc** to launch the Task Manager, right-click on the Windows Explorer process, and select **Restart**. Your taskbar should now appear at the top of the screen.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/a/4/a4226a284574789b8f5c9440ca64a9a3eeeefeb6.jpeg)

## How to Change Windows 11’s Taskbar Size

You can make your taskbar smaller or bigger to adjust the estate available on the screen. Again, you’ll need to make changes to the registry to do this, so make sure you’ve backed up your registry settings.

Press **Win + R** , type **regedit** , and press **Enter**. Copy and paste the following address in the navigation bar and press **Enter** :

```auto
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

```

Right-click in the white space and select **New \> DWORD(320bit) value**. Rename the value as **TaskbarSi** , double-click on it, and enter one of the following values in the **Value data** field:

- Small taskbar: 0
- Medium taskbar (default): 1
- Large taskbar: 2

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/d/3/d3d9fac33ba4bc15d5747c85f0b7bf9e0577967d.jpeg)

Click **OK** to exit the window. Launch the Task Manager and restart the Windows Explorer process, and you’ll see the taskbar size change.

## How to Auto-Hide the Taskbar or Make Taskbar Transparent

You can give your taskbar a more glassy look with transparency, or get it out of your way by enabling auto-hide.

To hide the taskbar automatically, go to Taskbar settings by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting **Taskbar settings**. Click on **Taskbar behaviors** and check the box next to **Automatically hide the taskbar** option. It’s that easy.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/8/f/8ffe6ef5ad150124ba765ea367ebc6d1c0befa53.jpeg)

The taskbar is transparent by default. However, if you’ve changed some personalization settings, you may have turned transparency off. If you want to make the taskbar transparent, start by launching the Settings app. Press **Win + I** to launch Settings and then navigate to **Personalization \> Colors**. Turn the toggle next to **Transparency effects** on. Doing this should make your taskbar transparent.

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/2/3/235e7c0f8d04e5ac1970590d1dec5c3566bceed2.jpeg)

## Windows 11 Taskbar Customized

It’s easy to tweak the Windows 11 taskbar to your liking. Windows tries to offer several built-in customization options, but you can always tweak the registry settings or use a third-party app to customize the taskbar even more. In fact, you can even make the entire Windows 11 similar to Windows 10 with a third-party app.

**Happy learning!**