8 Useful tips to customize the Windows Taskbar

The taskbar in Windows is used to display shortcuts to applications, perform searches and has a Windows start button for even more options.

In Windows, the taskbar often has a standard appearance, which you can adjust to your liking. In this instruction I will explain to you how you can customize the Windows taskbar to your own wishes via the Windows settings.

Customize Windows taskbar

Make the taskbar smaller

The Windows taskbar is quite large and takes up a large portion of the bottom of the screen. You can adjust the taskbar size by reducing the icons in the taskbar.

Right-click on the taskbar. Click on Taskbar Settings from the menu.

In the taskbar settings enable the option: use small taskbar buttons.

After this you will see that the taskbar in Windows has become a lot smaller.

Show application name in the taskbar

If you have an application open in Windows, the taskbar will group the application and hide the labels (title).

If you prefer (just like in Windows 7 for example) that the name of the application is always visible in the taskbar, then change the following option: Combine taskbar buttons to when taskbar is full, or, never.

The application name is now displayed in the taskbar.

Move taskbar

The taskbar is at the bottom by default in Windows. You can change the taskbar to the top, left or right side of the screen.

In the taskbar settings, change the option: Location of taskbar on the screen to your desired location.

Hide taskbar

If you prefer the taskbar to be hidden when you don't need it, enable the option: Auto-hide the taskbar in desktop mode. You can also hide the taskbar in tablet mode, then enable the option: Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode.

If the taskbar is hidden, move the mouse to the location of the taskbar and the taskbar will be displayed.

Hide Windows Search

At the bottom of the taskbar you will find a large empty text field for searching in Windows. This search field takes up quite a bit of space in the taskbar. To replace the search field with a search icon, right-click on the taskbar.

Open the Search settings and click Show search icon. The Windows search window has now been replaced with a Windows search icon. To hide Windows Search completely, click Hidden.

Hide Cortana button

The virtual assistant Cortana is represented in the taskbar by a round icon. If you Turn off Cortana you can also immediately hide the Cortana button.

Right-click on the Windows taskbar and click Show Cortana button. Make sure the setting is disabled.

Hide task view button

The task view button in the taskbar is displayed by default in Windows 10. If you do not use the task view functionality, there is no need to take up space in the taskbar.

Right-click the Windows taskbar and click Show Task View button. Make sure the task view button is disabled.

Hide system tray icon

System icons are displayed on the right side of the taskbar, examples of which are the date and time and the network icon. You can decide which icons you want to display and which not.

Right-click on the taskbar. Open the taskbar settings from the menu. Click on the link: Turn system icon on or off.

You now have the choice to display the desired icons in the Windows notification area. You can show or hide the clock, volume, network icon, etc.

You have now seen a lot of tips for the taskbar in Windows to adjust as desired. I hope this helped you. Thank you for reading!