How to Customize the Windows 11 Taskbar

To customize the Windows 11 taskbar, right-click an empty spot on it and click Taskbar settings, or go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. That page controls the Search box, Widgets, Task view, system tray icons, alignment, auto-hide, button size and, on updated PCs, the taskbar’s position. You pin and arrange apps right on the taskbar, and you change its color under Personalization > Colors.

These steps are for Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2 (released September 29, 2026) on Home and Pro. They follow Microsoft’s Customize the taskbar in Windows page. Some newer options, such as moving the taskbar to another screen edge, arrive through a gradual rollout, so your PC may not show every setting listed here yet.

Open Taskbar Settings

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar (not an app icon or the clock).
2. Click Taskbar settings. Settings opens on Personalization > Taskbar, with sections named Taskbar items, System tray icons, Other system tray icons, and Taskbar behaviors.

Changes apply as soon as you flip a switch or pick an option, so you can watch the taskbar while you work through the sections below. If the taskbar won’t respond to a right-click, press Windows key + R, type ms-settings:taskbar, and press Enter to open the same page.

Pin, Unpin, and Arrange Apps

1. Pin an app. Click Start, type the app’s name, right-click it in the results, and click Pin to taskbar. If the app is already open, right-click its taskbar icon and click Pin to taskbar. The icon stays on the taskbar after you close the app.
2. Unpin an app. Right-click its icon and click Unpin from taskbar. The app stays installed. If it’s open, its icon remains until you close it.
3. Rearrange icons. Click and drag an icon left or right to a new spot, then let go.

A tidy setup puts the apps you open every day, like a browser, email, and File Explorer, next to each other. For websites, files, and other pinning options, read how to pin to the taskbar in Windows 11. If you’re not sure what goes on the taskbar versus Start or the desktop, read how to put apps on the home screen in Windows 11.

To give a site you use every day its own icon, add the website to the taskbar from Edge, Chrome, or Firefox.

Right-clicking a pinned app also opens its jump list, a short menu of recent files. If that list is empty, go to Settings > Personalization > Start and turn on Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar.

Choose Which Buttons Appear

Under Taskbar items, you control the built-in buttons:

• Search: choose Search box, Search icon and label, Search icon only, or Hide. Hiding it doesn’t turn search off. Press Windows key + S or click Start and type.
• Task view: switch it Off to remove the button. Windows key + Tab still opens Task view.
• Widgets: switch it Off to remove the weather and news button on the left. Windows key + W still opens the Widgets board. Showing or hiding Widgets and weather has more detail.

To keep the Widgets button but remove the headlines, turn off the news feed in Windows 11.

Not sure whether you need Task view? Read what Task View does in Windows before you turn it off. If you keep it for several desktops, learn how to switch between desktops in Windows 11 with shortcuts.

Search always sits next to Start, but you can move the search bar in Windows 11 to the left corner or the top of the screen.

If you have an older pinned Microsoft Teams or Copilot icon you don’t want, right-click it and click Unpin from taskbar. Unpinning only hides the icon. To turn the assistant off, disable Copilot in Windows 11.

Clean Up the System Tray

The system tray is the group of icons by the clock, such as network, volume, and background apps like OneDrive.

1. Expand System tray icons to show or hide Pen menu, Touch keyboard, and Virtual touchpad.
2. Expand Other system tray icons and switch apps On to keep their icons next to the clock, or Off to tuck them into the hidden-icons menu. The same section has a switch for the hidden-icons menu itself; turn it off and every tray icon shows on the taskbar.
3. You can also drag icons. Click the small up arrow (^) beside the tray, then drag an icon onto the taskbar to keep it visible, or drag a visible icon into that menu to hide it.

Hiding a tray icon doesn’t close the app. It keeps running in the background.

To change the clock, right-click it and click Adjust date and time. There you can turn Show time and date in the System tray off, or turn on Show seconds in system tray clock, which Microsoft notes uses more power. Wrong time on the clock? Correct the date and time in Windows 11.

The bell next to the clock opens the notification center, and a bell marked zZ means Do not disturb is on; here is how to turn off Do not disturb in Windows 11.

On a laptop, you can also show the battery percentage next to the battery icon from Settings > System > Power & battery.

Move the Icons to the Left or Center

1. Open Taskbar behaviors (on updated PCs it’s already expanded).
2. Set Taskbar alignment to Left for a Windows 10-style layout, or Center for the default look. The Start button moves with your app icons.

For more detail, read how to move the Windows 11 taskbar icons to the left.

Change the Taskbar Position and Size

Microsoft’s August 2026 update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 adds a Taskbar position setting (bottom, top, left, or right) and a Taskbar size option, both under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. Version 26H2 includes the same taskbar changes. They arrive in stages, so an up-to-date PC can still be waiting for them.

1. In Taskbar behaviors, look for Taskbar position. If it’s there, pick the edge you want. The taskbar moves right away, and Start and Search open from the new edge.
2. If you see Taskbar size, choose Small to shrink the whole bar and its icons while keeping Start, Search, and the system tray.
3. For smaller app icons on a normal-size bar, find Show smaller taskbar buttons and choose Always, Never, or the default setting, which shrinks icons only when the taskbar is full. This option is unavailable while the small taskbar is on.

Two limits apply. The full search box and the small taskbar only work when the bar is at the top or bottom. Most other options, such as never combining buttons, work in every position. If Taskbar position isn’t there yet, changing the taskbar location in Windows 11 covers your options.

Desktop and File Explorer icons have separate controls. For those, read how to change icon size in Windows 11.

Set Taskbar Behaviors

Also under Taskbar behaviors:

• Automatically hide the taskbar: the bar slides away until you move the pointer to that edge of the screen. For more, read how to hide the taskbar in Windows 11.
• Show badges on taskbar apps: turns the small unread-count numbers on app icons on or off.
• Show flashing on taskbar apps: stops icons from flashing when an app wants attention.
• Share any window from my taskbar: lets you share an open window in a Microsoft Teams meeting by hovering over its taskbar icon.
• Show my taskbar on all displays: shows the taskbar on every monitor, or only the main one.
• Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels: choose Never to show a separate, labeled button for each open window, like Windows 10 did.
• Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop: turns the show-desktop corner on or off.
• Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet: appears only on 2-in-1 PCs.

One related option lives elsewhere. Go to Settings > System > Advanced and turn on End task to add an End task command to the right-click menu of open apps on the taskbar, which helps when an app freezes.

Change the Taskbar Color

1. Click Start > Settings > Personalization > Colors.
2. Set Choose your mode to Dark, or choose Custom and set Choose your default Windows mode to Dark. Light mode doesn’t color the taskbar.
3. Pick an accent color (Automatic matches your wallpaper, or choose Manual and click a color), then switch on Show accent color on Start and taskbar.

4. Switch Transparency effects on or off for a slightly see-through or solid bar.

Microsoft’s Personalize your colors in Windows page explains these options, and changing the taskbar color in Windows 11 goes through each one.

Confirm or Undo Your Changes

Close Settings and look at the taskbar: hidden buttons should be gone, and alignment, position, and color should match what you picked. To undo any change, return to the same setting and pick the previous option. The defaults are Center alignment, Search box, Task view and Widgets on, the bar at the bottom, and buttons that combine.

If a Setting Is Missing or the Taskbar Stops Working

• A setting isn’t there. Click Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates, install what’s offered, and restart. Newer options like Taskbar position arrive in stages.
• It’s a work or school PC. Your organization can lock pinned apps and taskbar settings with policies. Ask your IT department.
• Pin to taskbar is missing from a right-click menu. Click Show more options first, or pin the app from Start search instead.
• The taskbar is frozen or blank. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, find Windows Explorer under Processes, right-click it, and click Restart. The taskbar disappears for a moment and comes back. If it’s gone completely, follow the steps to get the taskbar back in Windows 11.

Skip registry tweaks and third-party taskbar mods. Microsoft doesn’t support them, and updates can break them or the taskbar itself.

Frequently Asked Questions