The first Insider Preview build of Windows 11 has arrived, and it gave early adopters a taste of Microsoft’s new operating system. While Windows 11 is a huge improvement when it comes to visual appeal and features like support for Android apps and widgets, Microsoft has drastically reduced the taskbar customization options in the system. operation. Whether you prefer to customize the taskbar by placing it on top or by moving taskbar icons to the left, here are all the possible taskbar customizations in Windows 11.
Customize Taskbar in Windows 11 (2021)
We’ve added instructions for using Registry Editor to resize the taskbar, move the taskbar up, and more. You can even bring back the classic Windows 10 Start menu if Windows 11’s new, redesigned Start menu doesn’t wow you. That said, let’s start with the taskbar customizations.
Use TaskbarXI to style Windows 11 taskbar
TaskbarX has long been a favorite utility for experienced Windows users to customize the taskbar and achieve Windows 11-style centered taskbar icons on Windows 10. Now that Microsoft is giving Windows a fresh start with Windows 11, the developer from TaskbarX, Chris Andriessen, has released a new taskbar modification app called TaskbarXI.
While the app currently supports taskbar styling features, Andriessen hopes to add other requested features in the future. At the time of writing, TaskbarXI is in its early stages, and the developer has only recently released the first version on GitHub. Here’s how you can download and use TaskbarXI to change taskbar themes in Windows 11.
1. Download the TaskbarXI app from GitHub and extract it using Windows native zip extractor or use applications such as WinZip and WinRAR.
2. Once you have extracted the zip file, open the “Release” folder and double click to run “TaskbarXI Configurator.exe”. Within seconds, you will see the companion app for modifying the taskbar using TaskbarXI.
3. From the TaskbarXI Configurator app, you can set various taskbar styles, including transparent, transparent gradient, opaque, blur and acrylic. Here are some screenshots highlighting the taskbar style customizations in Windows 11:
Resize Taskbar in Windows 11
Although Microsoft does not officially allow you to resize the taskbar in Windows 11, you can use Registry Editor to do it manually. You can minimize or maximize taskbar icons in Windows 11 using this workaround. Here’s how:
1. Press the Windows keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+R” to open Run and type “regedit” to open Registry Editor in Windows 11. You can also search “Regedit” from Windows Search and click “Open”. When Windows asks you for permission to make changes, click “Yes”.
2. After opening Registry Editor, navigate to the path given below in the left pane:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced
3. Next, right-click anywhere in the registry editor and choose New -> DWORD Value (32 bit).
3. Set the DWORD value name as “TaskbarSi” and press the Enter key to save the changes.
4. Now, double-click “TaskbarSi” to set its value. Details of the taskbar icon sizes and their corresponding numbers are as follows:
- Small taskbar – Taskbar If value 0
- Default Taskbar – Taskbar If value 1
- Large taskbar – Taskbar If value 2
5. Depending on your preference, set the value to 0 or 2, assuming you don’t like the new default taskbar size in Windows 11. you use the large taskbar. Check the images below to see the difference in taskbar icon sizes in Windows 11:
5. Once you have set the preferred value, restart the system or open Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+Esc” and restart Windows Explorer.
Move taskbar up or sideways in Windows 11
1. Following the steps explained above, open Registry Editor and navigate to the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerStuckRects3
2. Next, double-click on Settings in the right pane and locate the fifth value in line 00000008. By default, its value will be set to 03. Now double-click to highlight this value to override it.
3. To move the taskbar up, set the value to 01. Similarly, you can set the value to 00 or 02 to move the taskbar left or right on your Windows 11 PC respectively. However, starting with the first preview build of Windows 11, Windows Explorer crashes as soon as you set the value to 01 or 02. For now, this workaround won’t allow you to set the toolbar. tasks on the left, but it remains to be seen if this changes in future versions of Insider.
For quick reference, see the values and their corresponding position in the taskbar below:
- 00 – Left taskbar
- 01 – Upper taskbar
- 02 – Right taskbar
- 03 – Lower taskbar
4. After setting the value, click OK and restart your computer. You can also open Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+Esc” and restart windows explorer if you don’t want to restart the system. The taskbar will now be moved to the new position on your Windows 11 PC.
Move taskbar icons left
Luckily, Windows 11 lets you move taskbar icons to the left edge via a native option in the Settings app. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Open the Settings app, switch to the “Personalization” tab on the left sidebar, and click on “taskbar”.
2. Expand the “Taskbar Behaviors” drop-down list and set “taskbar alignment” to left instead of the center. All taskbar icons will immediately move to the left edge and you don’t need to restart your Windows 11 PC.
Bring Back the Classic Windows 10 Start Menu in Windows 11
If you prefer the Windows 10 Start Menu, there is a way to get it back using the Registry Editor. After opening the registry editor, all you have to do is create a new DWORD value called “Start_ShowClassicMode” in the following path and set its value to 1.
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced
For detailed instructions, see our article on how to revert to the old Windows 10 Start menu in Windows 11.
Adjust the taskbar to your preference in Windows 11
So, these were all the customization features available for the taskbar in Windows 11. With Microsoft forcing users to stick to the lower taskbar, a significant portion of Windows users are unhappy. While we’ll have to wait and see if the Redmond giant reverses its decision and adds the ability to customize taskbar placement like we can in Windows 10. Until then, we hope these workarounds registry editor can help you customize the taskbar in Windows 11 to your liking. If you are waiting for Windows 11 update, browse best Windows 11 features or check how you can upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10 right now.
