Just like the Start Menu, the Taskbar in Windows 11 has changed, both in terms of what it contains and what it can do. If you are coming from Windows 10, you will notice the missing search field and Cortana button (and the centre-positioned icons), but other than that it looks very similar to how it did in the previous version.
The Taskbar gives you quick access the all of the main features of Windows 11, and unless you are playing a game on your PC, will almost always be visible. It runs along the full length of the bottom of the Desktop, and is made up of two sections: App icons in the middle and Systems tools on the right.
In This Lesson…
- Taskbar App Icons
- Change App Icon Alignment
- The Weather and Widgets Icon
- How to Pin Apps to the Taskbar
- How to Hide App Icons in the Taskbar
- Use the Taskbar System Tools
- Explore More Taskbar Tools and Features
Taskbar App Icons
By default, the Taskbar will contain icons for the following apps/features:
– Start Menu
– Search
– Task View
– Weather/Widgets
– Teams Chat
– File Explorer
– Microsoft Store
– Settings
– Windows Mail
– Edge Browser
Apart from the Start Menu icon, all of these can be unpinned from the Taskbar or hidden using the settings.
Change App Icon Alignment
First of all, let’s deal with the Taskbar icon alignment. The default position for the Taskbar icons in Windows 11 is centred, including the Start button. You may or may not like this change, but if you want to move the icons back to the left, you can do so.
1 – Right-click on any blank area of the Taskbar and click “Taskbar settings”.
2 – On the settings page, scroll down to find Taskbar behaviours (click the heading to open the section if it isn’t already).
3 – Where it says “Taskbar alignment”, use the dropdown menu to change the alignment to the Left.
And there you have it, the Start button and all of the other Taskbar icons are now back in a more familiar position.
The Weather and Widgets Icon
A recent update to Windows 11 changed the Taskbar slightly from how it looked at launch. The Widget icon was removed, replaced by a weather display that sits at the left-hand side of the Taskbar.
Moving your mouse over this weather information will pop out the Widget panel. Clicking the weather info will make the Widget panel stay open. If you change the Taskbar app icon alignment to Left, the Weather/Widget will be added into the main group of icons as a sun, cloud, raindrop, etc., depending on the current weather.
How to Pin Apps to the Taskbar
1 – To pin an app to the Taskbar, right-click on the app icon wherever you see it (in the Start Menu or on the Desktop, for example) and from the action menu, select “Pin to Taskbar”.
2 – You used to be able to simply drag an app icon to the Taskbar to pin it there, but Windows 11 no longer allows this (although this feature is rumoured to be coming back in a future update).
3 – Once an icon is pinned to the Taskbar, you can click and drag it into a different position, allowing you to organise the icons to your liking.
4 – To remove or unpin an icon from the Taskbar, right-click on it and select “Unpin from Taskbar”. The only exceptions are Start, Search, Task View, Widgets and Teams.
How to Hide App Icons in the Taskbar
If you want your Taskbar to be ultra-minimalist, you can also hide the icons for Search, Task View, Widgets and Teams.
1 – To do this, open the main Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar, or right-click on the Taskbar and click “Taskbar settings”.
2 – Use the slider switches in the Taskbar items section to hide any of those four apps you want to.
Use the Taskbar System Tools
The other main section of the Taskbar is the system tools section. This will contain different tools, depending on the computer you are using, but should always show a network icon (WiFi or Ethernet), a sound icon, and an overflow menu button (the small arrow).
The overflow menu will contain further system tools that will vary depending on the PC you are using and the software you have installed. Usually, the overflow menu contains icons for graphics cards, power settings, Skype, and Windows Security.
You can edit what appears in the overflow menu in the Taskbar Settings > Taskbar Corner Overflow section.
Clicking any of the system tool icons will allow you to manage those tools, either in a small pop-up control menu, or by taking you to the relevant settings section.
Explore More Taskbar Tools and Features
Time & Date
The time and date, based on your location settings, are shown at the right of the Taskbar, with the other system tools. Clicking this will open a mini calendar (linked to the main Windows Calendar app) and the Notification Center. Right-click on the clock to access Time & Date and Notification settings.
Peek
Hovering over any open but minimised app in the Taskbar activates the Peek window. This is a preview of the app. If a movie is playing, for example, you will see it playing here too. Move the mouse pointer over the preview and the actual app or window will pop up on the screen. You can close an app from Peek by clicking the X in the corner.
Badges
Badges are small number icons that will appear on some of the app icons in the Taskbar to indicate new content. For example, the Mail icon badge will show the number of new unread emails. If your icons are not displaying badges, head into Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar, and select “Show Badges” in the Taskbar behaviours section.
Show Desktop If you want to quickly minimise all of your open apps and folders to see the desktop, you can use the tiny button at the very far right end of the Taskbar. Move the mouse pointer to that location and a small line will appear. Click to minimise your apps. If this doesn’t work, check the feature is enabled in the Taskbar settings.