Related | 2 Ways to Check Laptop Battery Health in Windows 11
Resize, Move, and Customize Taskbar on Windows 11 for Free
1. Using Stardock Start11
Start11 allows you to customize the taskbar and Start menu on Windows 11. It is a paid software but offers a one-month free trial which you can use on your PC to do the following things:
Choose from different Start menu layouts, including Windows 7 versionChange the taskbar position to top or bottomTweak Start menu color, transparency, icon grid spacingCustomize taskbar color and transparencyEnables right-click context menu for taskbar
Follow the steps below to customize the taskbar and Start menu using Start11. Related | 3 Ways to Adjust Windows 11 Taskbar Size Without Software
Install & Activate Start11 Free Trial
Get Back the Windows 7/ 10 Start Menu
The change would reflect almost instantly. Make sure the toggle for “Use the Start11 Start Menu” is enabled for it to work.
Move Taskbar Icons to the Left
You can also do this from within the Settings app on Windows. Here’s how you can move Windows 11 taskbar icons and the Start button to the left without any third-party app.
Resize the Windows 11 Taskbar
If the default taskbar feels too small or big to you, you can increase or decrease its size using the Start11 application. How it looks will widely vary based upon your screen size and resolution.
Change Taskbar Position to the Top
2. Change Windows 11 Taskbar & Icon Size Using Registry
If you feel that the icons on the default Windows 11 taskbar are too big or too small, you can always tweak their size to make them appear larger or smaller. While Start11 allows you to do this with a simple click, it may not work well for everyone. And that’s where the registry method comes to the rescue. Below is how you can resize the taskbar using the registry editor. Before making any changes to the registry, right-click the Advanced directory and export it to an accessible place to create a backup. You can later double-click the registry file to restore the changes without having to edit the values manually. Also, editing the registry is a serious affair. Hence, taking a backup would also help if something goes wrong or you make erroneous changes.
3. Enable Drag & Drop Support in Taskbar on Windows11
Unlike Windows 10, the Windows 11 taskbar does not support the drag and drop function. This means you cannot drag and drop to open a file in an app or pin an app to the taskbar, which could disappoint many. However, you can enable this functionality through an open-source tool called Windows11DragAndDropToTaskbarFix, shown below. If you want to stop using the application, open the Task Manager and end the Windows 11 Drag & Drop process.
Can You Align the Windows 11 Taskbar to the Left or Right?
You can align the Windows 11 taskbar to the left or right side of the screen by editing the registry. However, it’s broken such that there won’t be any icons in the taskbar. That being said, you can align it to the top without any issues, which can be done by using the very first method above or the registry edit hack.
Wrapping Up
This was all about how you can resize, move or change position, and customize your Windows 11 taskbar. Currently, Windows 11 offers very limited customization for the taskbar, but we expect Microsoft to add more options soon. Till then, you can use these third-party tricks to make it the way you want it.
