How to Customize Taskbar and Start Menu in Windows 11

Windows 11 sports a new look (with rounded corners) and features that feel good to the eyes. With Windows 11, Microsoft also centered the Start menu and other taskbar icons. However, Date/Time, Network, Battery, Volume, and other icons still show up on the right side of the taskbar just like Windows 10. There are only a few things that you can customize on the taskbar and Start menu in Windows 11.

Windows 11 currently doesn’t even allow you to drag and drop apps or links to the taskbar. However, you can pin them to the taskbar by right-clicking on them. Besides that, you can’t move the taskbar to any side of the screen, it is fixed at the bottom. Similarly, the Start menu is not resizable in Windows 11 unlike Windows 10. However, there are still several customizations that we can do with the Windows 11 taskbar and Start menu.

SEE ALSO:
1. How to Upgrade to Windows 11 using 4 Simple Methods?
2. How to Clean Install Windows 11 on an Unsupported PC?

Modify the Taskbar and Start menu on your Windows 11 PC

So, in this tutorial, we will see some of the customizations that you can do with the Windows 11 taskbar and Start menu. We will start with Taskbar customizations first and after that, we will see the Start menu customizations.

1. Align Taskbar Icons to the Left in Windows 11

The first thing we are doing to customize in Windows 11 is taskbar alignment. By default, Windows 11 Start button and other icons appear at the center of the taskbar. However, Microsoft allows you to move the Start button and other icons to the left side of the taskbar just like Windows 10. You can do that directly from Taskbar Settings, without any registry hack.

So, to modify taskbar settings, right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings.

Right Click On The Blank Space On Taskbar And Select Taskbar Settings to customize taskbar in windows 11
Right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings

In Taskbar settings, scroll down and click on Taskbar behaviors setting to expand and view available settings.

Scroll Down And Select Taskbar Behaviors
Scroll down and select Taskbar Behaviors

Now, you can see the Taskbar alignment is set to Center by default. To move Taskbar icons to the left side of the taskbar, change the Taskbar alignment to Left.

Customize Or Change Taskbar Alignment To Left Instead Of Center In Windows 11
Change Taskbar Alignment to Left in Windows 11

As soon as you select the Left option in the Taskbar alignment drop-down, all taskbar icons including the Start button will move from the center to the left side of the taskbar.

Taskbar Alignment Changed To Left On Windows 11
Taskbar Alignment changed to Left on Windows 11

SEE ALSO: How to Remove Bloatware and Speed Up your New Laptop/PC?


2. Hide or Show Search, Chat, Task View, and Widgets Taskbar Items

The next thing we will customize in the taskbar is special taskbar icons. By default, you will see Search, Chat (Microsoft Teams), Task View, and Widgets icons beside the Start menu, Microsoft Edge, and other icons. And just like taskbar alignment, you can also change which of these 4 icons appear on the taskbar.

So, again, right-click on Taskbar and select Taskbar Settings. Here, under Taskbar items, you can choose which of the items will show up on the taskbar.

Hide Or Show Taskbar Items Search Widgets Task View And Chat In Windows 11 - customize taskbar
Hide or Show Taskbar items in Windows 11

After that, you can see the items for which you turned off the toggle, disappeared from the taskbar.

Only Search And Task View Items Appear
Selected items appear on the Taskbar in Windows 11

Besides Taskbar Settings, you can hide these taskbar items using right-click > Hide from taskbar.

Right Click On Task View And Select Hide From Taskbar
Right-click and select Hide from the Taskbar

NOTE: To restore taskbar items, you need to go to Taskbar settings again. From there, you can enable the toggle for the respective item to show it again.

SEE ALSO: How to Disable the Taskbar Preview Thumbnails in Windows 11?


3. Change Taskbar Size using Registry Hack in Windows 11

Before we begin to customize the Start menu in Windows 11, let’s move to our next taskbar customization. Now, we will customize the taskbar size.

Though Windows 11 doesn’t allow you to change the taskbar size using the Settings app yet, however, there is a registry hack available to change the taskbar size. Make sure to take a backup of the registry or create a restore point before proceeding further.

Press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut to launch RUN, type regedit , and press Enter to start Registry Editor. Alternatively, you can search and open Registry Editor from the Start menu.

Go To Run Type Regedit And Press Enter To Launch Registry Editor Windows 11
Go to RUN, type regedit , and press Enter to launch Registry Editor

In Registry Editor, go to the following path. You can also copy and paste it into the address bar of the Registry Editor.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Here, right-click on the Advanced key and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value to create a new DWORD.

Right Click On Advanced And Select New Dword 32 Bit Value
Right-click on Advanced and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value

Name the new DWORD as TaskbarSi and double-click on it to modify its value to customize the taskbar size in Windows 11. Set the following values to change the taskbar size to small, medium, or large.

DWORD ValueTaskbar Size
0Small
1Medium (Default)
2Large
Set Taskbarsi Dword Value To Change Taskbar Size In Windows 11
Set TaskbarSi DWORD value to change Taskbar size in Windows 11

After that restart your Windows 11 or restart Windows Explorer to make the changes effective. Here is an overview of the taskbar in small, medium (default), and large sizes.

Customize Taskbar Size In Windows 11 Using Registry Editor
Customize Taskbar size in Windows 11 using Registry Editor

NOTE: You can revert the changes by settings TaskbarSi DWORD’s value to 1 or by simply deleting the DWORD. After that restart Explorer or your Computer.


SEE ALSO: How to Check the RAM Details in Windows 10 and 11?

4. Other Taskbar Customizations

Besides these, there are some other tweaks that you can use to customize your taskbar in Windows 11. You can check them in Taskbar Settings.

In Taskbar settings, you can define which tray icons always show and which one hides behind the arrow icon. You can also set the taskbar to auto-hide in Taskbar behaviors settings.

Set Other Taskbar Options In Taskbar Settings In Windows 11
Set more Taskbar options in Taskbar Settings on Windows 11

SEE ALSO: How to Start Windows 11 in Safe Mode?

5. Customize Pinned Apps on Windows 11 Start Menu

After Taskbar customizations, let’s move to customize the Start menu in Windows 11. First, we will customize the pinned apps that appear on the Start menu when you click the Start button in Windows 11.

Unpin Apps from the Start Menu

To remove a pinned app from Start, simply right-click on it and select unpin from Start. You can also uninstall the app by selecting Uninstall right from there.

Unpin Or Uninstall Apps From Start Menu In Windows 11
Unpin or Uninstall Apps from the Start menu in Windows 11

Pin Apps to Start Menu

Similarly, you can also pin the apps to the Start menu in Windows 11. Just right-click on the app icon on your desktop and select Pin to Start.

Pin The Apps To Start Menu In Windows 11
Pin the Apps to Start menu in Windows 11

The drag-and-drop feature is not available in the Windows 11 taskbar yet. However, you can use this temporary fix to enable the taskbar drag and drop feature in Windows 11.

SEE ALSO: How to Restore Desktop Icons in Windows 10, 8, 7 and XP?


Below the pinned apps, you will see the Recommended section on the Windows 11 Start menu. The Recommended section displays the recently opened files, apps, etc. just like Quick Access in File Explorer.

Just like the pinned apps, you can also customize the Recommended section in the Start menu on Windows 11 and select which item to remove from the list. So, to remove an item, right-click on it and select “Remove from list“.

Customize Recommended Files List In Windows 11 Start
Customize the Recommended List in the Windows 11 Start menu

Besides just customizing the list, you can disable the Recommended section from the Start menu altogether. To do that, go to Settings > Personalization > Start. Here, turn off the toggles for recent apps, most used apps, and recently opened files.

Disable Recommended Section On Windows 11 Start
Disable the Recommended section in Windows 11 Start

After that, you can go to the Start menu again to see the changes.

Recommended Section Disabled From Start In Windows 11
Recommended Section disabled from Start in Windows 11

SEE ALSO: How to Change your Username or Account Name in Windows 11?

7. Display Important Folders Next to the Power Button

The next customization we are going to discuss is a quite useful one. This time we will customize the list of folders or settings icons that appear next to the Power button on the Windows 11 Start menu.

So, to set which icons appear next to the Power button, go to Settings > Personalization > Start. After that, click Folders to see available options.

Go To Settings Personalization Start And Click Folders
Go to Settings > Personalization > Start and click Folders

Here, you will see the list of available folders that you can select to show next to the power button. So, enable the desired items and they will appear on the Start menu next to the power button.

Selected Icons Will Appear Next To Power Button On Windows 11 Start
Add icons next to the Power button on the Start

SEE ALSO: How to Restore Old Snipping Tool in Windows 11?


Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Your Windows 11 PC

The above tutorial explained how you can easily customize your Windows 11 taskbar and Start menu. You can use these simple tips and tricks to make the most out of Windows 11. These simps tricks will help you enhance your Windows 11 experience. So, if you have not tried Windows 11 yet, we recommend you give it a shot if your PC meets system requirements.

Hope you liked this post. In case you face any troubles following this tutorial, feel free to write them in the comment section down below. We also suggest you subscribe to our newsletter and receive the latest updates directly in your inbox.

Editorial Staff

Hi there, we are the editorial staff at WINDOSPC (former HELLPC). We are a team of funny and technical people. Feel free to get in touch with us via Contact-Us page.

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