Insation Technologies

How to manage task bar settings on your PC

Managing task bar settings on your Windows PC is straightforward and can greatly enhance your user experience. Here’s how to customize various aspects of the taskbar:

Access Taskbar Settings:

  1. Right-click on the Taskbar: Anywhere on the free space of the taskbar, right-click to bring up a menu.
  2. Select “Taskbar settings”: This will open the Taskbar settings window where you can adjust several options.

Customize Taskbar Settings:

  1. Taskbar Lock:
    • Toggle “Lock the taskbar” on or off. When locked, you cannot move or resize the taskbar.
  2. Taskbar Location:
    • Use “Taskbar location on screen” to choose where the taskbar appears (bottom, left, right, or top).
  3. Combine Taskbar Buttons:
    • Under “Combine taskbar buttons,” you can choose to combine open windows of the same app into one button or separate buttons.
  4. Notification Area:
    • Click “Select which icons appear on the taskbar” to hide or show system icons like the clock, volume, and network.
    • You can also toggle “Always show all icons in the notification area.”
  5. Taskbar Behaviors:
    • Enable or disable options like “Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode” to make the taskbar disappear until you hover at the bottom of the screen.
    • Adjust settings for tablet mode, if applicable.
  6. Search on Taskbar:
    • Control the search functionality by choosing whether to show the search box or a search icon.
  7. Show Task View Button:
    • Toggle the “Show Task View button” to enable or disable the button for viewing all open windows and virtual desktops.
  8. Virtual Desktops:
    • If you use multiple desktops, you can manage them through the Task View button on the taskbar.
  9. Desktop Icons:
    • To show desktop icons like “This PC,” “Recycle Bin,” etc., go to “Desktop icon settings” at the bottom of the Taskbar settings.

Pinning Applications:

  • To pin applications to the taskbar, find the application in the Start menu or search for it. Right-click the app and select “Pin to taskbar.”
  • To unpin an app, right-click it on the taskbar and choose “Unpin from taskbar.”

Using Taskbar for Quick Access:

  • You can also drag and drop files or folders onto pinned applications to open them quickly.

By customizing these taskbar settings, you can tailor your Windows experience to better fit your workflow and preferences.