Revolutionize Your Desktop With This Simple Windows 11 Hack: Move Your Taskbar to the Top or Side!
Windows 11 has been making waves since its release - boasting a sleek design, new features, and improved functionalities. However, not everyone is a fan of the default taskbar location at the bottom of the screen. Fear not! With this simple hack, you can revolutionize your desktop experience by moving your taskbar to the top or side of your screen.
Step 1: Right-click on your taskbar and select “Taskbar settings.”
Step 2: Under the “Taskbar behaviors” section, locate the “Taskbar location on screen” option and click on the drop-down menu.
Step 3: From the drop-down menu, select either “Top” or “Left” to move your taskbar to the top or side of your screen, respectively.
Step 4: Once selected, your taskbar will automatically move to its new location.
Step 5: To switch it back to the bottom, simply repeat the steps and select “Bottom” from the drop-down menu.
Moving your taskbar to the top or side of your screen may seem like a small change, but it can significantly enhance your desktop experience. Not only does it give your desktop a fresh look, but it also allows for easier access to your most commonly used apps and programs. With the taskbar located at the top or side, you can easily view and access your favorite apps without having to scroll through the entire bar.
Additionally, this hack can be especially useful for those with smaller screens, as moving your taskbar to the top or side can free up valuable screen real estate. You can make the most of your screen size by having your taskbar take up less space at the top, rather than cluttering the bottom of your display.
In conclusion, this simple hack can revolutionize your desktop experience and add an extra layer of personalization to your system. By moving your taskbar to the top or side, you can improve productivity and streamline access to frequently used apps. It’s an easy and straightforward adjustment that can make a significant impact on your day-to-day computer use. Give it a try and see the difference it can make!
- On Windows 11, to move the Taskbar, edit the “Settings” binary key in the “StuckRects3” Registry key.
- The 01 value moves Taskbar to the top.
- The 02 value moves Taskbar to the right.
- The 00 value moves Taskbar to the left.
- The 03 value moves Taskbar to the bottom.
Windows 11 has a redesigned Taskbar with a center alignment for the Start menu and app buttons, a new notification area, new effects and animations, and more. Although it introduces many welcome improvements, it also removes some legacy capabilities, such as the ability to move the Taskbar around.
You can’t move the Taskbar on Windows 11 because this is an entirely new design, and moving it around the screen is challenging. Microsoft has explained that only moving the Taskbar to the right side suddenly changes the entire design (including the Start menu and apps), and the current interface and animations are designed for the bottom placement. As a result, the work that implicates it was not worth the effort since there was not enough demand.
If you are among those who like the Taskbar on another location (such as at the top, left, or right side), it’s still possible to move it. The only caveat is that you can only complete this task by editing the Registry.
In this guide, you will learn the steps to change the Taskbar position to the different sides of the screen on Windows 11. (See also the video tutorial explaining these instructions.)
- Move Taskbar position on Windows 11
- Move Taskbar to top with third-party tool
Move Taskbar position on Windows 11
To move the Taskbar to the top, left, right, or bottom of the screen on Windows 11, use these steps:
- Open Start on Windows 11.
- Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry Editor.
- Browse the following path:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3
- Double-click the Settings binary key.
- Under the “Value data” section, in the second row and the sixth column, click the 03 value, press the Delete key, and replace the value with 01 to move the Windows 11 Taskbar at the top of the screen.
- Change the 03 value to 02 to move the Taskbar on the right side of the screen.
- Change the 03 value to 00 to move the Taskbar on the left side of the screen.
- Change the value to 03 to move the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
- Click the OK button.
- Right-click the Start button and select the Task Manager option.
- Click the Processes tab.
- Select the Windows Explorer process.
- Click the Restart button.
Once you complete the steps, the Windows 11 Taskbar will move to the top or either side of the screen as specified in the binary key.
Open Start on Windows 11.
Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry Editor.
Browse the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3
Double-click the Settings binary key.
Under the “Value data” section, in the second row and the sixth column, click the 03 value, press the Delete key, and replace the value with 01 to move the Windows 11 Taskbar at the top of the screen.
Change the 03 value to 02 to move the Taskbar on the right side of the screen.
Change the 03 value to 00 to move the Taskbar on the left side of the screen.
Change the value to 03 to move the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
Click the OK button.
Right-click the Start button and select the Task Manager option.
Click the Processes tab.
Select the Windows Explorer process.
Click the Restart button.
While you can still change the Taskbar position, this is not a supported feature on Windows 11, which means that this behavior may not work as expected.
Move Taskbar to top with third-party tool
Alternatively, if you can’t use the Registry settings, you may be able to use third-party tools to move the Taskbar to the top of the screen. For example, ExplorerPatcher is a free solution that brings back the classic design of the Taskbar with the legacy functionalities, such as the ability to change the bar position. It’s not a perfect solution, but if you want to reposition settings, this might be the best free option.
To move the Taskbar to the top of the screen with ExplorerPatcher, use these steps:
- Open EplorerPatcher GitHub page.
- Under the “Assets” section, click the ep_setup.exe link to download the app.
- Confirm you want to keep the file in the web browser (if applicable).
- Double-click the file to install the app. (It might take a while to apply.)
- Right-click the Taskbar and select the Properties option.
- Click on Taskbar.
- Use the “Taskbar style” setting and select the “Windows 10” option.
- Use the “Primary taskbar location on screen” setting and select the Top option to move the Taskbar to the top of the screen. (You also have the option to move it to the left or right side.)
- (Optional) Use the “Start button style” setting and select the “Windows 11” option.
- (Optional) Use the “Combine taskbar icons on primary taskbar” setting and select the Always combine option.
- Click on Start menu.
- Use the “Start menu style” setting and select the “Windows 11” option.
- Click the Restart File Explorer option in the bottom-left corner (if you don’t see the changes).
After you complete the steps, you can start using the Taskbar from the top of the screen.
Open EplorerPatcher GitHub page.
Under the “Assets” section, click the ep_setup.exe link to download the app.
Confirm you want to keep the file in the web browser (if applicable).
Double-click the file to install the app. (It might take a while to apply.)
Right-click the Taskbar and select the Properties option.
Click on Taskbar.
Use the “Taskbar style” setting and select the “Windows 10” option.
Use the “Primary taskbar location on screen” setting and select the Top option to move the Taskbar to the top of the screen. (You also have the option to move it to the left or right side.)
(Optional) Use the “Start button style” setting and select the “Windows 11” option.
(Optional) Use the “Combine taskbar icons on primary taskbar” setting and select the Always combine option.
Click on Start menu.
Use the “Start menu style” setting and select the “Windows 11” option.
Click the Restart File Explorer option in the bottom-left corner (if you don’t see the changes).
