How to Move the Taskbar in Windows 11 (an Impossible Feature)

David MaxwellApril 10, 2022

2 minutes read

Why Can’t You Move the Taskbar in Windows 11? Answered by Microsoft

How to Move the Taskbar in Windows 11 (an Impossible Feature), Users have been requesting that Microsoft include the ability to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the left or right side of the screen since the first preview build came. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case anytime soon.

The taskbar in Windows 11 is locked to the bottom center of the screen, as you surely know. And, like Windows 10, you can shift the icons to the left bottom border, but that’s about it.

There are some compelling justifications for placing your Windows taskbar on the left, however, Microsoft does not agree.

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Microsoft’s Windows 11 team answered questions about the upcoming operating system in a recent Reddit AMA (ask me anything).

A question over the taskbar’s location arose early, as one could imagine. Sorry to shatter your bubble if you were expecting positive news. We were unable to obtain any.

Tali Roth, Microsoft’s head of Windows Core experience, gave us a brief answer that Windows enthusiasts won’t like when we inquired about the opportunity to modify the location of the Windows 11 taskbar (at the 9:50 minute point).

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“When we designed Windows 11, we started from the ground up and rebuilt the taskbar. That meant we had to pick and select which features to include and which things to put in first.”

Roth agrees that the team is essentially focusing on pain areas and changes to aid a bigger number of users as she describes the process.

“The idea was to be completely data-driven in terms of what to include, what to leave for later, and what to leave out.”
It doesn’t sound like the ability to move the taskbar is a big deal, or that it didn’t get enough attention to warrant a change.

Instead, Roth soon shifts his focus to some of the team’s recent tweaks, such as the taskbar’s collapsed and enlarged states for smaller touchscreen devices or tablets.

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As the talk progresses, Tali Roth reveals that “there are a number of issues with really being able to move the taskbar to other areas on the screen.

” When you consider whether the taskbar should be on the right or left, the reflow and work that all apps must do to provide a great experience become enormous.”

Then, returning to her earlier argument about making “data-driven judgments,” the number of people who want to move the taskbar is small in comparison to the number of people who want other features.

However, it appears like shifting the taskbar is something Microsoft will continue to consider and listen to input on, but they currently have no plans to develop the side taskbar.

While Microsoft has no plans to make this a feature anytime soon, there is a registry hack that allows you to shift the Windows 11 taskbar to the left, right or even the top of the screen, but it’s not flawless.

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