The Windows 10 Taskbar is one of the nerve centers of the PC. This is where the running programs and the most important shortcuts are concentrated. We have compiled a few tips and tricks to configure the Taskbar according to your needs. This way you will get the most out of it.
Evict the taskbar
By default, the Windows 10 taskbar (located at the bottom of the desktop) is full of icons and system services that you may not use often. They take up space that you could use for your favorite programs and files.
Our first mission will therefore be to lighten the task bar to leave only the essentials.
Start by clicking with the right button of the mouse in a free space of the taskbar, so that the context menu appears :
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
The Show Task View button option is checked, but you can disable it if you are not going to use virtual desktops.
Tap Search to open another side menu. The search box gives access to Cortana and the search engine, but you can replace it with an icon with Show search icon , so that it occupies less. Or hide it completely by checking Hidden.
In the center of the menu there are several options to display the open windows side by side, stacked, etc. It is a matter of taste.
Click now on Properties. A new menu will open with three tabs. Taskbar, Navigation and Toolbar:
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
On the Taskbar tab , check Lock Taskbar so that it is never hidden. You can also automatically hide it when you’re not using it. If you have a small monitor or screen, you should check the option Use small taskbar buttons .
Below you have two menus to place the taskbar in different places on the screen, and combine buttons if the bar is full.
Finally, access the Toolbar tab . From here you can add new functions to the taskbar, such as the Links and Address bars (which we will explain later), or certain icons of applications that you have installed, in the style of Apple’s iTunes.
Pin your favorite apps and files
The taskbar collects all the applications that you have running and all the files that you have opened, but it can also store accesses to your favorite programs or documents, as well as system tools.
One of the most useful functions is to anchor everything you need to the bar . It’s so simple to right-click on an icon on the desktop or on a file on any disk drive and choose the command Dock to Start. It does not work with all but it does with folders or application startup files.
If you have a program running, right-click and select Pin this program to taskbar:
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
To choose the system icons that you want to display on the bar, right-click on a free space on the taskbar to bring up the context menu . Select Properties. Then press the Customize button . Windows Settings will open , in the Notifications and actions section . Click on Select the icons that will appear on the taskbar:
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
Here the main Windows applications will appear, and the important programs you have installed. Toggle the switch on or off depending on what you want to display on the taskbar.
In the Notifications and actions section of Settings (System) , you will also see the option to Enable or Disable System icons:
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
Here’s the clock, the volume, the internet connection icon, etc. Activate what you want to see on the Windows 10 taskbar.
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Pin a website to the taskbar
You don’t just pin programs or documents to the Windows 10 Taskbar . You can place shortcuts to web pages . So you will always have them at hand, if you visit them often.
Before doing so, you must activate the Links. Right-click on a place on the taskbar where there is nothing, and choose the Toolbar command . Mark the Links bar so that it appears on the taskbar. You just have to select a website that you are viewing in the browser (its URL address) and drag it to Links, to obtain a direct access:
The best must-have and quick Windows 10 tricks
You can place as many as you want.
Besides Links , you can also add the Address bar (direct access to the browser), and the Desktop. You will see a small box where you can directly type the address of a website to visit it, without having to start the browser:
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
Create your own virtual desktops
One of the most interesting new features of Windows 10 are virtual desktops . These are copies of the main Windows 10 desktop, each with its running apps open. They are useful if you have many programs open at the same time, and you don’t want them to pile up. You can open multiple documents on one virtual desktop, photos on another, run a game on another, and switch from one to another when you need to.
In the taskbar, to the right of the browser or Cortana, is the Task View icon :
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
Pressing it shows the thumbnails of the apps you have open. Tap on one to use it:
How to configure the Windows 10 taskbar
The most interesting is the New desktop button, located on the right:
The best must-have and quick Windows 10 tricks
Press it to create new virtual desktops. In each one you can open different programs, documents, websites, etc., or jump from one to another by tapping on the icons.