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Optimizing the Taskbar

You use the taskbar to manage your apps and open windows. The taskbar displays buttons for pinned and open items that allow you to quickly access items you've opened and start applications.

By default, the taskbar is always displayed along the bottom of the desktop on your primary monitor. If you want to move the taskbar to another location, first make sure it's not locked. To do this, right-click the taskbar to display the taskbar options.

Note: A checkmark beside the Lock The Taskbar option indicates the taskbar is locked and can't be moved. To unlock the taskbar, right-click it and clear the Lock The Taskbar option by clicking it (which should remove the checkmark).

After you unlock the taskbar, you can position it wherever you want by clicking on it and dragging. You can:

  • Drag the taskbar to the left or right to dock it on the left or right side of the primary desktop. Drag up to dock the taskbar to the top of the primary desktop.
  • Dock the taskbar to a location on another monitor. Simply drag the taskbar to the desired left, right, top, or bottom location on the stretched desktop.

After you position the taskbar where you want it, you should lock it in position. To do this, right-click an open area of the taskbar, and then select the Lock The Taskbar option. A check mark indicates that it is locked.

On stretched desktops, you create a desktop that stretches across multiple displays, such as when your computer has two monitors, and the taskbar only appears on your primary monitor. If you'd like the taskbar to appear on the primary monitor and secondary monitors, follow these steps:
  • Click Start and then click Settings.
  • In the Settings dialog box, click System. On the System page, click Multitasking.
  • In the main pane, under Virtual Desktops, select All Desktops as the option for On The Taskbar, Show...

Changing Taskbar Appearance

You can customize the taskbar in several other ways. The first, by right-clicking it and using the options available, including:

  • Show Task View Button:
    Controls the display of the Task View button. If you clear this option, you'll hide the Task View button and won't be able to use Task View or add, remove or switch between desktops.
  • Toolbars:
    Controls the display of the toolbars that can be added to the taskbar. The standard toolbars are Address, Links and Desktop. You also can select New Toolbar to choose a folder to add as a toolbar.

You can customize other aspects of the taskbar by using the Taskbar And Start Menu Properties dialog box. To access this dialog box, right-click an open area of the taskbar, and then click Properties. Select or clear options as desired and click OK to save your changes.

The available options include:

  • Lock The Taskbar:
    Locks the taskbar in place to prevent accidental moving or resizing. You must clear this option to move or resize the taskbar.
  • Auto-Hide The Taskbar:
    Hides the taskbar when you aren't using it and displays the taskbar only when you move the cursor over it. If you clear this option, the taskbar is always displayed (although not always on top), which you may prefer, especially if you move the taskbar around a stretched desktop.
    Tip: If the taskbar is hidden and you forget where it is docked, you can quickly display the taskbar and Start menu by pressing the Windows logo key.
  • Use Small Taskbar Buttons:
    Reduces the size of taskbar buttons, allowing more buttons to fit on the taskbar. On my desktop PC, I prefer large icons, which makes them easier to click, but on my tablet PC, I prefer small icons so they take up less screen space.
  • Taskbar Location On Screen:
    Sets the relative location of the taskbar on the currently targeted display. As we discussed previously, you can move the taskbar manually as well when it is unlocked.
  • Taskbar Buttons:
    Specifies whether taskbar buttons are always combined, combined only when the taskbar is full, or never combined.

See the next section for more information on combining buttons and using related options.

Note: Typically, you'll want to combine similar items to reduce taskbar clutter. Rather than displaying a button for each program, the taskbar groups similar buttons by default. Grouping buttons saves room on the taskbar and helps reduce the likelihood that you'll need to expand the taskbar to find the buttons for open programs.

Pinning to the Taskbar

You can pin items that you work with frequently to the taskbar. Pinning an item to the taskbar creates a shortcut that allows you to quickly open a program, folder, or related window.

Pinning items is easy. If you know the name of the program you want to pin to the taskbar, start typing the program name into the Search box. When you see the program in the results list, right-click it, and then click Pin To Taskbar. From this point on, whenever you want to access the program, simply click the related icon on the taskbar.

Another way to find items to pin is to access the Start menu, and then click the All Apps button. When you find the program you want to pin, right-click the program's menu item, and then click Pin To Taskbar.

To remove a pinned program from the taskbar, right-click its icon, and then click Unpin This Program From The Taskbar. This removes the program's button from the taskbar.

You can set the order of buttons for all opened and pinned programs. To do this, click the button on the taskbar and drag it left or right to the desired position.

When buttons are combined on the taskbar, clicking an item with multiple windows displays a thumbnail with a representation of each open window. You can hover over a window to peek at it on the desktop (as long as the appropriate Aero features are enabled) or click a window that you want to work with to open it. For example, if you open three different folders in File Explorer, these items are grouped together in one taskbar button. Hovering over the taskbar button displays a thumbnail with an entry for each window, allowing you to select the grouped window to open by clicking it.

Taskbar buttons make it easy to close windows as well. To close a window, whether grouped or not, move the pointer over the related taskbar button. When the thumbnail appears, move the mouse pointer to the right, and then click the close button for the window you want to close.

Using Flip Views and Jump Lists

Flip views and jump lists are some of the most powerful features of Windows 10. Why? They allow you to quickly get to items that you want to work with.

Display the standard flip view by pressing Alt+Tab. The flip view contains live thumbnails of all open windows, which are continuously updated to reflect their current state. You can work with a flip view in a variety of ways. Here are a few techniques:

  • Press Alt+Tab, and then hold Alt to keep the flip view open.
  • Press Tab while you hold the Alt key to cycle through the windows.
  • Release the Alt key to bring the currently selected window to the front.
  • Select a window and bring it to the front by clicking it.

By default, flip view shows windows are open only on the active desktop. If you're like me and use several desktops all the time, you may want flip view to show windows that are open on any desktop. To configure this option, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start and then click Settings.
  2. In the Settings dialog box, click System. On the System page, click Multitasking.
  3. In the main pane, under Virtual Desktops, select All Desktops as the option for Pressing Alt + Tab Shows Windows That Are Open On.

If you think flip views are cool, wait until you try jump lists. Jump lists are displayed after a short delay whenever you right-click an item that has been pinned to the taskbar. When a program's jump list is displayed, you can select a file to open or task to perform simply by clicking it.

Most applications display recently used items or frequently used items. Some applications have enhanced jump lists that also provide quick access to tasks that you can perform with the application.

Windows 10 also allows you to pin items to a program's jump list. To do this, drag an item associated with a program to the program's button pinned on the taskbar and release when the Pin To option appears. Consider the following real-world scenario:

  • You want to pin Microsoft Word to the taskbar and pin important documents to its jump list. To pin Word to the taskbar, you access the Start menu, type Word.exe in the Search box, right-click Word.exe in the results, and then click Pin To Taskbar.
  • After pinning Word to the taskbar, you want to add important documents to its jump list. You open File Explorer, locate the first document, drag the document file from the Explorer window to the Word button on the taskbar. When the Pin To Word option appears, you release the mouse button to add the first document to the jump list. You repeat this process to build your list.

Other ways to use jump lists include the following:

  • Simply open File Explorer and locate and then drag an important folder from this window to the pinned File Explorer on the taskbar. When the Pin To File Explorer option appears, release the mouse button to add the folder to the jump list. Repeat this process to build your list.
  • If you pin Control Panel to the taskbar, you can add frequently used tasks to its jump list. To pin Control Panel to the taskbar, access the Start menu, type Control Panel in the Search box, right-click Control Panel in the results, and then click Pin To Taskbar. After you've pinned Control Panel to the taskbar, simply open Control Panel, locate an important task, and then drag the address link for the task to the pinned Control Panel on the taskbar. When the Pin To Control Panel option appears, release the mouse button to add the task to the jump list. Repeat this process to build your list.
Sometimes, you'll want to run programs pinned to the taskbar with administrator privileges. To do this, right-click the shortcut on the taskbar to display the options menu for the program and then in the options list, right-click the program name. If you can run the program with administrator privileges, the second options menu will have a Run As Administrator option which you can select.

Understanding Snap and other Options

Theoretically, you use snap to arrange windows side by side. Here is how snap is supposed to work:

  1. If you want two windows to appear side by side on the desktop, you drag the title bar of the first window to the left or right side of the screen until an outline of the expanded window appears, then release the mouse to expand the window.
  2. Afterward, you drag the title bar of the second window to the opposite side of the screen until an outline of the expanded window appears, then release the mouse to expand the second window.
  3. To return the window to its original size, you simply drag the title bar away from the top of the desktop and then release.

Personally though, snap is always doing what I don't want it to when I use that technique. The only technique that actually works reliably for me is when I snap windows using the keyboard. To snap the active window to the side of the desktop using the keyboard, press either Windows logo key + Left Arrow or Windows logo key + Right Arrow. After you do this, you'll be in Task View and can snap the second window to the opposite side of the screen simply by clicking it.

For easy reference, the keyboard shortcuts for snap are as follows:

  • Windows key + Left Arrow or Right Arrow:
    Toggles the screen snap position of the app. Snap splits the screen, so if the app is being displayed normally, Windows key + Left Arrow snaps it to the left and Windows key + Right Arrow snaps it to the right.
  • Windows key + Up Arrow:
    Displays the app in Full Screen mode.
  • Windows key + Down Arrow:
    Exits Full Screen mode and returns the app to its original window state.

All of these snap behaviors are configurable and controlled with System Settings by following these steps:

  1. Click Start and then click Settings.
  2. In the Settings dialog box, click System. On the System page, click Multitasking.
  3. In the main pane, under Snap, use these options to manage the way snap works:
    • If you don't want to use snap, you can disable the feature by toggling the Arrange Windows Automatically... option to the Off position.
    • If you don't want to use snap to display two windows side by side, you can disable the feature by toggling the When I Snap More Than One Window... option to the Off position.
    • If you don't want snap to show what window you can snap next after you snap a window, you can disable the feature by toggling the When I Snap A Window, Show... option to the Off position.