Click the “Turn system icons on or off” link. © 1996-2020 Ziff Davis, LLC. Your taskbar will vanish and only reappear when you move your mouse cursor and hover over the location of the bar. On the Taskbar Options tab, click the Always On Top check box to select it, and then click OK. Press CTRL+ESC, and then double-click the other program's icon. If you love having everything at your fingertips, turn everything on. Your subscription has been confirmed. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Windows normally displays a separate icon in the taskbar for each open window of the same application. You will need to use ALT + TAB, CTRL + ALT + TAB, or Task View to switch between windows that are open on the other desktops. VirtualDesktopTaskbarFilter DWORD "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp. How to Switch Between Virtual Desktops in Windows 10, How to Switch Between Open Apps in Windows 10, How to Hide or Show Taskbar on Multiple Displays in Windows 10, How to Show Window or All Windows from App on All Virtual Desktops in Windows 10, How to Select Desktops to Show Open Windows in ALT+TAB in Windows 10, How to Use Large or Small Taskbar Buttons in Windows 10, How to Always, Sometimes, or Never Combine Taskbar Buttons in Windows 10, How to Change Height or Width Size of Taskbar in Windows 10, Hide or Show Search Box or Search Icon on Taskbar in Windows 10, Hide or Show Taskbar on Multiple Displays in Windows 10, Hide or Show Task View Button on Taskbar in Windows 10, Select Desktops to Show Open Windows in ALT+TAB in Windows 10. If you'd rather let Windows do the moving for you, right-click on any empty area of the taskbar and click "Taskbar settings" from the pop-up menu. Surviving a long and varied career in publishing, advertising, and IT, Lance Whitney now wears a few different technology hats. Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning. These options determine how your taskbar handles multiple instances of the same application. You can control the visibility of these badges from the Taskbar settings screen. The small section of the Windows Taskbar in the lower-right corner of the screen is known as the "Show Desktop" button. The "Always, hide labels" option means Windows will always combine multiple open files from a single application, such as File Explorer windows or Word documents, into one taskbar button. How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad, How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill, How to Find Free Tools to Optimize Your Small Business, How to Get Started With Project Management, How to Set Up Windows 10 With a Local Account, How to Sign Into Apps and Websites With Your Apple ID, Ready to Chat? You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time. If you're using your Windows device in desktop mode, turn on the option at the top of the Taskbar settings screen that says "Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode.". https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/7-ways-to-tweak-your-windows-10-taskbar. Did sfc /scannow, which did not find any Turn this feature on by activating the switch under “Show badges on taskbar buttons.” Icons in the Windows taskbar will now function as badges. Do you want to sneak a peek at your desktop without closing or minimizing all your open windows? Select More > Pin to Taskbar to lock the app to the Windows taskbar. PCMag Digital Group. Scroll down the Taskbar settings screen until you see the section for "Combine taskbar buttons." If the icons are too small, go back to the Taskbar settings screen and turn off this option to return them to their larger size. I need to press Alt+Tab to see which programs are running. By day, he's a journalist, software trainer, and sometime Web developer. Choose which system icons should stay in the System Tray, and which should be turned off. The small section of the Windows Taskbar in the lower-right corner of the screen is known as the "Show Desktop" button. You can resize the taskbar to make it grow taller. Click the Start button and right-click on any app icon or tile. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced The Windows 10 taskbar houses frequently used apps as well as those that are currently in use, but it includes a few handy customization options to help improve your workflow. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. To do this manually, click on any empty area of the taskbar and drag it to your preferred location. You can move it to other sides of the screen, automatically hide it when you don't need it, or change the size of the icons. If you decide to get rid of most of the icons, you can reduce the height of the taskbar back to a single row by dragging down the top border again. These days, he writes news stories, columns, and reviews for CNET and other technology sites and publications. Contact Lance via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Similar to Live Tiles, badges serve to display notifications for a specific application, such as new messages for Mail or updates for the Weather app. If you prefer to keep these open windows separate, choosing the “Never” option will make sure multiple open windows are never combined, no matter how full the taskbar gets. Select Desktops to Show Open windows on Taskbar in Settings app 1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the System icon. You can do this from the Start menu, Start screen, or the Apps list. Okay, now let's say you have so many icons nestled on the taskbar that there's barely room for them on a single row. Hover over the button of an application with multiple windows open to see how this option works. Click on the drop-down box beneath, and you'll see three options available. 2 Do step 3 or step 4 below for what you would like to do. With some apps and windows open, click the Show Desktop button. Now let's say you want to squeeze more icons onto the taskbar. How to Use the New Messages Features in iOS 14, 13 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Apple AirPods, How to Monitor Your Heart Rate With an Apple Watch. Keep an eye on your inbox! Move your mouse cursor away from that spot, and your desktop goes back into hiding. Only the desktop I'm using = Windows that are open on other additional desktops will not show on the taskbar of the desktop you are using. 0 = All desktops The first thing you should know how to do is pin an app to the taskbar. On the taskbar, show windows that are open on all desktops, A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and go to, 3. 3. Don't leave the Taskbar settings screen just yet; there are several more tweaks we can make here. Turn on the option for "Use small taskbar buttons," and the existing icons shrink in size. You can also easily turn system icons on or off via the Taskbar settings screen. Many a times the background processes or tasks impedes the taskbar from functioning properly, thus setting the taskbar right would automatically resolve your issue with the icons. Now you won't be able to resize it unless you turn this option off again. If you click the button, it offers you a quick way to switch back and forth between the desktop and all open windows. Click the Show desktop button again and all the windows you had open will reappear in the foreground.