TWEAK THE WINDOWS TASKBAR
The taskbar provides the bedrock of all versions of Windows, giving you instant access to your favourite programs, open windows, system tools and information. Because it’s something you use every day, it’s worth tweaking the taskbar to make it look and work exactly the way you want – regardless of Microsoft’s restrictions and whether you’re running Windows 10 or 11. Startisback/startallback and Start 10/11 (see page 51) provide options for customising the taskbar, but there are other tools that focus exclusively on that task and won’t cost you a thing.
One of the best is Taskbarx, which lets you change the style and colour of the taskbar, to make it transparent, bright red, pitch black or whatever suits your taste (see screenshot below left).
You can also alter the position of taskbar icons, either by nudging them left or right, or by centring them. This doesn’t affect the Start button, which remains where it should be in the bottom-left corner of your screen – something Microsoft should have considered in Windows 11. The latest version of Taskbarx is free to download from www. snipca.com/40143 (we recommend the portable version) and as an app from the Microsoft Store, though this costs £1.19.
To use Taskbarx in Windows 11, you’ll first need to get back the Windows 10 taskbar in the new operating system. You can do this using
( www. snipca.com/40144), a free tool recommended by Taskbarx’s developer. Download and run the setup file and it will instantly switch Windows 11’s taskbar to its Windows 10 layout. Uninstall the program to change back.
To customise the way the taskbar behaves, install the brilliant free program 7+ Taskbar Tweaker ( www.snipca. com/40145). This lets you configure how taskbar buttons are grouped (see screenshot above), what happens when you click or hover your cursor over them, and the information they display. You can also cycle through taskbar buttons using your mouse wheel and open specific tools such as Task Manager when you doubleclick an empty space on the bar. Again, the tool requires Explorer Patcher in Windows 11 to revert the taskbar to its Windows 10 form.