Personalization Enable or Disable Automatically Hide Taskbar in Windows 11

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    taskbar

taskbar_settings_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable automatically hide the taskbar for your account in Windows 11.

The taskbar on your desktop is located on the bottom of the screen by default in Windows 11.

If you like, you can have the taskbar automatically hide in Windows 11.

If you enable automatically hide the taskbar, you can show the taskbar on demand by:

If you have a tablet, convertible, or 2-in-1 type device in tablet/slate mode, then the taskbar will always autohide even if turned off when you have a window open.

If you have turned on Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet, it can also cause the taskbar to auto-hide regardless of this Automatically hide the taskbar setting.



Contents

  • Option One: Enable or Disable Automatically Hide Taskbar in Settings
  • Option Two: Enable or Disable Automatically Hide Taskbar in Command Prompt


EXAMPLE: Auto hide taskbar turned on and off

Windows11_taskbar.jpg
Windows11_taskbar_hidden.jpg





Option One

Enable or Disable Automatically Hide Taskbar in Settings


1 Open Settings (WIn+I).

2 Click/tap on Personalization on the left side, and click/tap on Taskbar on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Automatically_hide_Taskbar_Windows11-1.png

3 Click/tap on Taskbar behaviors on the right side to expand it open. (see screenshot below step 4)

4 Check (enable) or Uncheck (default - disable) Automatically hide the taskbar for what you want on the right side under Taskbar behaviors. (see screenshot below)

Automatically_hide_Taskbar_Windows11-2.png

5 You can now close Settings if you like.




Option Two

Enable or Disable Automatically Hide Taskbar in Command Prompt


1 Open Windows Terminal, and select Command Prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below you want to use into the command prompt, and press Enter.

(enable automatically hide taskbar)​
powershell -command "&{$p='HKCU:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3';$v=(Get-ItemProperty -Path $p).Settings;$v[8]=3;&Set-ItemProperty -Path $p -Name Settings -Value $v;&Stop-Process -f -ProcessName explorer}"​

OR​

(disable automatically hide taskbar - default)​
powershell -command "&{$p= 'HKCU:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3' ;$v=(Get-ItemProperty -Path $p).Settings;$v[8]=2;&Set-ItemProperty -Path $p -Name Settings -Value $v;&Stop-Process -f -ProcessName explorer}"​

3 You can now close Windows Terminal if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
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Click to expand...
Add-Type -TypeDefinition 'using System; using System.Runtime.InteropServices; public class Program { [DllImport("shell32.dll")] public static extern IntPtr SHAppBarMessage(uint dwMessage, ref APPBARDATA pData); public const uint ABM_GETSTATE = 0x00000004; public const uint ABM_SETSTATE = 0x0000000A; public const uint ABS_AUTOHIDE = 0x00000001; public const uint ABS_ALWAYSONTOP = 0x00000002; [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)] public struct APPBARDATA { public uint cbSize; public IntPtr hWnd; public uint uCallbackMessage; public uint uEdge; public RECT rc; public IntPtr lParam;}; [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)] public struct RECT { public int left; public int top; public int right; public int bottom;} public static void SetTaskBarState() { APPBARDATA abd = new APPBARDATA(); abd.cbSize = (uint)Marshal.SizeOf(abd); IntPtr uState = SHAppBarMessage(ABM_GETSTATE, ref abd); IntPtr param = (IntPtr)((ulong)uState & ABS_ALWAYSONTOP); if (((ulong)uState & ABS_AUTOHIDE) != 0) abd.lParam = param; else abd.lParam = (IntPtr)((ulong)ABS_AUTOHIDE | (ulong)param); SHAppBarMessage(ABM_SETSTATE, ref abd); } }'; [Program]::SetTaskBarState()

I came across a working C++ code that toggled the auto-hide of the taskbar without restarting Explorer. I remade it for Powershell. If it needs to be toggled in the same window just use[Program]::SetTaskBarState()

1714679439831.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64-bit (22621.2283)
After the latest update I find that this no longer works. (I use the Settings method, not the powershell method.) The version I am on is ...

Win11 Version 2025-04-16 074838.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Home 24H2 26100.2033
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Yoga
    CPU
    Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E78100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM
    Memory
    16GB
    Screen Resolution
    4K
  • Operating System
    Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Legion
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12700
    Motherboard
    No Idea
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    GEFORCE RTX 3060Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    4K
I'm having a similar problem. I want to have the taskbar visible at all times, but no matter what I do (either in Settings, Command Prompt, or PowerShell) the taskbar keeps minimizing. :( Any ideas?

EDIT: Problem solved! I had to uncheck a box in Settings (Optimize taskbar for Touch Interactions). I have a touch screen, and for some reason that was screwing everything up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Q504U
ajburr said:
I'm having a similar problem. I want to have the taskbar visible at all times, but no matter what I do (either in Settings, Command Prompt, or PowerShell) the taskbar keeps minimizing. :( Any ideas?

EDIT: Problem solved! I had to uncheck a box in Settings (Optimize taskbar for Touch Interactions). I have a touch screen, and for some reason that was screwing everything up.
Click to expand...
Thanks VERY much for this post ajburr!! But when I do a search for "Optimize taskbar for Touch Interactions" using "Find a setting" I get:
1749666756820.webp


Any idea what might be going on? (I do have a touch screen (although I don't ever use/take advantage of it).

(I am getting so sick of Microsoft!)

Thanks for any help/advice you can offer.

Bob
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Home 24H2 26100.2033
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Yoga
    CPU
    Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E78100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM
    Memory
    16GB
    Screen Resolution
    4K
  • Operating System
    Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Legion
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12700
    Motherboard
    No Idea
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    GEFORCE RTX 3060Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    4K
bob17821 said:
Thanks VERY much for this post ajburr!! But when I do a search for "Optimize taskbar for Touch Interactions" using "Find a setting" I get:
View attachment 136614

Any idea what might be going on? (I do have a touch screen (although I don't ever use/take advantage of it).

(I am getting so sick of Microsoft!)

Thanks for any help/advice you can offer.

Bob
Click to expand...

Hello Bob, :alien:

Unfortunately, the Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet setting below is only available on 2-in-1 and tablet devices.

If you don't, then you can still use option three below.

www.elevenforum.com

Turn On or Off Tablet-optimized Taskbar in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off tablet-optimized taskbar for your account in Windows 11. Starting with Windows 11 build 22621.1344, Microsoft introduced a touch-optimized taskbar for 2-in-1 devices that you can use as a tablet. There are two states of this taskbar: collapsed...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
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