The Search button on the taskbar allows you to quickly use Windows Search (Win+S) to search for apps, documents, email, files, folders, music, people, photos, settings, and videos on your device, and to search the web.
Reference:
Hide and unhide your search box in Windows - Microsoft Support
Learn how to adjust your taskbar settings to hide and unhide the search box in the Windows taskbar.
support.microsoft.com
Customizing search on the Windows 11 taskbar
As an IT admin, you know that keeping track of content saved across Windows, OneDrive, SharePoint, and the internet can be challenging for end users. In recent Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds, we added a search box on the Windows taskbar to help them easily find whatever they're looking for...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
The Search button on the taskbar also allows you to quickly open your Top apps and Recent apps, and perform Quick searches to web search for today in history, new movies, translate, markets today.
Some devices will receive different visual treatments for search on the taskbar.
Starting with Windows 11 build 25252 and build 22621.1250, Insiders who get this experience will have the ability to change the treatment of search on taskbar in settings
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the Search button on the taskbar for your account in Windows 11.
Contents
- Option One: Add or Remove Search Button on Taskbar in Settings
- Option Two: Add or Remove Search Button on Taskbar using REG file
EXAMPLE: Search button on taskbar
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)
3 Perform one of the available actions below: (see screenshots below)
- Turn On (default) or Off Search for what you want on the right side under Taskbar items.
- In Windows 11 build 25252 and higher, select Hide, Search icon only, Search box (default), or Search button for what you want.
4 You can now close Settings if you like.
1 Do step 2 (hide), step 3 (Search icon only), step 4 (Search box), or step 5 (Search button) below for what you would like to do.
2 Hide Search on Taskbar
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Hide_Search_on_taskbar.reg
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
"SearchboxTaskbarMode"=dword:000000003 Show Search Icon Only on Taskbar
This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Show_Search_icon_only_on_taskbar.reg
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
"SearchboxTaskbarMode"=dword:000000014 Show Search Box on Taskbar
This is only available starting with Windows 11 build 25252.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Show_Search_box_on_taskbar.reg
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
"SearchboxTaskbarMode"=dword:000000025 Show Search Button on Taskbar
This is only available starting with Windows 11 build 25252.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Show_Search_button_on_taskbar.reg
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
"SearchboxTaskbarMode"=dword:000000036 Save the .reg file to your desktop.
7 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.
8 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
9 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
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