address toolbar on Windows 11 taskbar

Hi, has anyone any idea how to create an equivalent of the Windows 10 address toolbar on the Windows 11 taskbar (I used it a lot in Windows 10)?
Or alternatively, an app that would fire up at logon, and just sit there on the desktop, so I can type in a URL and have it open a browser page.

In Windows Settings --> Personalization --> Taskbar there is a Search icon that you can enable, but it pulls up a search bar reminiscent of the Start Menu search. It's just as easy to hit the Windows key on the keyboard and then type in a URL, as it auto feeds what you type directly into the search bar, and if you enter a valid URL it opens - in Edge.

Downside is that it does not use your registered default browser but always opens in Edge.

As for a third party app, haven't actually looked for one, but I believe you could pin a shortcut to your favorite search engine and then clicking on it whould open in your default browser ad let you open URLs that way.

Surely missed something... why would you press Start, and type URL, when you can click on your browser shortcut (pinned to Taskbar) and type address there

In my case, because you then have to click again to select the search bar in your browser if you have Find as you type enabled. And those of us who like keeping tabs in place when shutting the browser down, you have to open a new tab.

I never have a browser that doesn't have at least a couple of tabs always open when I open it.

That's a good reason. I start my browser with empty page, and when start typing it's going directly in address bar. But it would be great that we could choose our own default browser - even for opening search reasults

Thanks for that. I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't know that hitting the Windows key enabled the typing in of a url, and I've been using Windows 10 since it came out!
You live and you learn.

Yup. Glad you now have a nice workaround. The Search from the start menu has been around for a while, since Win 7 (well, Vista, maybe?), and it's been my goto method for launching installed apps.

No need to feel embarrassed, though. My grandfather always said (loosely translated) "They day you stop learning better be the day you're dead."

johnlgalt said:

Downside is that it does not use your registered default browser but always opens in Edge.

Click to expand...

Another downside is it doesn't allow you to type company name, followed by (CTRL/ENTER) to add www and https: In other words, doesn't default to URL.

I also used this feature and it's super annoying that it's gone. It serves more than just space as an address bar - it's fantastic for clipboard space; Sometimes you need to throw something in cleartext just so you can grab something else into the clipboard and then re-cut from the address bar... now it's gone because you have to windows key search. Microsoft is not helping with the taskbar lockdowns - Microsoft is not helping with domain joins - Microsoft is repeating the same mistakes of Windows 8. If you're going to change the taskbar - fine, but you try explaining to the 90 year old grandma on the phone why she can't get her internets on her taskbar anymore.

I can see absolutely for reason MS Windows 11 to remove the address bar from the taskbar and placed in at top of another location. Is it possible to return move it to the taskbar location? Or is it just of the hundreds of goofs MS techs(?) made in creating this Windows 11 monstrosity?

In fact my concerns have now been addressed.. I'm not sure when the facility came in, but simply typing a URL in the 'new' search box' in the taskbar takes you to the website. Therefore, it exactly replaces the functionality of the old address bar, so I'm happy.