How to Change Taskbar and its Icons Location in Windows 11/10

The taskbar is an important part of Windows customization, and while it is available at the bottom, as default, not everyone likes it. So if you have the question of whether the Windows 11/10 taskbar can be off-centered? Luckily, yes. In this post, we are looking at ways to change taskbar and its icon location in Windows 11/10

Change Taskbar and its Icons Location in Windows 11/10

Follow these methods to set as per your liking:

• Windows 11
  • Change Taskbar Icons Location in Windows 11
  • Move Windows 11 Taskbar Location to the Top, Bottom, Left, or Right?
• Windows 10
  • Move Taskbar Icons Location in Windows 10
  • Move Windows 10 Taskbar Location

You will need admin permission to change the registry entry.

Change Taskbar Icons Location in Windows 11

Unlike Windows 10, by default, the app icons in the Taskbar on a computer running Windows 11 are aligned to the center. However, Microsoft offers a way to move the icons to the left. Here’s how you can relocate the taskbar icons in Windows 11.

1. Start by clicking on the Windows logo present in the Taskbar and choosing the Settings application. You can also quickly launch Settings by pressing the Win + I keys on your keyboard.
2. Now, navigate to the Personalization section through the sidebar at the left.
3. On this page, scroll down and choose Taskbar.
4. This will bring up a new window of options, here, expand Taskbar Behaviours.
5. Here, you’ll notice that by default, the Taskbar Alignment is set to Center. Tap on the dropdown and select Left from the list of options.
6. Immediately, all your app icons will now be shifted to the left corner of your screen.

You can also switch back to centered icons by following the same process and choosing Center from the Taskbar Alignment dropdown.

Change Windows 11 Taskbar Location to the Top, Bottom, Left, or Right

While there is no direct option available to invert the orientation of the Windows 11 Taskbar to the top, left, right, or bottom, there’s a certain registry hack that can be used to accomplish the result. Here’s how you can use the Windows Registry Editor to move the Taskbar around.

Before proceeding to make any changes to the Registry, make sure to take a backup of the Registry Keys. This might be helpful to revert to if you make any mistakes.

1. Pull up the Start Search Box and search for the Registry Editor. Alternatively, you could also use the Run Dialog (Win + R), search for regedit, and press the Enter button.
2. Navigate to the following path in the Registry Editor:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3

3. Here, double click on the Settings file (REG_Binary value) and modify the Value data of 00000008 in the FE column.
   • By default, the value will be set to 03, which is at the bottom.
   • Modifying it to 01 moves the taskbar to the top.
   • 00 takes the taskbar to the left, and 02 shifts it to the right.
4. Once modified, click on the OK button to save changes.
5. However, you won’t be able to notice any changes until you restart the Explorer. To do so, open the Task Manager, head over to the Details pane, find Explorer.exe and click on End Task. Next, click on the File tab in the Task Manager, choose Run New Task and enter explorer.exe and click OK.

That said, here’s a word of caution: it is possible that shifting the Taskbar to the left or right does not work and ends up crashing the Taskbar. As of now, you can only choose between the Top and Bottom positions.

Move Taskbar Icons Location in Windows 10

While Windows 10 doesn’t offer any dedicated settings to move Taskbar icons location, you can use this guide to Center Align Taskbar icons.

Move Windows 10 Taskbar Location

Windows 10 has the direct option, which should be available in Windows 11 as well.

1. Open Windows 10 Settings ( Win + I)
2. Navigate to Personalisation > Taskbar
3. Locate the dropdown—Taskbar Location on screen
4. Click on it, and change the location.

Read more on how to customize Windows 10 Taskbar

Why Should You Move the Taskbar to the Side?

• Most modern-day monitors have an aspect ratio of 16:9 widescreen; that is, there are 16 parts horizontally for every 9 parts vertically. This results in more screen real estate horizontally than you do vertically. Take the example of scrolling through a web page or your Instagram feed. Such use case scenarios could utilize the extra screen real estate taken up by the Taskbar present at the bottom.
• The majority of everyday applications prefer tall and skinny views. For example, Microsoft Word leaves out empty spaces on both sides of your screen when you’re at 100 percent zoom. However, it can consume the entire screen vertically. These were just a few reasons why moving the taskbar entirely to the left or right could be beneficial.

Once the direct option becomes available, it will be easy to change the taskbar position. I hope you understood the guide and changed the taskbar and its icons location in Windows 11/10.