The Windows Taskbar is a key element of the Windows 11 Desktop. It provides quick access to open windows and apps, notifications, and system controls such as volume, brightness, etc. The taskbar can be customized in many ways including hiding it when not needed or by making it transparent so that you can see through to your desktop wallpaper. The Windows Taskbar was first introduced with Microsoft’s release of Windows 95 and has been evolving ever since then.
Windows 11 does not enable you to change the taskbar icons, so you cannot make it smaller or larger as desired. The Windows Taskbar is a crucial part of the Windows interface, but it can be distracting when you’re trying to focus on something else.
Fortunately, there’s a simple method for this. However, you’ll need to utilize the Registry editor to perform it. This article will show you how to enable a small taskbar in Windows 11 so that your desktop is less busy and you can focus on your work.
Note:
Registry backups are important because they allow users who have made changes to their computer settings or software installations that cause problems with the device, an opportunity for reverting all changes back to their original state before any damage was caused.
Because the Windows Taskbar icons must be resized using the registry, it’s necessary to edit the registry; as a result, we recommend making a complete backup of Windows Registry and establishing an operating system restore point. You may return your PC to a previous working condition if something goes wrong.
How to Change the Taskbar Size (Smaller or Larger) in Windows 11
How to Enable Small Taskbar in Windows 11
First, you need to click on the “Start” button on the Taskbar or press the Windows key to open the Start menu. Then, in the dialogue box, type “Registry Editor.”
Finally, from the search results area, open up Registry Editor by clicking on its icon.
Navigate to the following location on the Registry Editor window or you can easily copy and paste the path into Registry Editor’s address.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Right-click the Advanced folder on the left side pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value options. Create a file named ‘TaskbarSi‘, with no spaces or other characters.
Double-click on TaskbarSi to modify its Value data. The following number may be used in the Value data field:
- 0 – Smaller taskbar icons
- 1 – Default taskbar icons
- 2 – Larger taskbar icons
Now, open the recently created “TaskbarS” key and ensure that the Base is set to “Hexadecimal” value.
Now, to make the Taskbar smaller set the Value data to 0 and if you want to make changes, click the “OK” button to save them.
Restart Windows Explorer to Take Effect
Restart the Windows Explorer in the Task Manager after making any changes in Regedit.
Open the Task Manager by right-clicking on the Start button.
On the Task Manager window, look for ‘Windows Explorer’ and press the “Restart” button at the bottom right corner of the window or Restart your PC/Laptop.
It will decrease the height of your Taskbar. The taskbar’s height and icon sizes are reduced in Windows 11, as you can see in the image below.
How to Remove Small Taskbar in Windows 11
You may reset the default Windows 11 Taskbar by deleting the ‘TaskbarSi’ file in the Registry Editor’s following directory, which we created.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Right-click on the “TaskbarSi” file and select “Delete” from the menu that appears.
Then, just restart Windows Explorer (or your PC) and it will be as if nothing had happened.
Creating the ‘TaskbarSi’ registry key is a safe option if you want a small Taskbar with smaller app icons or even a large Taskbar with larger app icons on Windows 11. We hope this article has been useful to you.
Download the Windows 11 Taskbar Size Hack Files
You may download our one-click registry hack files to simplify the process of modifying your registry. The three files that will change your Windows 11 taskbar size or small, medium, or larger after a reboot are found inside the ZIP.
When you’ve downloaded the file, unzip it into any folder and you’ll have three files:
- win11_taskbar_smaller.reg: The taskbar is made smaller than normal by this modification.
- win11_taskbar_default.reg: The taskbar is set to the default size.
- win11_taskbar_larger.reg: The taskbar is made larger than default size.
More:
In general, you should not trust registry files downloaded from the internet without verifying them first.
You can check to see if our registry files are harmful by opening them in Notepad (right-click a file, select “Show More Options,” then click “Edit”) and reading the contents. Or you can drag-and-drop these files onto Sublime.
Right-click the .REG file you wish to use, then open it. When you do so, you’ll notice a warning stating that adding information to the Registry may be dangerous. Click “Run” to continue.
Select “Yes.”
After that, you’ll see a pop-up informing you that the Registry has been modified. Select “OK.”
Now, restart your computer or Windows Explorer from Task Manager.
FAQs
What Is The Taskbar?
The Windows taskbar is a bar located on the bottom of Windows 11’s windows, which helps users to access other windows and allows users to quickly switch between different modes for Windows. The windows taskbar gives users easy shortcuts to programs, windows, and folders.
How to Open Task Manager on Windows 11?
- To access it immediately, type Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
- To access the security screen, use the keyboard combination Ctrl + Alt + Del and choose Task Manager from the list.
- Right-click the Start button from Taskbar, click Task Manager, and then select it.
- To access the Windows Task Manager, hit the Windows key from your keyboard and type “task manager.” Then select it.
What Is the Best Way to Increase/Reduce the Size of Windows 11 Taskbar Icons?
The taskbar size can be an issue for some Windows 11 users, as it is distracting when you are trying to focus on something else.
Fortunately, there is a simple method for this! In order to use the small taskbar in windows 11, users must create a new DWORD value called ‘TaskbarSi’ and then edit that registry key by setting the Base to Hexadecimal.
You may also change your window’s Taskbar size back from Windows default size of large icons if desired with this process. After making any changes through Registry Editor, restart Windows Explorer so they will take effect.
Conclusion
After reading this post, you should have a better sense of how to make the taskbar smaller in Windows 11. The Windows Registry is one method that allows users to create a new key and set its value accordingly for either larger or smaller icons on the taskbar in Windows 11 .If there are any other questions or concerns, please leave them in the comments section below.
