How Do I Hide the Taskbar in Windows 11?
The Windows 11 taskbar is located at the bottom of the screen by default, and it contains the Start menu, shortcuts to your favorite apps, action center icons, and clickable buttons to switch between active apps. If you feel like it’s taking up too much space, you can hide it so that it only appears when you need it. Here’s how to hide the taskbar in Windows 11:
Why Is My Windows Taskbar Not Hiding?
When you hide the taskbar in Windows 11, several things can cause it to pop back up. It’s designed to automatically pop up when you move your mouse to the bottom of the screen, but notifications and apps can both cause it to pop up too. So if your taskbar isn’t hiding when it’s supposed to, a notification or app likely needs attention. If your Windows 11 taskbar isn’t hiding, try these fixes:
Check and clear your notifications. You can access notifications by clicking on the far right corner of the taskbar. If you have any notifications, click and read or clear them and see if the taskbar hides. Check for apps needing attention. Some of your apps may have permission to flash an alert on your taskbar, which will also cause the taskbar to pop up if it’s hidden or keep it from hiding at all. Click each open app on your taskbar, and the taskbar should hide after you’ve clicked on the one that’s presenting an alert. Close your apps. In some cases, you may need to close and restart your apps to get the taskbar to hide. If you clicked on each app and the taskbar didn’t hide, try closing all your open apps. If the taskbar hides, you can then open your apps again one at a time to see which one is causing a problem. Restart Windows Explorer. If you followed the steps in the previous section and the taskbar didn’t hide, you may need to restart Windows Explorer. You can do that by opening Task Manager, right-clicking Windows Explorer, and clicking Restart. Restart your computer. If the taskbar still doesn’t hide, restarting your computer will usually fix the problem.
Why Doesn’t My Taskbar Hide When I Go Fullscreen?
If your taskbar doesn’t hide when you go fullscreen, it’s because you haven’t set the taskbar to hide automatically. Follow the steps from the first section if you haven’t already, then check to see if the taskbar still appears when you’re in fullscreen mode in an app. If it does, check the fixes provided in the second section, as you may have a stuck notification or app preventing the taskbar from hiding.
Why Won’t the Taskbar Show On My Second Monitor in Windows 11?
When you add a second monitor in Windows and extend your display to have separate desktops on each monitor, you can choose where you want the taskbar to appear. For example, you can have the taskbar appear only on your primary monitor or appear on both. You can also use this option with the hide option, allowing the taskbar to hide on both screens. When you do that, you can pull up the taskbar on either screen by moving your mouse to the bottom of that screen. Windows 11 has an issue where the taskbar on the second monitor will hide if you set it to, but it will then refuse to pop up when moving your mouse to the bottom of the screen. In some cases, this is because of pinned apps. If you remove the pinned icons by right-clicking each and selecting unpin from taskbar, you may find the taskbar functions correctly again.
