How-To

How to Make the Taskbar Autohide on Windows 11

By Brian Burgess

Last Updated on November 8, 2021

Have a laptop with limited screen real estate? You can make the taskbar automatically hide on Windows 11, so there’s more room for viewing apps.

Windows 11 doesn’t just offer exciting new features—it also has several cosmetic changes that modernize the platform for a new generation of users.

Some of the changes you’ll see include a new Start menu and virtual desktops. You can also customize the Windows 11 taskbar to make it more useful, whether it’s removing certain features or changing how it looks.

For example, you may want to hide the Windows 11 taskbar automatically for extra real estate, only displaying it when you hover over it. It’s easy to make the taskbar autohide on Windows 11— here’s what you’ll need to do.

How to Automatically Hide the Taskbar in Windows 11

You can quickly configure the Windows 11 taskbar and hide it automatically by accessing the Settings menu. Here’s how:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Press Settings (or use the keyboard shortcut Windows + I).
3. In Settings, click Personalization from the menu column on the left.
4. On the right, scroll down and click on Taskbar.
   
5. Scroll down to Taskbar Behaviors and press the arrow to view a list of options.
6. In the Taskbar Behaviors section, scroll down and select the Automatically hide the taskbar checkbox.

After checking the box to hide the taskbar, you’ll see the taskbar hidden right away—you can exit the Settings menu at this point.

How to View a Hidden Taskbar on Windows 11

With the taskbar hidden in Windows 11, you’ll have more screen real estate for apps. Below is an example of autohiding the taskbar with the Photos app open.

After selecting the Automatically hide the taskbar option, you can make it reappear by hovering the mouse at the bottom of the screen.

Hover the mouse at the bottom of the screen to make the taskbar reappear. This is an example of bringing it back and displaying it over the Photos app.

Restoring the Windows 11 Taskbar

You can repeat these steps to stop the taskbar from automatically hiding.

To recap, press Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Behaviors. Uncheck the Automatically hide the taskbar option and exit the Settings menu—the taskbar should be restored.

You can make further changes to your taskbar in the same menu. For example, you could decide to move the Start button to the left. This will help the muscle memory of long-time Windows users who are used to seeing the Start menu on the left.

If you want to customize Windows 11 even further, you could decide to enable dark mode or change the startup sounds.