Can Windows 11 display multiple rows in the taskbar? How?

Tom Pod 110 Reputation points

I want Windows 11 taskbar to display the active applications in multiple rows in the taskbar. (Just like Windows 10)

How can I do this?

  1. _0_ 75 Reputation points

    why was this changed - what was the purpose of removing this functionality?

  2. C wake 20 Reputation points

    Please bring back ability to have multiple rows on the taskbar. My organization doesn’t allow us to use third party software so I’m stuck with the cumbersome taskbar for now.

    This maybe fine for some users who but many of us work on multiple platforms and multiple documents all at once and the currency windows 11 taskbar has made a nightmare.

  3. Peter Fabian 10 Reputation points

    It's just the usual "we know better than you" crap from megacorps. Big disappointment on my new laptop, I would go back to W10 if I could.

  4. David Wilcox 20 Reputation points

    You can go back to Windows 10. There are tools to make an install USB and you should be able to overwrite the existing system without losing anything (or too much anyway)

  5. John Shaw 0 Reputation points

    Positively sucks that you cannot have double height taskbar in Windows 11. No sane reason for taking away this function. MS engineers should put it back !!!!!

Sign in to comment

12 answers

  1. J R 130 Reputation points

    The crippling of the taskbar, something that users have honed and elevated to achieve speed, efficiency and control over their desktops... is a completely shortsighted, myopic, idiotic step backwards for windows11 and any productivity, efficiency and utility that users have come to enjoy and expect from supposed "world class" software.

    Whatever team approved this "feature" and whatever managers approved and agreed with it should all be fired without exception.

    Hobbling the taskbar is almost as worthless as adding kerning (spaces) above and below any listed files in windows explorer or any other presented list. Apparently MS thinks we all cannot read, and need to scroll more to exercise our fingers.

    1. I agree, and good to know that I share the same vision related to this topic.

      There is absolutely no productivity gain on this, only losses.

      really hope there is a way to change this configuration in the future.

    2. BJS 20 Reputation points

      Amen!!! Windows Taskbar was the best innovation they every introduced in Windows, and they have ruined it now. I am staying on Windows 10 as long as I possibly can on my home computer to keep the old version of the taskbar, in spite of the security risks. I have even avoided buying a new computer because of this idiocy!!

    3. LanBing 0 Reputation points

      I have to keep my working PC to Win10, due to there is luck the 2 raw features to handle my over 160+ windows instance in explorer task bar, which are all daily usage for coding, emails/todo list/word/excel/outlook/vnc/text/logs/explorer/debug/ssh/serial/parser/automation , There is no way to meet my requirement with the tiny win11 taskbar. Win7 is the last truly great system UI I've ever used.. the aero effect is impacts GPU performent is mislead upper management. It is also shortsighted, given that GPU hardware performance were rapidly increasing. Instead of the ugly UI comming from Win10. I doubt the original Win7 engineers would make such a terrible UI for Win11. There must be massive layoffs and cost-cutting just to protect the company's stock price.

    Sign in to comment
  2. Fred Barber 55 Reputation points

    Microsoft's standard approach to making things look less complex than they really are is to hide the complexity under additional layers of menus, dialogs, etc., often with opaque organization and nomenclature. They do it all the time. IMO, this is yet another example of the trend -- make it impossible to create "complicated" (and, admittedly, disorganized) collections of active windows in the taskbar by subordinating them to yet another enforced layer or bogus organization. Thing is, it's more awkward than what it replaced. It should be a selectable option, not a one-size-fits-hardly-anyone force job.

    I'd love to know what the thinking behind this is. Is there a substitute mechanism we're supposed to use? An actually paradigm shift that it represents? Absent one of those, I'm forced to conclude that whoever thought this up is simply an idiot. Whoever approved it, even more so. (It's impossible to believe that there was any input to the decision from actual focus groups.)

    1. J R 130 Reputation points

      Hi Fred - you are 100% spot-on. Doing a google search, I found 2 paid apps that RESTORE the windows 10 taskbar and all it's full glory and FUNCTIONALITY. Bet your butt I'm installing on my personal machines, and will also raise cane at work to have it installed on my work machines. Sad thing is about the "talent" at MS who did this to the taskbar is how much they are paid :(

    Sign in to comment
  3. Jamie Maloway 25 Reputation points

    Really need a solution for this. The Windows 11 taskbar is quite buggy and feature-poor compared to Windows 10 and prior versions. Definitely a big productivity hit, and just frustrating overall.

    0 comments No comments
    Sign in to comment
  4. huapage 25 Reputation points

    I tried the registry hack in Windows 11 Home 24H2 build 26100.6584, it cannot work.

    Hope Microsoft can bring back this useful feature in windows 11 ( Looks like missing multiple rows taskbar is a a regression from windows 10 ).

    0 comments No comments
    Sign in to comment
  5. Oliver 20 Reputation points

    I have the same question and did follow your guide. Windows 24H2 build 26100.3476. At least in my case, the registry hack doesn't have any (visible) effect.

    1. T D Bell 0 Reputation points

      What does your comment mean ? You have followed the steps to the workaround (Registry Editor Workaround) as suggested by @Anonymous but your taskbar remains the same (only one row) ? Regedit has been disabled by my administrator (laptop used at work), so I have to ask our IT team for help. I'll see if that's something they can change, and if this works, I'll update my message. Fingers crossed that this works and I can have my taskbar on two rows. It really is a dealbreaker for me, because of accessibility needs. I've provided feedback on this.

    2. Chris Laughren 0 Reputation points

      Same here.... except I got a popup that asked me if I wanted to change my timezone.

    Sign in to comment
Sign in to answer

Your answer