If you’ve enabled the taskbar to show button names and think the size is too wide, here’s how you can change taskbar buttons width.
One of the best things about Windows is the taskbar. In the taskbar, you can pin your most used applications, pin custom folders, create custom toolbars for quick access, etc. Generally, the taskbar only shows the app icons. If there are multiple instances of an app, the icons will be grouped together.
However, you can also configure the taskbar to show button or icon labels for opened apps. When you do that, the taskbar button’s width will increase to accommodate the name. This is useful to quickly differentiate between different opened Windows.
Often times, the width of the taskbar button might be lesser or greater than needed. In those cases, you can increase or decrease the taskbar buttons width. Here’s how.
Steps to Change Taskbar Buttons Width
To change the taskbar button width, we need to create and modify a registry key. Though easy and straightforward, I recommend you back up registry before proceeding. The backup will help you restore it to the previous know condition.
1. Open Registry Editor by searching for it in the start menu.
2. Once registry editor has been opened, copy the below path, paste it in the address bar and press Enter. You will be instantly taken to the target key.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
3. On the right panel, you will see a whole bunch of keys. From the list, see if there is a key named “MinWidth”. If it exists, skip steps 4 & 5 and continue from step 6.
4. On the right panel, right-click on the empty space and select “New → String Value” option.
5. Name the new string value as “MinWidth” and press Enter.
6. Double-click on the “MinWidth” key. You will see a new window. Here, type a number between 38 and 500 in the Value Data field and click on the “Ok” button. The higher the number, the wider will be the taskbar button. Play with the numbers in the range to find the right width for your needs.
7. Once you are done, close the registry editor.
8. Finally, reboot Windows. Restarting is not necessary but might be required if you are not seeing the changes instantly.
That is all. It is that simple to change the taskbar button width in Windows 10. If you stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
If you like this article, do check out how to make the taskbar completely transparent in Windows 10.
