If the taskbar is not hiding in Windows Remote Desktop sessions, follow the below steps to fix the issue once and for all.
When you start a remote desktop session and go into full-screen mode, your taskbar should and will auto-hide. This makes the remote session’s taskbar easily accessible and useful. However, under certain situations, the client-side taskbar will not hide in the Windows remote desktop session. Though looks like a non-issue at first glance, it is quite irritating when you want to access the remote computer’s taskbar.
Now, the issue is not so prevalent but is fairly common for some users. So, if the taskbar is not hiding in Windows remote desktop session’s full-screen mode, follow the below steps to quickly fix the issue.
Steps to Fix Taskbar Not Hiding Issue in Remote Desktop Session
There are two main reasons why the taskbar is not hiding. First, it might be an issue with Windows Explorer. Second, there might be an application that raised the MustBeSeen system flag. So, follow the two methods shown below one after another and see what fixes the issue for you.
1] Restart Windows Explorer
Sometimes, Windows Explorer locks up. This makes it so that the taskbar will not hide in the remote sessions. To deal with that, we need to restart the Windows Explorer.
1. Right-click on the taskbar and select the “Task Manager” option.
2. In the task manager, go to the “Processes” tab, find and select the “Windows Explorer” process and click on the “Restart” button.
This action will restart the Windows Explorer. Just to be sure, restart the remote session too. Once restarted, see if the taskbar is auto-hiding. If not, follow the second method.
2] Remove ‘MustBeSeen’ System Flag
Most of us have some applications running on the taskbar. You can see them to the right-most side of the taskbar, right next to the clock. These applications run in the background and provide some sort of functionality.
When one or more of these programs need your attention, they will raise the “MustBeSeen” system flag. As long as this flag is active, the taskbar will not hide. Generally, antivirus programs, backup programs, cloud storage programs, and notification heavy programs raise this flag quite frequently to get the user’s attention.
Since the application that raised the MustBeSeen flag is blocking the taskbar from auto-hiding, you need to find that application and see why it needs the user’s attention. Once you dealt with that, the MustBeSeen flag will be removed.
That being said, if you cannot find the application, close all the taskbar applications one after the other and see if it fixes the issue. In general, always close any unwanted applications while you are remoting to another machine. This reduces the variability which in turn reduces the number of issues.
I hope that helps. If you are 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 remote shutdown Windows from android.
