It’s not often but there might be times when you think having a bit more space on the taskbar is helpful or at least nice. For example, maybe you have a small screen or have a lot of pinned and open applications. Well, Microsoft heard you. On Windows 11, you now have a new option to shrink the size of icons (called buttons) on the taskbar, so that you have extra usable space. This new feature is still in testing but you can enable it in beta builds.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to make the taskbar button smaller using the new “Show smaller taskbar buttons” option in Windows 11. Let’s get started.
Before You Begin
- As of writing this, this feature is still in testing and is only available in Windows 11 Beta builds. Even in beta builds, some might have to use ViVeTool with the
vivetool /enable /id:29785184command. - This feature doesn’t change the taskbar size, it only shrinks the taskbar buttons (icons) so that you have more space on the same-sized taskbar.
Show Smaller Taskbar Buttons on Windows 11
- Open the Settings app using the “Windows key + I” shortcut.
- Go to the “Personalization” tab on the sidebar.
- Click the “Taskbar” option on the right page.
- Click and expand the “Taskbar behavior” section.
- Select “Always” from the “Show smaller taskbar buttons” dropdown menu.
- With that, all the taskbar buttons are smaller in Windows 11.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
As always, launch the Settings app using the “Windows key + I” shortcut. You can also click the Gear icon in the Start menu. In the Settings window, go to the “Personalization” tab on the sidebar and select the “Taskbar” option on the right page. You might have to scroll down a bit to find the Taskbar option.
This is the page where you can customize how your taskbar looks, feels, and behaves. Here, click the “Taskbar behavior” option to expand the section.
Now, select “Always” from the “Show smaller taskbar buttons” dropdown menu. Alternatively, you can also select the “When taskbar is full” option. That way, the taskbar button only gets small when the taskbar is full there is no more space. This gives you the best of both worlds.
That is all. With that, you now have a smaller taskbar button on Windows 11. Keep in mind that if you don’t see the “Show smaller taskbar buttons” option, then it is not yet available to you. You either have to wait, or use a beta build.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist. In the meantime, check out how to move the taskbar to the top of your screen, show the taskbar on displays in a multi-monitor setup, add the End Task button to quickly close frozen applications, show taskbar labels, and never combine taskbar buttons.
