Windows 11 by default combines the taskbar buttons and doesn’t show the labels of the buttons. This makes the taskbar not only compact so that you fit more app icons but also neat and organized. However, there is a downside to this tidiness. Specifically, it might make it hard to switch between apps using the taskbar quickly. This is especially true when you have multiple windows of the same app or two apps that have similar icons. In these situations, the ability to see window names on the taskbar. a.k.a., taskbar labels is such a useful and productive feature.
Fortunately, you can show taskbar labels on Windows 11 using the taskbar settings. It is a pretty simple thing to do. In this tutorial, I will show the exact steps you should follow to show the taskbar button labels on Windows 11. Let’s get started.
Show Taskbar Labels on Windows 11
Follow the steps below to enable taskbar labels on your Windows 11 computer:
- Right-click on the taskbar.
- Select the “Taskbar settings” option.
- Expand the “Taskbar behaviors” section.
- Select “Never” from the “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” dropdown menu.
- With that, the Windows 11 taskbar shows labels of open apps.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
Firstly, open the Settings app. There are two ways to do it. You can either right-click on the empty space on the taskbar and select the “Taskbar settings” option or open the Settings app with the “Windows key + I” keyboard shortcut and navigate to the “Personalize” > “Taskbar” page.
Scroll down the right page and click the “Taskbar behaviors” option in the Settings app. This is where you can customize how the taskbar behaves on Windows 11.
To show app labels on the taskbar, select “Never” from the “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” dropdown menu.
That’s it. As soon as you do that, Windows 11 will show the taskbar labels for all open Windows.
Note: With recent updates, Microsoft removed the “Show labels on Taskbar pins” checkbox. You can no longer enable it even using ViVeTool. That means, only the labels of open Windows will be shown on the taskbar. You will not see labels for pinned but not open apps.
Related taskbar how-to guides:
- How to show all taskbar icons on Windows 11
- How to hide the taskbar clock on Windows 11
- How to change the taskbar color to blank on Windows 11
- How to pin a drive to the taskbar
- How to pin File Explorer to the taskbar
- How to remove search from the taskbar on Windows 11
- How to pin and unpin jump list items on Windows 11
- How to hide the taskbar on Windows 11
- How to remove the weather widget on the taskbar on Windows 11
- How to show multiple clocks on the taskbar on Windows 11
- How to show the weather widget on the taskbar on Windows 11
- How to move the taskbar to the top on Windows 11
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
Update: The tutorial is updated with new instructions and screenshots to reflect the changes in Windows 11 and taskbar options.
