How to Control Volume in Windows from Taskbar

By default, you’d have to use the quick settings panel or multimedia keys to adjust the volume on Windows. But, with a simple tweak, you can control the system volume by scrolling on the taskbar. In this quick and simple tutorial, I will show the steps to add the taskbar volume control functionality to Windows so that you can change the volume using your mouse wheel on the taskbar. Let’s get started.

Before You Begin

• We will use a free and open-source application called Windhawk to add the volume control functionality to the taskbar.
• To install Windhawk, you require administrator rights.
• The steps shown below work on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Control Volume from Taskbar Using Mouse Wheel

1. Get Windhawk from here.
2. Double-click the downloaded file and install Windhawk.
3. Open the Start menu.
4. Search and open Windhawk.
5. Go to the “Explore” tab.
6. Type “taskbar volume control” in the top search bar.
7. Click the “Details” button under “Taskbar Volume Control”.
8. Click the “Install” button.
9. Click the “Accept Risk & Install” button.
10. From now on, scrolling on the taskbar changes the volume in Windows.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, you must install Windhawk. To do that, download it from here, double-click the downloaded installer, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Next, open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key. Search for “Windhawk” and click “Open” to launch the application.

Once the application opens, click the “Explore” button at the top.

Next, type “taskbar volume control” in the top search bar and then click the “Details” button under the “Taskbar Volume Control” mod.

Click the “Install” button.

When prompted, click the “Accept Risk & Install” button to continue.

As soon as you do that, the taskbar volume control functionality is added. You can simply place your mouse cursor on the taskbar and use the mouse scroll wheel to change the volume.

The mod gives you additional settings to control the volume control behavior. To access those settings, click the “Details” button under the “Taskbar Volume Control” mod on the Windhawk homepage.

Next, go to the “Settings” tab.

Here, you will see a list of options you can configure to change the volume control behavior. For example, you can configure it to change volume only when you hold down the “Ctrl” key, middle-click on the taskbar to mute, disallow volume change when muted, etc.

That’s it! Adjusting the volume from the taskbar in Windows is that simple. Plus, did you know you can control the volume using your mouse wheel from anywhere? If you want that instead, check out the linked tutorial to learn how.