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Windows 11 uses a different taskbar functionality than previous versions. According to official guidelines, the only alignment to the bottom of the screen is allowed. The taskbar can be moved to the top of the screen (and it looks quite cool doing so).

You will be guided through the steps in the next section on how to change the taskbar’s position on your Windows 11 screen.

Currently, you cannot move the taskbar location to the left or to the right of the screen, as you could with previous versions of Windows. It appears that the registry key allows it, but making these changes may cause Windows 11 to malfunction.

Windows 11: How to move the taskbar to the top or bottom

  1. Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows key + R. Then, type ‘regedit’ into the text box and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  2. When the User Account Control pops up, click Yes to open the Registry Editor with administrative access.
  3. Following the following steps will help you if you want to use multiple displays or not:
  • A. If you only have one display, use this sub-guide to move the main taskbar. If you have multiple displays and wish to change the location of only the main taskbar, you can also use this sub-guide.
  • B. Location of other taskbars on screen – If you use more than one display, you can use this sub-guide to move taskbars that are not on the primary display.

You must follow both sub-guides if you are using multiple displays and want to change the location of the taskbar on both your primary and secondary devices.

Change the Taskbar Location on the Main Display

  1. Navigate to the following location using the menu on the left once you’re inside the elevated command prompt:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3

    To get there, you can use the navigation bar on the left or paste the URL directly into it and press Enter.

  2. To modify the StruckRect3 value, click the Settings button on the right. Make sure that the StruckRect3 key is selected from the left menu.
    A setting screen that can be modified
  3. You can find the default value on the FE row and the 0008 column of the Settings key – it is set to 03 by default.
  4. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve, change the value to one of the following options and click OK to apply the changes:
    03 – Make the taskbar appear at the bottom of your secondary display
    02 – move the Taskbar to the top of the screen
  5. You can save the changes by clicking Ok once the correct change has been made.
  6. You will need to reboot your Windows 11 computer after closing the elevated CMD prompt.

Change the Taskbar Location on the Secondary Display/s

  1. Navigate to the following location in the Registry Editor by using the menu on the left:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MMStuckRects3

    To get here, either navigate through each registry key using the left-hand pane or paste the full path into the navigation bar and press Enter to get there instantly.

  2. Once you’ve reached the correct location, click on the binary value of the taskbar location you want to modify, and then select StruckRect3 from the list of keys on the left.
    IMPORTANT: In the MMStuckRect3 key, each UID value represents a display that you are currently connected to. You will not be able to identify which UID goes to which display if you have multiple displays connected. After you have implemented the change, you will be able to tell. If you accidentally change the taskbar on the wrong display, you can easily change it back.
  3. Change the value located on the 0008 column and the FE row in the Binary Value window associated with the secondary screen as follows:
    03 – Make the taskbar appear at the bottom of your secondary display
    02 – move the Taskbar to the top of the screen
  4. Click on Ok, then close the elevated Command Prompt and restart your computer and you should see how the position of the taskbar changes.

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