If you are a Windows user you will know all about the windows taskbar. It is one of the main ways you can interact with your operating system and where you can access the start menu, open applications and view the date and time. The taskbar has come a long way since the early versions of Windows, but one thing you have always been able to do is to hide it when it isn’t needed. This helps give your applications some more room when you need it. In this article, we will show you how to hide the taskbar and what to do if the taskbar is not hiding after following the steps.
How to Hide the Taskbar
It is really easy to hide the Windows taskbar. Simply Right-click on an empty space on your taskbar and select taskbar settings.
Now you can see the option where you can automatically hide the taskbar in both Desktop mode and Tablet mode.
What to do if the taskbar is not hiding
Click Anywhere Else
It may sound simple, but it could help to click anywhere else and get the focus off the taskbar. If the focus is still on it, for some reason, that will prevent it from hiding. Usually, all it takes is to click anywhere else, or minimize everything and click on Desktop.
An Apps notification settings can cause the taskbar not to hide
Apps may occasionally require attention from you. For example, When you receive an email, the browser needs you to confirm a file download, or a chat app informs you of a new message. Whatever the reason, this will prevent the taskbar from hiding. In this case, you can easily disable the notification settings.
If these notifications interrupt your work, you can temporarily disable them.
- Click the Windows button on your keyboard or click the Windows logo to the left of the taskbar.
- Now start typing “settings” and click the “Settings” app from the results.
- In the “Windows Settings” menu, click “System.”
- In the left menu, click “Notifications & actions.”
- In the “Notifications” section of the main screen, you can disable any notifications from apps and other senders.
If you do not want to completely turn off notifications for all apps then you have the option to turn off notifications for each App.
Restart Windows Explorer
If none of the above options helped, it might happen that Windows Explorer stopped responding. To solve that, reset it.
- Open the “Task Manager” by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on your keyboard at the same time. You can also press the Windows button, type “Task Manager,” and click its icon when it appears in the results.
- When Task Manager opens, click the “Processes” tab.
- Locate “Windows Explorer” in the list and click it.
- Click the “Restart” button in Task Manager’s bottom right corner.
That will restart the Windows Explorer, and hopefully, solve the problem with the taskbar.
Click on the search box
This suggestion has actually worked with many users that have experienced the issue. Just simply click on the search box next to your start menu as if you are searching for something and then click away again. Definitely worth a try.
Click on the SEARCH button on the taskbar. If you have the SEARCH box on the taskbar but not the SEARCH button, click in the search box.
Spotify can cause the taskbar not to hide
If you use Spotify. When you boot up, the Spotify app will cause the taskbar to remain on screen until you select and open the app’s window. After opening, whatever is keeping the taskbar on the screen will be satisfied and the taskbar will operate normally. I have the Spotify app set to auto-start so there’s an icon for it on the taskbar, clicking on this icon, then minimizing the window solves the problem.
If not Spotify then it could be another app.
If you don’t have Spotify then check for another app that may be keeping the taskbar on-screen by checking the task manager process tab and sorting on names to get your user processes, one of these will usually be the culprit. You will need to open the app window for each process to determine which one is keeping the taskbar on screen. One of these apps will usually be waiting for a response from you, most of the time there is no specific dialogue window the app just needs to be acknowledged by giving it the focus, then it can be hidden or minimized.
To open the task manager.
– Right-click on the taskbar
– Select task manager from the popup menu
– In the task manager select the processes tab
– Click on the column header “NAME” to bring your user processes to the top of the list
– The culprit will usually be one of these processes
