Windows 10: How do I revert the awful taskbar icon spacing changes?

After going through a windows update on 3/15/2023, I find myself greeted with taskbar icons that are larger and take up far too much space. I see no option whatsoever to revert this change to the original tight aesthetic. How can I go about doing so? This is bothering me a lot as there is a huge amount of wasted space in-between each taskbar icon.

:)

 

System Icons on taskbar

Hi,

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Communities.

Are you referring to the clock system icon on the taskbar?

If so, I suggest you to follow the steps mentioned below:

• 
  Click on the search bar on the taskbar.
  
• 
  Type system icons.
  
• 
  Under Turn System Icons ON or OFF, turn On the Clock and check with the issue.
  

Hope it helps.

 

Small icons setting won't change

I suggest that you change or uncheck Use small taskbar buttons by following the steps below:

• Right-click the Taskbar.
• Select Properties.
• In the Taskbar tab make sure that Use small taskbar is
  uncheck.
  
  
  
  
• Click Apply and OK.

If the issue still persists, you can change the size of desktop icons.

• Right-click an empty space on the desktop.
• Select View and choose either Large, Medium or Small icons.
• Check if you can change the size of the taskbar button.

Let us know how it goes.

Regards.

 

Icon spacings changed out of nowhere- how do I revert?

I left my computer in sleep mode for a few minutes, and when I came back, suddenly spacing everywhere changed and I hate how it looks. Changes I've noticed include:

- Pinned icons on taskbar have wider spacing in between

- Navigation panel on file explorer has wider vertical spacing

- Search bar and directory bar on file explorer got a few pixels thicker

- Icon spacing on the file explorer changed, and the vertical spacing is no logner regular (spacing is wider/narrower depending on length of file name)

I rebooted, tried changing systemwide font size, display scale, resolution, and icon scale from display settings and accessibility settings but none of them changes the dimensions in the desired manner.

Does anyone know how to revert these changes?