Windows 10: How to increase taskbar to 2 or more rows in Windows 11 without installing a 3rd party...

The Windows 10 taskbar was easy expandable for two or more rows by just clinking on the edge of the taskbar and dragging upwards. As I do not combine the open windows in the same icon, I often require more taskbar space. Not to mention. the system tray and calendar details which would show all the running software icons and day of the week. Since i am using a company laptop, I do not have the permission to run 3rd party software, so all the solutions i found in similar questions are useless for me. I need a solution based on a specific Windows settings.

:)

 

How to increase taskbar to 2 or more rows in Windows 11

I agree as I have the same issue. My Windows 10 workflow usually has 10-15 windows open and ungrouped so I can see the labels/names. So, it is a very important feature for me to have the ability to increase the taskbar height so it shows double or two rows of taskbar items. With windows 11 I lose both the ability to ungroup and to increase the taskbar height to have more rows for windows. This is a feature since Windows 98 and sadly a loss of productivity that will keep me from upgrading to Windows 11.

 

How to increase taskbar to 2 or more rows in Windows 11

The Windows 11 taskbar does not have enough room for everything I want to put on it. From Windows 95 to Windows 10, I've always been able to "drag" the taskbar to add another level. With Windows 11, I (apparently) can not. Because of this, I have actually wiped Windows 11 and reinstalled windows 10, all my applications, and all my data and document files. It was a pain in the bottom, but well worth it to me.

I'm sure that there must be a workaround for this, possibly a registry change or addition, but I cannot find it. In the mean time, I'm hoping that a way to do this is added to the OS. Frankly, I'd rather use Windows 11 than Windows 10, but until the extra taskbar space is regained, I will not.

Has somebody found a way to do this in the present form of Windows 11? Is Microsoft going to return the multiple row taskbar to Windows 11 soon? Or have they decided that one row is enough for most people and ignore those of us that find a multiple row taskbar a great saver of time and effort?

 

How to increase taskbar to 2 or more rows in Windows 11

It's 3rd party, but the best software solution I've been able to find is Explorer Patcher, a free github project from Romainian developer Valentine-Gabriel Radu. Github software has shown itself to be safe to use, and I have this installed on 7 Windows 11 computers. It does not install an executable program, it simply adds a .dll program to the Windows Directory, so it may possibly be installed in a business environment, you'll have to discover that, yourself.

It works very well, replacing the Windows 11 Taskbar and placing the Windows 10 Taskbar in it's place. It makes no other changes, but with a right click on the Windows 10 Taskbar and going to Properties, it offers several options for what appears in the System Tray on the right side, including modification of the clock, adding the Network or Wifi Icons, etc. You can have your Windows 10 Taskbar back with no further modifications to Windows 11.

Go to: valinet - Overview

The author also has a personal website at valinet