Windows 10: Task Bar will not auto hide until window needing attention is in focus

PROBLEM: Whenever the window demands focus and Task Bar is in "Autohide" mode, Windows will not unhide the Task Bar until the window demanding focus has been placed into focus by the user. Until this happens, the Task Bar will remain visible blocking the functionality of all apps visible underneath it. But what makes this so hard is that WINDOWS DOES NOT INDICATE TO THE USER WHICH WINDOW NEEDS ATTENTION. So if the user has several apps open with numerous windows, they have to alt-tab through every window until they get lucky and find the one demanding their attention. The situation is worst when an app has functionality or status displayed directly underneath the Task Bar often in/near a corner.



The easiest example of this is an Outlook reminder that has not been cleared will keep the Task Bar from hiding and demand your attention hours after the appointment has run its course. This can cause 30-60 second distraction in your workflow and although it might not seem like much, it's extremely distracting taking your focus away to deal with something that cannot be addressed directly show me the window, I click it, done.



This issue has been around for a long time and was at some point at least partially addressed through an orange outline in the Task Bar of the window or "window group" needing attention. But at some point that went away. And I'm not sure that was ever flushed out to deal with grouped windows. This is probably highest up on the gripes I've had with windows since Vista and I've now carried the frustration along long enough to finally write something about it.



The simple approach would be to going back to highlighting not only the Windows that demands attention but *also* the group directly in the Task Bar. Then a user can just look at the Task Bar and hover over the group and attend to the attention-seeking window - for just the brief millisecond it desires - and be back to their task at hand. Please let me know this can be addressed at some point in the near future.

:)

 

Auto hide task bar

If I right click the task bar, I have no Auto Hide selection. How do I auto hide task bar?

 

Unable to hide Task bar

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

I understand that you are unable to hide Task bar. We will assist you to resolve the issue.

I suggest you to try the steps provided below and check if it helps.

a. Right click on the Task bar.

b. Click on Properties.

c. Put a check mark next to ‘Auto-hide’ the task bar.

d. Click on Apply and OK.

If the issue persists try the below steps to restart the Windows Explorer and check if that helps.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open Task Manager

Step 2: Click on
More details.

Step 3: Under the Processes tab, right-click on Windows Explorer entry and then click Restart.

Hope the information helps. Let us know if you need further assistance. We will be happy to help.

Thank you.

 

Task Bar Auto-Hide in Windows 10 Pro no longer working

Hello Community:

This issue has been around for quite a while and it does not seem to have generated a consensus issue fix. My Windows 10 Pro O/S was recently upgraded to 10.0.10586 Build 10586. Prior to the update, the task bar auto-hide function was working correctly.
Soon after the update(s), the task bar would no longer auto-hide. I went into task bar properties, unchecked the 'auto-hide' box, clicked Apply, and then reversed the sequence. After I placed a check in the auto-hide box and clicked Apply, the task bar briefly
retracted and then popped right back up. The task bar will no longer auto hide.

My HP Pavilion dv7 notebook has an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 Series display card. The display driver is up to date. Any suggestions from the community to fix the non-working auto-hide issue? Thank you.