Windows 10: Why are my taskbar pins in a different order to my LayoutModificationTemplate XML?

I'm working on our Windows 11 SOE and have created a LayoutModificationTemplate XML as instructed in the Microsoft Documentation:Configure and customize Windows 11 taskbar - Configure Windows Microsoft LearnThe resulting XML is as follows:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LayoutModificationTemplate xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/LayoutModification" xmlns:defaultlayout="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/FullDefaultLayout" xmlns:start="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/StartLayout" xmlns:taskbar="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/Task

:)

 

Is it possible to pin different apps on a taskbar on different virtual desktops in Windows 10?

Hi,



You can personalize the desktop of two computers by pinning the apps, documents and other programs to the taskbar.



Before we assist further, I would like to ask you a few questions:

• Are you referring to dual screen desktop feature of the computer?
• Do you want to personalize two different PC taskbars?

You can differ personalizing taskbar applications on different computers. You can either pin the same or differ the applications, programs or games on the computer taskbar according to the necessity.



To pin the apps to taskbar, follow the steps below:

• Click on Windows logo key on the keyboard to open
  Start menu.
• Right click on the app and select Pin to taskbar option from the context menu.
• Close the window and check if the app is pinned to taskbar.

Refer to Get Started with Windows 10 Love it? Pin it and check if it helps.



Write to us with the answers to the above questions and the status of pinning apps to taskbar on two desktops in the same post for further assistance. Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.



Thank you.

 

Microsoft Office apps not pinning to taskbar from startlayout xml file

Hi, I've been trying to set up a startlayout xml file to set my taskbar the way I want it to be set. I've created the xml file following this link: Configure Windows 10 taskbar - Configutype

It partially works, I'm able to pin Chrome, Adobe Reader and Snipping Tools to my taskbar but for whatever reason the Microsoft Office apps aren't pinning. In my XML I've tried adding Word three different ways and none of them seem to be working. Slack also doesn't work immediately but will show up after logging out and logging back in. Any help would be appreciated.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LayoutModificationTemplate

xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/LayoutModification"

xmlns:defaultlayout="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/FullDefaultLayout"

xmlns:start="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/StartLayout"

xmlns:taskbar="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/TaskbarLayout"

Version="1">

<CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection PinListPlacement="Replace">

<defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>

<taskbar:TaskbarPinList>

<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools\File Explorer.lnk" />

<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Word.lnk" />

<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="Microsoft.Office.WINWORD.EXE.15" />

<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="Microsoft.Office.Word_8wekyb3d8bbwe!microsoft.word" />

<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Excel.lnk" />

<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\PowerPoint.lnk" />

<taskbar:UWA AppUserModelID="Microsoft.ScreenSketch_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" />

<taskbaresktopApp DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Google Chrome.lnk" />

<taskbaresktopApp DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Acrobat Reader DC.lnk" />

<taskbaresktopApp DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Slack Technologies Inc\Slack.lnk" />

</taskbar:TaskbarPinList>

</defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>

</CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection>

</LayoutModificationTemplate>

 

Issues caused by TaskBar configuration via xml

You can try Group Policy instead of a layout modification XML file to configure the taskbar, as I suggested previously:

Customize Windows 10 Start and taskbar with group policy - Configure Windows | Microsoft Learn

You can also use a JSON file instead of an XML file to customize the start menu layout on Windows 11 devices. This method is more flexible and doesn’t affect the taskbar configuration. To do this, you need to create a JSON file with the apps you want to pin to the start menu, and apply it using Group Policy, MDM, or a provisioning package. Detailed steps can be found here:

Add or remove pinned apps on the Start menu in Windows 11 - Configure Windows | Microsoft Learn (applicable to Windows 10 as well)

I hope you can also get a solution in Q&A.