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How To Auto Hide the Taskbar in Windows 11 (When Not in Use)


The main benefit of hiding the taskbar is to get more space on your desktop for your work so you’ll have more room for windows or icons or pictures that you need to be displayed.

It looks that you consider the taskbar as one of the distracting components that is constantly displayed on the screen, disrupting your workflow on a regular basis and you want to get rid of it. Also, If you don’t want it to appear across the screen while gaming, watching videos, or attending meetings, you can hide it

auto hide taskbar windows 11

By the end of this article, you will be able to Hide the Taskbar Automatically:


Step 1: Right-click the taskbar and select the “Taskbar Settings” option.

Step 2: Scroll down and expand the “Taskbar Behaviours” section and check the ‘Automatically hide the taskbar’ option.

click automatically hide the taskbar option
Automatically hide the taskbar

Note: To show the taskbar again, simply, uncheck the “Automatically hide the taskbar” option.


Step 1: Run the “Command Prompt” as an administrator from the start menu.

command prompt icon in windows 11
Command Prompt (CMD) Icon

Step 2: To auto hide the taskbar, copy and paste the following command:

powershell -command “&{$p=’HKCU:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3′;$v=(Get-ItemProperty -Path $p).Settings;$v[8]=3;&Set-ItemProperty -Path $p -Name Settings -Value $v;&Stop-Process -f -ProcessName explorer}”

auto hide and unhide taskbar using command prompt
Command to Show Taskbar

Note: To show the taskbar again, copy and paste the following command:

powershell -command “&{$p=’HKCU:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3′;$v=(Get-ItemProperty -Path $p).Settings;$v[8]=2;&Set-ItemProperty -Path $p -Name Settings -Value $v;&Stop-Process -f -ProcessName explorer}”

command to stop auto hiding taskbar
Command to Show Taskbar

If you have many monitors connected to your computer and need to auto hide the taskbar for only a few of them, you may use this method.

Step 1: Connect the Dual Monitor Setup or a Multi-Monitor Setup, right-click the taskbar and open the taskbar settings.

extended dual monitor setup using VGA Cable
Example of Extended Dual Monitor Setup

Step 2: Expand the Task Behaviours section and check the ‘Show my taskbar on all displays’ option and set the show my taskbar apps option to ‘All Taskbars’ from the dropdown menu.

select the all taskbars option from the drop down menu when using multiple displays
Show All Taskbars

Why is my taskbar not auto-hiding?

If your taskbar is not hiding even after toggling on the Auto Hide Taskbar feature in Windows Settings, then, restart your file explorer from the Task Manager or restart the whole system.

Can we hide taskbar in full screen mode in Windows 11?

You can toggle to the fullscreen mode by pressing the F12 Key on most of the applications. Once you toggle on the Auto Hide Taskbar feature on your device, the taskbar will also be hidden.


We’ve covered how to auto hide the taskbar automatically when not in use.

Hiding the taskbar can give you some extra pixels to render visuals on your screen and in some cases, it might help to increase productivity. Many people like to keep their desktops clean by hiding the taskbar. When the taskbar is hidden, you can use your desktop more efficiently without distractions.

In this article, some of the settings are bound to Windows 11 but some will work with older versions as well.

Further, customize your Windows by referring to the related articles below.


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