What Is TaskbarX?
TaskbarX is a free tool for customizing your Windows 10 taskbar. It’s only designed for Windows 10, but versions 1709 and lower may not work with all features. However, the developer states that it may work with Windows 8 but hasn’t been tested. It will not work with Windows 7. It’s a portable app, which means it won’t change any registry settings. When you’re done using it, simply close it and you’re done. It’s also open source, so if you’d like to tinker with the code yourself, you can. The tool’s made to center your taskbar icons. You can also customize the color, positioning of icons, and animations. It’s important to note that this is just for customizing the taskbar and isn’t a fully fledged app dock.
Installation and Setup
Start by downloading the latest portable version (Click on the latest version, followed by the zip file link.) If you prefer the Microsoft Store version, it’ll cost $1.09. Once downloaded (if you use the free version), right-click the file and choose “Extract All.” If you’re using the Microsoft Store version, it’ll install automatically. The extracted files should open automatically. If not, open the extracted folder. Open the TaskbarX application file (.exe file). As soon as you open the application, you’ll see your taskbar icons move to the center. You can adjust exactly how the icons are positioned later – this is just the default placement. The free portable version doesn’t run at startup automatically, so the first thing to do is change this. TaskbarX comes with another tool, TaskbarX Configurator. As the name implies, this tool helps you configure the taskbar settings. Open the extracted folder again and open TaskbarX Configurator. This tool has a variety of settings, but the most important one to start with is Taskschedule. This allows you to create a schedule for TaskbarX to start up with Windows 10. Open Taskschedule in the left pane, then enter your desired time delay. The default is six seconds, which is fine for most users. Press “Create” to create the schedule, and then press Apply to set the schedule.
Accessing Your Settings
Open TaskbarX Configurator at any time to access your settings. To keep your desktop tidy, you may want to store the TaskbarX folder somewhere else, such as Documents. You can add shortcuts to the configurator and main app on your Start menu for easy access. This is just one way to help customize your Start menu. To add the shortcuts, first move your TaskbarX folder where want, then right-click on the TaskbarX application and choose “Pin to Start.” Repeat for the configurator tool.
Configure Additional Settings
Now that you’ve set a schedule, it’s time to start customizing the additional features. You can use the taskbar manager as is at this point or change things up a little. There are five different settings to choose from. First is Style. Choose the type of style you want along with the color. To see how it’ll look, press Apply. You can undo your changes by pressing the Reset icon at the bottom-far-left corner of the window. Next is Animation. This applies to how your taskbar moves into place along with how new icons appear. It’s not mind-blowing but is still fun to play around with. Outside of Style, Position is likely the setting you’ll want to customize the most. Use the options to position the taskbar exactly where you want it. You can even remove centering. This allows you to still take advantage of the Style settings without your icons being centered between the Start menu and system tray. Taskschedule is the fourth option, but you’ve already used it. Let’s move on to the fifth one: Extra. This group of settings allows you to configure how your Start menu icon and system tray appear. You can also set your refresh rate along with changing a few other options. Whenever you want to restart or stop TaskbarX, open any of the settings and click the appropriate button at the bottom of the right pane. You can also uninstall the app. This is useful in the Microsoft Store version since it’s installed traditionally versus being a portable app. If you’re having trouble with the Windows 10 taskbar, learn the fixes for the most common issues. Enjoying TaskbarX or do you prefer another tool? Let us know in the comments.
