The taskbar is home to lots of useful links, including the Start menu, pinned apps that you use every day, system icons such as volume and network, and the Action Center.
Unfortunately, it also takes up some prime screen real estate. If you're working on a 32-inch monitor, you probably don't think much about it, but on a device with a smaller screen (e.g. used when traveling), the taskbar doesn't need to be visible all the time.
Thankfully, it's possible to hide the taskbar, but the way to do it isn't immediately apparent. Let's take a closer look.
How to Hide the Taskbar on Windows
To hide the taskbar on Windows, just follow the simple step-by-step instructions below:
- Open the Start menu.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Personalization.
- In the panel on the left-hand side of the screen, choose Taskbar.
- Find Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode.
- Slide the toggle into the On position.
The taskbar will now vanish from the screen. If you need to access it, just move the mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen, and it will pop up.
The Taskbar section of the Settings app has some other useful options. Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode will hide the taskbar when you're using a tablet, and Use small taskbar buttons dramatically reduces the amount of space the taskbar needs without hiding it permanently.
Do you keep the taskbar hidden or do you think it's more convenient to keep it visible at all times? Let us know what you think in the comments below.