How to customize the Taskbar with TaskbarX

The Windows taskbar is an important part of the operating system. You can open it to view your favorite apps and easily access it when needed, or make the Taskbar clean, tidy to keep the interface minimal. One thing you can't do with the Windows 10 taskbar is to move the taskbar position arbitrarily (at least it's impossible to move the taskbar to the center of the screen).

If you want a central app center similar to macOS, you need a third-party taskbar customization tool, like TaskbarX.

What is TaskbarX?

TaskbarX is an open source taskbar customization tool that allows you to control your taskbar icons. With TaskbarX installed, you can move the icons on the taskbar to the center point of the screen.

The tool also includes some useful extras, such as transparent, translucent, or acrylic taskbar styles, animations for apps and icons, as well as an option to hide Start menu icons.

How to install TaskbarX

TaskbarX has 3 different versions. For this tutorial, we'll use the Portable Zip option, which includes all the necessary files in a single archive. If you prefer using the Microsoft Store, you can buy TaskbarX for $ 1.09 (easier installation, automatic updates are done). Additionally, TaskbarX is available as a Rainmeter skin.

Step 1. First, go to the TaskbarX homepage here and download the latest version. Right click on the downloaded file and unzip the archive.

Step 2. Open the TaskbarX folder and run the exe file. The icons on the taskbar magically move to the middle of the taskbar automatically!

How to configure TaskbarX

In the same TaskbarX folder, you'll see another tool, TaskbarX Configurator. Configurator is a configuration tool for TaskbarX. It includes easy to use options for all types of TaskbarX. There are 5 categories:

1. Style
2. Animation
3. Position
4. Taskschedule
5. Extra

Style

Menu Style controls the level of transparency or color of the taskbar. There are 5 options you can choose from. Choose an option, then select Apply at the bottom right.

You can use the sliders to color the taskbar. Alternatively, click the color picker icon to choose a color from anywhere on the screen. Color is applied to the taskbar after pressing Apply , but the style changes using other options, such as Transparent Gradient, Opaque, and Blur . Those options use custom colors as the basis for the effect.

Menu Style controls the level of transparency or color of the taskbar

For example, the image above shows different Transparent gradients, while the following one shows the color picker option active.

Animation

Animation details how the icons on the taskbar move when you open a new app. There are over 40 different TaskbarX animations to choose from, so feel free to try to find your favorite.

The success of the animations option also depends on the Windows 10 taskbar icon options. If you have stacked application icons, you won't see any animations, whatever. Tell what your options are. If you select multiple taskbar entries for each application or large taskbar entries, you will see a change in the type of animation.

Position

Menu Position allows you to adjust the position of the icons on the taskbar when they are in the center. Menu Position includes another handy option: Don't center the taskbar. Select this option if you want to customize the taskbar with styles without having to move icons in between. The icons on the taskbar will revert to their original positions, along with the Start menu.

Taskschedule

TaskbarX does not start automatically during Windows 10 startup. To fix this, go to the Taskschedule menu , enter the delay (in seconds), then click Create > Apply .

Extra

The Extra menu contains some additional TaskbarX settings, such as multi-monitor settings. For example, let's say you just want to center the taskbar on one of your monitors, there's an option for that. Or if you want to hide the system tray area on your secondary monitor, TaskbarX can do that too.

About

You can use this menu to check if TaskbarX is running the latest version. If not, you can download and start using the latest version. Developer, Chris Andriessen, releases TaskbarX updates to fix bugs and improve features. You should also regularly check for updates after a major Windows 10 update.

How to uninstall TaskbarX

You can also easily remove TaskbarX from your computer as follows: Open TaskbarX Configurator and select Stop TaskbarX . Go to the Uninstall tab , then select Uninstall !

Isabella Humphrey

Update 16 November 2020