Software Windows

How do I centre my taskbar in Windows 10?

There’s plenty to look forward to in the upcoming release of Windows 11 – brand new features, faster updates, and, of course, a sleek new design. While there are plenty of aspects to this new look, the centred taskbar is what caught my eye. Unfortunately, Windows 10 doesn’t offer a direct setting centre your taskbar – but it’s not too hard to get around it. Here’s how!

How do I centre the taskbar in Windows 10?

There are two good methods. This first one is a lot easier, although it does use some third-party software. If you’d rather not install anything, you might prefer the second technique, which just requires you to fiddle with some Windows settings. Let’s start with the software.

TaskbarX

This method uses a piece of software called taskbarX, which you can download here. If for some mysterious reason you’re wary of downloading unknown software from strange websites, you can get the exact same software from the trusted Microsoft Store – but it will cost you £2. A small price to pay for peace of mind!

If you go through the website, you’ll download a zip file that you’ll need to unzip. To do so, go to where it was downloaded to, right click, and select “Extract all”.

This will create a new folder with the same name, which will have an executable file in it titled “taskbarX.exe”. Double click on that, and your taskbar will magically float to the centre! Windows might double check if you want to run the file – click “More info” and then “Run anyway”.

The installation process is slightly easier through the Microsoft Store. All you need to do is click “install” and it does all of the above for you.

That’s not all though – go back into that folder and find “taskbarX Configurator.exe”. Double click to run that, and you’re presented with a host of customisation options, from taskbar style to adjustment animations. If you installed through the Microsoft Store, just search “taskbarX” in the Windows search bar and the configurator will pop up.

centre taskbar windows 10

To avoid having to run taskbarX every time you turn your computer on, make sure you create a Taskschedule through the Startup tab in the configurator.

I don’t want to install any software – what can I do instead?

If you’d rather not install anything extra, there’s still an option for you, but it’s a bit more faff and doesn’t include any of the style or adjustment features as taskbarX.

To start, right click on a blank space on your taskbar and hover over “toolbars”. Click on “New toolbar”. This will prompt you to save it somewhere. I’d recommend creating a folder on your desktop called “Toolbar” and saving it into there. Once you’ve done that, you should see two vertical bars and the text “Toolbar” pop up on the right of your taskbar.

centre taskbar windows 10

Click and hold those two bars, and drag them as far to the left as you can. This should force all of your taskbar icons into a cramped space on the right.

Click and hold on the two vertical bars next to the icons, and drag that to the left until you’re happy with how the taskbar looks. And that’s it! Sans software, a centred taskbar.

To get rid of the text and vertical bars, just right click anywhere on the taskbar and untick “Show title” and tick “Lock the taskbar”.

READ NEXT: Why are my Windows updates stuck? Five fixes to get you ready for Windows 11

About the author

Fraser Campbell

Fraser co-created a website called justtwovideogamers.com when he was still at school, and is now an undergraduate at the University of Plymouth.

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