Shrinking down those chunky icons on your Windows 11 taskbar can give your desktop a cleaner, more organized look. It’s a pretty straightforward process that involves tweaking a few settings, but of course, Windows has to make it a little more complicated than it should be. You’ll be able to free up some space and maybe even make your workspace look less cluttered, which is always nice.
How to Make Icons Smaller on Taskbar Windows 11
In this section, you’ll find a somewhat involved way to make your taskbar icons smaller. It mostly involves jumping into the settings menu and toggling things around, so don’t expect a one-click miracle. Let’s get into it!
Step 1: Right-click on the Taskbar
This one’s obvious but kinda annoying sometimes. Right-click anywhere on the taskbar where there’s no icon, to open a context menu.
This menu is where all the magic and frustration begin. It’s like a hidden doorway to a bunch of options you probably didn’t know existed. On some setups, this menu can be a tad glitchy, so if it doesn’t pop up right away, give Windows a quick restart and try again.
Step 2: Open Taskbar Settings
Select “Taskbar settings” from the menu. It opens up a new window with settings for your taskbar. Honestly, it’s pretty much the command center for all things related to how your taskbar looks and works.
If you’re not seeing it, it’s probably under Personalization > Taskbar in Settings. Sometimes, Windows updates move stuff around without telling us, so look around if it’s not where you expect.
Step 3: Access the Taskbar Behaviors Section
Scroll down and find “Taskbar behaviors”. Click on it. This is where some of the deeper customization options live, and the setting you’re after is kinda buried here.
On some machines, this section can be a tiny bit glitchy or slow to load, especially after updates. You might have to reopen Settings or wait a second for it to show up.
Step 4: Adjust Taskbar Size
Look for “Taskbar size” — yeah, kind of weird there’s a toggle for size, right? — and choose Small from the dropdown menu. That’s what makes those icons shrink.
This is the key step. Selecting “Small” doesn’t just resize the icons; it also makes the taskbar itself a little more compact. Now, the icons look way less dominating, and your entire screen feels a bit more spacious. It’s like swapping a square pizza for a thin-crust one—still pizza, but way less bulky.
Step 5: Close and Apply
Once that’s set, just close the settings window. Your changes should apply automatically. Sometimes, it’s quick; other times, you might need a quick restart of Explorer (taskkill /f /im explorer.exe in Command Prompt or PowerShell) — yeah, Windows being Windows.
On one setup, this worked immediately after closing. On another, I had to restart Explorer for the icons to shrink. Not sure why it’s weird like that, but that’s just Windows being Windows.
Now, you get a less cluttered, cleaner desktop look. It’s surprising how much of a difference small icons make, especially if you’re trying to jam more stuff into your taskbar without sacrificing visibility.
Tips for Making Icons Smaller on Taskbar Windows 11
- Play around with different sizes in the same setting—sometimes Windows acts funny if you switch back and forth too fast.
- If small icons are too tiny to click, especially on a touchscreen, maybe revert back for better accessibility.
- Doubtless, keep Windows updated — sometimes, a future update could ruin or fix this tiny tweak.
- If you want more control over individual icons, that’s a whole different can of worms. Windows 11 doesn’t natively support that, of course.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the taskbar icons’ size another way?
Nope. Windows 11 doesn’t give an official way to resize individual icons. This method affects everything at once.
Will smaller icons break anything?
Not really. They’re just visual. Functionally, everything stays the same.
Can I make some icons bigger and others smaller?
Nope, no built-in way to customize individual icons’ size yet. The whole taskbar takes the same style.
Any keyboard shortcut to do this?
Unfortunately, no. You have to dig into settings for now, which is kinda annoying.
What if I can’t find where to change this?
Make sure Windows is fully updated. Sometimes settings menus shift or get buried after updates.
Summary
- Right-click on the taskbar and pick Taskbar settings
- Scroll down and click Taskbar behaviors
- Set Taskbar size to Small
- Close settings and see the magic happen
Hopefully this shaves off a few hours for someone. Sometimes, it’s the tiny tweaks that make a big difference, especially when you’re trying to maximize screen real estate. Good luck tweaking, and enjoy your cleaner, more spacious desktop!