What Does Locking the Taskbar Mean in Windows

Many features exist on our Windows PC that we rarely use. You may have seen them several times, but you're not sure what they are doing. And if their use will have a negative impact. One of these features is the Lock taskbar option. In this article, we will explain what locking the taskbar on a Windows PC means.

For starters, locking the taskbar has no drawbacks or harmful effects. You can use it without thinking. But what does it do on Windows 10? Let's find the answer.

Before we get started, let's get to know the taskbar a bit.

What is the taskbar

The taskbar is a special toolbar in the Windows operating system which is usually present at the bottom. This is a full width line which contains the date and time and system icons such as sound, Wi-Fi, battery, language bar, etc. on the right side. On the left you will see the Start Menu button, the search and the task view. Between the two areas, you get the icons of the currently open applications. You can even pin apps to the taskbar to open them directly.

The taskbar is mobile and resizable – you can change its position on the top, right or left edges. Likewise, you can increase its height – only the height and not the width.

What to lock the taskbar

As you noticed, the taskbar is quite large. It is our gateway to quickly access and launch some important applications. If something changes, there can be devastation. To avoid this, Windows offers the possibility of locking the taskbar.

Locking the taskbar is one way to ensure that any changes you have made to the taskbar remain intact. Simply put, when you lock the taskbar, you can't resize or move it. Let's see what that means in detail.

1. Resize the taskbar

In general, you can resize the taskbar according to its height by moving the mouse pointer closer to the upper edge of the taskbar. A double-sided arrow will appear. Hold the mouse button and drag it up to increase the height. Drag it down to decrease it.

When multiple application icons appear in the taskbar, some of them will be hidden due to the unavailability of the place. Increasing the height will reveal all of the icons, as shown in the image.

Now, when you lock the taskbar, you won't see the double-sided arrow when you try to resize it. So how do you access more icons, if any? To do this, you will need to click on the two arrow icon present on the right side of the application icons. This will show you the additional icons on the taskbar without increasing its height.

2. Changing the location of the taskbar

The default location of the taskbar is at the bottom. If you hold and drag the mouse button on the taskbar, you can change its position. Sometimes when tinkering with the taskbar, we accidentally change its position on other sides. And, when this happens, we are afraid of what has happened. To avoid such accidental movement of the taskbar, locking it is a rescue.

When you lock it, you cannot change its position by simply dragging it. However, if you still want to change the position, you can do so from the settings.

To do this, open Settings on your computer and go to Personalization.

Click the taskbar in the left sidebar. Then select your preferred location under the location of the on-screen taskbar.

What does not change after locking the taskbar

Locking the taskbar has no effect on the taskbar icons. You can always rearrange the system and application icons displayed in the taskbar. You can even change the position of the pinned items. Finally, you can even detach the icons from the app.

How to lock and unlock the taskbar

There are two ways to lock the taskbar.

Method 1: From the taskbar

To do this, right-click on an empty space in the taskbar. Select Lock taskbar. Right click again and you will notice that the Lock taskbar option is checked now.

Method 2: from the parameters

To do this, open Settings on your Windows PC. You can use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open the settings. Go to Personalization.

Click the taskbar in the left sidebar. Then activate the toggle present next to Lock the taskbar.

To unlock it, repeat the above steps. Uncheck the first method and deactivate the toggle present next to Lock the taskbar in the second.

Taskbar lock does not work

The feature is not available when you are in tablet mode. Turn off tablet mode to unlock or lock the taskbar.

Something is missing

Locking the taskbar is limited to resizing and moving. It would have been great to be able to lock other customizations, such as the position of the app and system icons. Even pinning apps is available when the taskbar is locked. These are typical things that change accidentally. We hope that Microsoft will add new capabilities to the functionality and that things will change for good in the future.

Then: Keep track of your Internet speed by displaying it in the taskbar. Learn how to do it from the following link.