In previous article, I mentioned how to change taskbar color in windows 11, but In this article, I will discuss about how to Ungroup Taskbar Items in Windows 11. By default, Windows 11 groups all active taskbar items. It is a relatively new Windows feature that came with Windows 10 to group similar running apps onto a single tab in the taskbar and makes it easier to manage and access multiple active windows.
The feature also came with the latest Windows 11, but without the option to disable it. So what do you do if you do not want the system to combine or stack the multiple windows of the same app you are running on Windows 11? Well, there is a way out.
This post will show you the steps to ungroup taskbar items in Windows 11. Let's get into the details right away.
How Do You Ungroup Taskbar Items in Windows 11
Unlike in Windows 10, Microsoft is yet to provide an official to ungroup taskbar items in Windows 11. But, you can do it by using a Registry Editor and installing third-party applications. Read on to find out more details.
Method 1: Ungroup Taskbar Items in Windows 11 Using Explorer Patcher
You can ungroup the taskbar items with Explorer Patcher. It is a third-party app with valuable features like one that ungroups your taskbar items. Here are the steps:
- Visit the Explorer Patcher download page on Github.
- Go to the Assets tab and click on ep_setup.exe
- Wait for the download to complete.
- Install the downloaded file by following the prompts.
- After the installation, right-click on the taskbar and select properties.
- Click on "Taskbar" on the left side of the properties window. Although it may be active already since it tops the list of options in the sidebar.
- Change the taskbar style to Windows 10.
- Scroll to the "combine taskbar icon" options at the bottom of the page. Click on it each and select "combine when the taskbar is full" or never combine on both.
- Open the PC settings app by pressing the windows button + I on the keyboard.
- Select personalization.
- Click on the Taskbar tile.
- Click Taskbar behavior to see more taskbar options.
- Change the taskbar alignment by selecting left.
Your taskbar items should be ungrouped with that.
Method 2: Ungroup Taskbar Items in Windows with the Registry Editor
You can also ungroup the taskbar items in Windows 11 with the Registry Editor, but you need to install a third-party application (OpenShell) to begin. Therefore, this method will be in four simple parts.
- Download and Install the OpenShell app.
- Configure OpenShell.
- Ungroup the taskbar items.
- Restore the taskbar to the default configuration.
Part 1: Download and Install the OpenShell App
- Visit the Openshell setup download page on Github.
- When the page loads up, locate the OpenShellSetup EXE file in the Assets section and click on it. The download should begin.
- Click the setup to install it when the download is complete.
- The first page on the window that opens will welcome you to the Setup wizard and click Next to Continue.
- The next page bears the License Agreement. Check the box license agreement box and click Next to continue.
- The Custom Setup page lets you select how it will install your feature. Click on the arrow beside Classic Explorer, and then click on “Entire feature will be unavailable.”
- Also, click the arrow beside Classic IE and click on “Entire feature will be unavailable". Then, repeat the same for "Open-Shell Update" before clicking Next.
- Click Install on the next page, and the installation process will begin.
- Click on Finish when the installation is complete.
Part 2: Configuring OpenShell
The next step after the installation is to configure OpenShell as follows:
- Press the window button on your keyboard to display the Stardock start 11 configuration window.
- Choose a Windows start menu style and click OK to continue.
Part 3: Ungroup the Taskbar Items
It is time to ungroup the taskbar items in Windows 11 using the Registry Editor app. Follow the steps below:
- Open the Registry Editor app by using the Windows search option. Click the search button and enter "Registry Editor" in the search field, then click the icon from the search result to open it.
- In the Registry Editor window, follow this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies.
- Click on the policies folder, and its data will display on the right side of the window.
- Right-click on the right side of the window and hover the mouse pointer on New.
- Other clickable options will display on the page, select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- You will see the new file you just created on the page. Change the name to NoTaskGrouping.
- Double click on the new file you created and type 1 in the Value data field. Select the Hexadecimal option in the base section and click OK.
The action will ungroup your taskbar items, but one more step to complete the process.
Part 4: Restoring the Taskbar to the Default Configuration
The next step is to restore the taskbar to the default Windows 11 configuration.
- Right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar settings.
- Click on the Taskbar behavior tile.
- Click the taskbar alignment dropdown menu, and select “Left.”
- Open the Registry Editor app again with the same process in part 3.
- Follow this path in the Registry Editor: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell\Update\Packages.
- Click the Packages Folder.
- Right-click on the right side of the page and hover the mouse on New as in part 3.
- Select DWORD (32-bit) Value from the options that display. The new file will be visible on the page.
- Rename the new file as UndockingDisabled.
- Double click on the UndockingDisabled file and enter 1 in the Value data field. Select the Hexadecimal option in the base section and click OK.
- Open the Task Manager window by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard.
- Click on Window Explorer from the Task Manager window, then click on Restart on the lower right side of the window, and that should complete the ungrouping of the taskbar items.
Conclusion
That is all on ungrouping taskbar items in Windows 11. There are a few other third-party apps to ungroup taskbar items, but these two will give you the desired results.
You may also like to read:
How to Change Taskbar Color in Windows 11
How to Partition SSD in Windows 11