Date First Published: 31st January 2024
Topic: Computer Systems
Subtopic: Computer Software
Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions
Difficulty: MediumDifficulty Level: 4/10
Learn about what a taskbar is in this article.
A taskbar is a bar located at the bottom of a display of a graphical user interface (GUI) that shows which windows are currently open and allows quick access to favourite applications. Most of the taskbar consists of a row of icons that represent both the application windows that are currently open and any other applications pinned to the taskbar. Clicking on a taskbar icon will open the application or restore a minimised window.
On the right side of the taskbar is the Notification Area which allows users to check the date and time and items running in the background. The Windows taskbar can also be customised by users in several ways. The position of the taskbar can be changed to appear on any edge of the primary display except in Windows 11, where the taskbar is permanently fixed at the bottom of the screen and cannot be moved to the top, left, or right side. Users can resize the height (or width when displayed vertically) of the taskbar up to half of the display area. The entire taskbar can also be hidden until the mouse pointer is moved to the display edge, or has keyboard focus.
Since the taskbar was introduced in Windows 95, it has gone through several changes. The taskbar in Windows 95, 98, Me, and NT 4.0 resembled the Windows 98 taskbar. Windows Vista and 7 removed the text labels from taskbar buttons to save space and added an option to pin applications to the taskbar directly instead of to a separate Quick Launch toolbar.
Windows 8 removed the Start button but it was added back in Windows 8.1. Windows 10 is similar to Windows 8.1, but added a search field and the Task View button to the taskbar next to the Start Menu. Windows 11 changed the look of the taskbar by moving the Start, Search, Widget icons, and pinned icons in the centre.
The correct spelling is "taskbar" as one word, not "task bar" and definitely not "task-bar".
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