Forum Discussion
Is there any way to get rid of this taskbar gap? It's driving me insane
Am I the only one who finds this gap between apps on the taskbar really annoying?
I genuinely don't understand why Microsoft made inactive tabs have a smaller highlight. It's already pretty obvious when an app isn't open—so why add a visual reminder that just wastes space?
I've been desperately searching for a way to remove this, but Google AI has been completely useless as always.
Anyone else bothered by this or figured out a workaround?
3 Replies
You can use third-party tools to customize the spacing on the taskbar and remove gaps.
Windows now allows you to shrink the icons when the taskbar gets full. You can also force this mode. Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors and look for the "Show smaller taskbar buttons" option. Setting it to "Always" will make all icons smaller, often reducing the space between them. This setting was rolled out starting with KB5060829.
The problem you're seeing is a fundamental part of how the new taskbar works. The space is determined by internal limits set by Microsoft, and once the app region reaches its width limit, Windows moves icons into an overflow menu instead of allowing you to stretch them to fill the empty space.
