Forum Discussion
Win11 Taskbar icons for running apps disappear after switching virtual desktops
When switching between virtual desktops, the taskbar icons for applications running on the previous desktop sometimes disappear completely from the taskbar. These applications are still running and can be accessed using Alt+Tab or Task View, but their icons are no longer visible on the taskbar.
Restarting File Explorer or switching back to the original desktop will temporarily restore these icons.
2 Replies
Your applications remain open, but their taskbar buttons disappear after a desktop switch. First check the virtual-desktop visibility setting, because taskbar buttons and Alt+Tab can deliberately use different scopes.
Open Settings, System, Multitasking, Desktops. Set “On the taskbar, show all the open windows” to “On all desktops,” then switch between two desktops with one application open on each. The separate Alt+Tab option does not control the taskbar. If “Only on the desktop I’m using” was selected, hiding another desktop’s application buttons is expected.
If buttons disappear with all desktops selected, record whether the affected window belongs to the current desktop and whether the issue involves multiple monitors. Capture that sequence with Feedback Hub’s “Recreate my problem” and include your OS build. Explorer restarting is a temporary recovery here; your symptoms do not establish the DWM cause or permanent fixes claimed above. Keep Task View available to reach the running windows.
This shell behavior typically occurs because the Windows 11 Desktop Window Manager (DWM) and File Explorer components fail to cleanly redraw the taskbar layout assets during the virtual desktop transition phase. It is highly common in environments where system animation arrays or multi-monitor configurations get desynchronized.
While restarting explorer.exe through Task Manager temporarily realigns the visual track, you can permanently mitigate this layout drop using two distinct native workarounds:
1. Disable Animation Visual Effects
Altering your system's desktop movement transitions prevents the shell framework from dropping initialization tokens during desktop shifts:
• Open Settings (Win + I) and select Accessibility on the left sidebar.
• Click Visual Effects.
• Toggle the switch next to Animation effects to Off.
2. Force an Array Refresh via Taskbar Behaviors
If the icons continue to disappear, forcing a minor adjustment to the taskbar property cache usually locks them back in:
• Right-click an empty space on the taskbar and open Taskbar settings.
• Scroll down and expand the Taskbar behaviors menu.
• Locate the "Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels" property dropdown.
• Change this parameter from "Always" to "Never" for 10 seconds, then revert it back to "Always".
This forces a hardware-level re-render of the active pinning paths across your active profiles and resolves the transition loop.
