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Niko_V's avatar
Niko_V
Iron Contributor
Oct 06, 2021
Solved

Windows 11 taskbar labels

I was eager to install the official Windows 11 release today, however upon reading first I noticed that ungrouping taskbar icons / showing labels is not available anymore in Windows 11.   Why the h...
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  • TorbenLarche's avatar
    TorbenLarche
    Nov 17, 2021

    It looks like the perfect way - but it doesn't work here. I set the value to 2 and after restart and then checking it was set to 2 - but still no labels. Do you have any ideas? aBuntobox 

RobertPatrician's avatar
RobertPatrician
Copper Contributor
Feb 02, 2023
This is particularly infuriating if you're visually impaired, because I needed that text to see what I was clicking instead of trying to identify the tiny icons. Instead of having the text across the entire bottom, it's all condensed into one corner... and thus it's wasting all the space at the bottom. This is the sort of behavior that makes me start looking into alternative operating systems.
Funny enough, there is now third party software to restore the functionality they stripped out.
  • sunnyrio's avatar
    sunnyrio
    Brass Contributor
    Feb 02, 2023

    RobertPatrician Startallback (free but with a minor pestering dialog on startup, and a frowning face on the start menu, or just pay a few dollars) returns the taskbar and start menu to any version of windows you like and puts back in all the customisations.  I dislike the modern way.  I do things simply.  To start a program, I use the most recent apps in the start menu (I set it to 15 of them), anything not on there, I just start typing the name.  The taskbar is not for icons, it's for running programs, with labels written in English, why should I remember the icon for every single program I use?  Why should I not be able to tell if it's a link or a running program?  As for the desktop, just like a real desk, I use that for temporary things only.  No icons plastered all over it to start programs, which I can't see if there's a program running full screen!

    • RobertPatrician's avatar
      RobertPatrician
      Copper Contributor
      Feb 03, 2023

      sunnyrio Difficulty is that I"m on a government laptop. We can't just "go install some software" and it's a very hard sell to get something like StartAllBack installed. I'd gladly pay $20 right now to get my taskbar back, but it's just not an option.

      • sunnyrio's avatar
        sunnyrio
        Brass Contributor
        Feb 03, 2023

        Oh, you have one of those type of admins. I prided myself in doing what the user wanted. You want startallback installed, I'd do it for you. You wanna change your own wallpaper, go ahead. Most are power hungry morons.

         

        Actually, since you're visually impaired, tell them you need it.  It would be discriminating if they didn't let you.  Threaten to sue them or put an article in a newspaper.

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