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How to let windows 11 "never combine taskbar buttons"?
How to let windows 11 "never combine taskbar buttons"?
- The November 2023 update added “never combined” mode on the taskbar for Windows 11. To find this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. Set Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels to Never. It also added a separate setting for turning this feature on for other taskbars when you use multiple monitors.
1,327 Replies
- Came here to complain about exactly that! Makes no sense to have a big taskbar and then have to fumble through the thumbnail previews of an app that has a couple windows open. I don't understand this idea of streamlining everything, makes it unpractical.
- Just adding another brick to this wall. What the heck Microsoft?
- To solve this problem, just install valinet/ExplorerPatcher (open source) from Github.
- I'm not sure why Microsoft is removing features that have been around for years from windows 11. I get that some people love the MAC interface but I don't. I use windows because I like the ability to modify the OS the way that I like. Windows 11 is a step in the wrong direction for me. Making windows 11 more like mac only pushes me to Linux so that once again I can customize the OS to the way that I like it. If Microsoft wants to make the OS more simple and more like Mac by default fine, but please bring this and other features back even if you have to bury the option in a tab for advanced users. There are many workers like myself who work in a corporation and i don't have the option of installing some 3rd party software to get the features that I want.
- Obviously we all agree here that we need this feature back and I would suggest the entire W10 interface back.
The biggest thing I do not understand is the developers can make Windows default as a poor quality Mac like they seem to want to, but easily leave in the in the options to alter the interface to individual needs. It looks so much like someone said I don't use these features so why would anyone else or I don't like a crowded taskbar so everyone must prefer it to auto combine.
Just like Win 8 it was decided the Tablet Style interface was for everyone, happily they got the message then for a short while, but have now tried again to dumb down the OS.
As to third party installs, no IT dept will allow Explorer Patcher, but if you go to management and explain the loss of productivity and the gain installing Start 11 or Startallback will give for the tiny investment I could not understand them not getting one of them installed for those who need it.
Although Explorer Patcher works, it is a maintenance nightmare. It will cause issues after Windows updates, sometimes serious issues even crashes, until it itself gets updated. So IT would have many hours sorting this out each time. The loss of productivity in the end would not make up for the productivity gain by having never combine available while ExplorerPatcher was working correctly.
Why does Microsoft not understand we want the performance of a Mac with W10 interface plus more options like total ungrouping, not just never vertical combine icons NOT the Mac interface with Windows performance. Why do they not understand that if we are forced to have the Mac lack of modification we will buy a Mac.- Whilst I fully agree with the sentiment of all the above posts, for those who don't understand Microsoft's thinking I am going to give my ten pence worth:
Microsoft is no longer a products company. People are disparaging about Steve Balmer but he was no mug and he accurately predicted during his time at the helm that the future was cloud services, and initiated what has become Azure. Since then Microsoft has rapidly evolved from a products company to a cloud services company. When they announced several years ago "we love Linux" they weren't kidding - from Microsoft's perspective Linux and Mac are great because they're more platforms that can consume Azure cloud services. Although Microsoft continues to invest in Windows, the O.S. has lost its strategic significance and this impacts the company's decision-making process. The balance between what the users want and what the company wishes to spend has changed. As I understand it, the replacement taskbar is a UWP app. I'm assuming that this makes life easier in some way for Microsoft themselves - easier to port across devices, or less complex architecture perhaps. For whatever reason, they took a strategic decision to replace the taskbar with an app, which invariably means a loss of functionality as there's no way anyone is going to invest in porting all features across without letting the user base at it first, for fear of wasting effort on features that aren't that important to the users - much safer to put a minimum viable product out there and listen to the feedback. I've no doubt that the new taskbar will get enhancements based on feedback; hopefully reports that we're getting the "never combine" feature back are correct - the sad fact is that WIndows is a lot less important to Microsoft than it once was, and those of us who use it have little option but to make loads of noise while waiting for crumbs from the table.
Is it time for a new player to enter the OS arena perhaps?
there is hope!
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/a-highly-requested-classic-taskbar-feature-is-coming-to-windows-11-soon-heres-a-first-look
As with many other people I switched to using ExplorerPatcher, which was a great tool and gave me back everything that I wanted - never combine, Quick Launch, plus many more tweaks. Unfortunately when Windows 11 upgraded itself to 22H2, ExplorerPatcher would no longer work - it kept going through a loop whereby it would crash and automatically restart - my faster PC did so at a frequency of under 1 second per cycle. I wouldn't put it past Microsoft to have done something deliberately in order to break it.
Given that the Explorer is the primary user interface this rendered it impossible to interact with the system - I had to start in safe mode command line only in order to uninstall ExplorerPatcher and get control again.
So now I'm back where I started. The issue has been raised on ExplorerPatcher's Github site but surprisingly not by many people - I added my vote to it FWIW. All we can do now is wait and hope.- What you will find is that explorer patcher will be have an update now or soon to fix this.
It will happen most times W11 updates and is very annoying and why lots of people no longer use it. It is as though MS do things in updates to stop it working.
I like some others now pay a few bucks for Start 11 or StartAllback as this never seems to happen with them. Best of luckHi ,
A Microsoft employee marked this answer as the best, so maybe this is a tip for users?
Re: How to let windows 11 "never combine taskbar buttons"? - Page 2 - Microsoft Community Hub
- The same exactly happened to me. I followed a more complex way to resolve it, I completely uninstalled the latest Win update (from the Safe Mode) and got back control, then I uninstalled EP and then I got the latest Win update (22H2). Finally, I downloaded the latest version of EP which was optimized for 22H2 ( 22621.1413.54.5) and everything worked fine. ExplorerPatcher works fine with the new update.
Lesson learned: Before any major Win update simply uninstall EP and reinstall it after the new Win update has been installed. Use always the latest EP version.
I hope this helped
- Looks like something is finally moving, I got this back from Microsoft Q&A:
From; Wesley Li-MSFT
Hello Thank you for posting in our Q&A forum. Microsoft is working on bringing back the ability to ungroup taskbar icons/items or buttons. With this feature, you can restore the classic Windows 10 behavior where the same app is not grouped under one icon. This feature is coming in the fall. https://www.windowslatest.com/2023/03/16/windows-11s-never-combine-taskbar-icons-feature-is-coming-in-the-fall/#:~:text=The%20feature%20is%20called%20the,be%20grouped%20under%20one%20icon.
Keep on liking everyone!!- The article you have posted a link to has no official status in fact if you look at the bottom of the page it clearly says "© 2023 Windows Latest | Not associated with Microsoft" so what we have is someone saying they have been told by someone they say is in Microsoft. There is no name or posting of the actual reply.
I hope it is correct, but come Autumn I wouldn't start holding my breath.
This also brings us back to the question, why will Microsoft directly engage with it's customers in regards to functionality of Windows. Tis would be a chance for them to actually find out what we want the taskbar to do. -- I would like the taskbar icons to not only be ungrouped but also able to be moved anywhere on the taskbar independently and allow the order to be changed on the taskbar, like you can with browser tabs. I was able to do this with "Taskbar Tweaker" but that app is not being updated for Win 11 due to the Taskbar changes.
The odd thing is that if you use tabs in File Explorer you can drag the tabs to change the order. The same as you can in Notepad and in WPS office for Word, Excel and PDF docs.
Currently, although I amusing Start 11 to uncombine Taskbar Icons I have only one of each Icon open on the Taskbar, but have a number of Tabs open in different Apps. - Finally, thanks for the update. I will use Win 11 once that function has been confirmed.
NickP2020 Hi,
Thank you all, it seems that there is no Microsoft space where competent employees will respond to our requests!
Greetings Windows Team and Windows 11 developers.
We ask for real information on this topic, which has touched so many users.
I'm very sorry everyone, but the information that this feature will return in autumn 2023 is total nonsense!
So far in insider versions - does not exist - only so you can make changes that are implemented into the stable version of Windows11.
- Another patch Tuesday has passed and the option to never combine is still not here. So disappointed.
Hi ceantuco
Don't really expect this feature to come back like this – only an annual update can fix it!
Hi
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/tags/60/windows
This is a recommended space for asking technical questions - there you can get an answer from Microsoft engineers (maybe it's worth asking this question there?)
Maybe it can be clarified?
Thank you - we are waiting for your reply:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1226025/when-will-never-combine-taskbar-icons-be-returned
This is the optimistic answer:
https://www.windowslatest.com/2023/03/16/windows-11s-never-combine-taskbar-icons-feature-is-coming-in-the-fall/#:%7E:text=The%20feature%20is%20called%20the,be%20grouped%20under%20one%20icon.
It's unacceptable that Microsoft took away the "never combine taskbar" ability with Windows 11. It's impossible for folks to work efficiently, especially for those who have multiple instances of the same program open across multiple monitors (Excel, Word, Edge, etc).
- Absolutely correct and if possible you should switch to WPS office which has its own internal tabs.
Hit MS where it hurts, do not buy their products or pay for updates to the new version.
Dealbreaker for me, no windows 11 for me till this basic functionality is back.
- You have the correct terminology: "basic funtionality"
