Forum Discussion
Separating the taskbar open applications and pinned applications
I am in search of a very specific taskbar configuration. While there are several software options that separate the start button to the left while keeping apps centered, I need something more: I want pinned apps to stay on the left side (next to the start button), while currently running/open apps appear in the center of the taskbar. Essentially, pinned apps would remain in a fixed position on the left, and active windows would be displayed separately in the middle. Does any software support this kind of split taskbar layout?
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So you're trying to get pinned apps locked to the left, sitting beside the start button, while open apps appear completely separately in the center of the taskbar. That exact layout doesn't exist in any current software. TaskbarX centers everything, but it treats pinned and open apps the same. StartAllBack and ExplorerPatcher can move things around, but they also don't split the two groups. Everything still behaves like one block.
Some people try to fake it using Rainmeter. They leave pinned apps on the regular taskbar and create a floating dock in the center that only shows open windows. It looks close to what you want, but it's not a real taskbar. No jump lists, no thumbnail previews, and sometimes the order gets weird.
If you care mostly about appearance and you're fine with third-party setups that aren't perfect functionally, we could make something with that approach. If you're hoping for a clean tool that just installs and works, nothing really exists yet for this layout.
Are you using Windows 10 or 11? And do you want to try the visual trick route, or only something native and stable? That makes a difference.
