The Shelf is the central taskbar in ChromeOS, providing instant access to pinned applications, open windows, the App Launcher, and the Quick Settings status tray. While the Shelf resides at the bottom of your display by default, tailoring its location, visibility, and pinned shortcuts can substantially optimise your workspace—especially on compact Chromebook screens or external ultrawide monitors.
Why Customise the Chromebook Shelf?
Adjusting Shelf behaviour offers several ergonomic and multitasking advantages:
- Maximised Screen Real Estate: Enabling auto-hide clears full vertical space for reading long PDF documents, coding in terminal sessions, or browsing spreadsheets.
- Ergonomic Repositioning: Moving the Shelf to the left or right edge is ideal for widescreen displays and dual-monitor configurations.
- One-Tap App Access: Pinning essential web apps, Android applications, or Linux packages streamlines your daily routine.
- Organised Multi-Window Workflow: Easily distinguish between running instances and pinned shortcuts with subtle system indicators.
How to Change the Shelf Position on Chromebook
You can reposition the Shelf to any display boundary according to your personal preference:
- Right-click (or two-finger tap on your trackpad) on any empty area of your desktop wallpaper or an empty spot on the Shelf.
- Hover over or click on Shelf position.
- Select from the available options:
- Bottom: Standard desktop layout.
- Left: Moves the shelf to the left screen boundary (popular for ultrawide displays).
- Right: Moves the shelf to the right screen boundary.
- The Shelf transitions instantly to your chosen edge without reloading active applications.
How to Enable Shelf Auto-Hide for Extra Space
If you prefer a clean, edge-to-edge desktop experience that mimics full-screen mode:
- Right-click an empty portion of the Shelf or desktop.
- Select Autohide shelf.
- The Shelf smoothly retracts off-screen whenever you are active within an application.
- To reveal the Shelf when hidden, move your mouse cursor to the boundary where the Shelf is docked, or swipe inward from the display edge on touchscreen Chromebooks.
How to Pin and Unpin Applications on the Shelf
Curating your pinned tray ensures high-frequency utilities are always within reach:
| Action | Instructions | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Pin an Open App | Right-click the application icon on the Shelf and select Pin. | The icon remains permanently anchored even when closed. |
| Pin from App Launcher | Press the Everything button (Search key), find the app, right-click its card, and choose Pin to shelf. | Adds the app to the Shelf tray. |
| Unpin an App | Right-click the pinned icon and choose Unpin. | Removes the persistent shortcut; the app remains accessible via the Launcher. |
| Reorder Pinned Apps | Click and hold any pinned icon, then drag it horizontally or vertically along the Shelf. | Snaps the shortcut into your preferred sequence. |
Pinning Web Pages as Dedicated Shelf Apps
You can turn any frequently visited website into a standalone Shelf launcher:
- Navigate to the target website in Google Chrome.
- Click the three-dot More menu in the top-right corner of Chrome.
- Select Save and share > Create shortcut (or Install page as app).
- Tick the box labelled Open as window to run it in a distraction-free window without address bar tabs.
- Click Create. The web portal is immediately added to your Shelf, opening in its own clean window frame with an isolated taskbar badge.