The Missing Taskbar Space
By default, Windows 10 places a massive, wide Search Box right next to the Start button on your taskbar. Originally, this box was designed to encourage users to interact with Microsoft’s virtual assistant, Cortana, and to search the web directly from the desktop. It dominates the taskbar, taking up valuable real estate that could otherwise be used for pinned applications or running program icons.
Because you can perform the exact same search by simply clicking the Start button and immediately starting to type, this dedicated text box is completely redundant. If you are working on a laptop with a smaller screen, removing it is one of the easiest ways to instantly declutter your workspace. You can easily shrink this box down to a tiny icon, or hide it completely.
How to Hide the Taskbar Search Box
You can remove the box simply by right-clicking on the taskbar itself.
- Locate an empty space on your Windows 10 Taskbar (the bar at the bottom of the screen).
- Right-click on that empty space.
- A context menu will appear. Hover your mouse over the Search option near the top of the list.
- A sub-menu will fly out with three options:
- Hidden
- Show search icon
- Show search box
- To completely remove it, click on Hidden.
- If you prefer to keep a small magnifying glass, click on Show search icon instead.
The massive white text box will instantly vanish, returning a large chunk of your taskbar space. Remember, even with it hidden, you can still search your PC at any time by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard and typing your query.