Setting up multiple monitors on Windows 11 expands productive desktop space, allowing users to run communication tools, web browsers, and coding environments simultaneously across separate screens. By default, Windows 11 replicates the taskbar across every connected display. While this ensures quick access to the Start button and pinned applications on secondary monitors, some users find multi-taskbar setups distracting or prefer reserving secondary displays exclusively for full-canvas application windows. Windows 11 includes dedicated taskbar behaviour settings to toggle multi-monitor taskbars and customize where active application buttons appear.
Multi-Monitor Taskbar Customisation Options
Windows 11 provides granular control over how application buttons behave when multiple taskbars are active:
- All taskbars: Displays icons for every open application on every monitor’s taskbar, regardless of which screen the window physically resides on.
- Main taskbar and taskbar where window is open: Displays icons on your primary display at all times, but on secondary displays, shows only the icons for windows open on that specific screen.
- Taskbar where window is open: Strictly isolates app icons to the monitor containing the active window, creating a tidy, distraction-free environment.
Step-by-Step Instructions: Showing or Hiding the Secondary Taskbar
To enable or disable the taskbar across multiple displays:
- Press the Windows Key + I on your keyboard to open the Settings app.
- From the navigation panel on the left, click on Personalization.
- Scroll down the right pane and select Taskbar.
- Click on the Taskbar behaviors card near the bottom of the page to expand the menu options.
- Locate the setting labeled Show my taskbar on all displays:
- To Hide Taskbars on Secondary Monitors: Uncheck the box. The taskbar disappears immediately from all secondary and external screens, remaining visible only on your primary monitor.
- To Show Taskbars on All Monitors: Check the box. Taskbars will render across all connected displays.
Configuring Button Placement Across Multiple Taskbars
If you choose to keep the taskbar active across all displays, fine-tune button routing for peak multitasking efficiency:
- With Show my taskbar on all displays checked, locate the secondary setting: When using multiple displays, show my taskbar apps on.
- Click the drop-down menu and select Taskbar where window is open.
- Now, when you drag an application window (such as a browser or document) from your primary screen over to your secondary screen, its taskbar icon dynamically migrates along with it, ensuring each display’s taskbar reflects only the work currently visible on that monitor.
Combining Taskbar Buttons on Secondary Displays
Within the same Taskbar behaviors panel, you can customize button labels on secondary screens:
- Locate Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels on other taskbars.
- Choose between Always (keeps icons compact), When taskbar is full, or Never (shows full window titles next to icons on secondary screens).