Toggle Taskbar Visibility in Windows with a Command (No Restart Required)
The Windows taskbar is a versatile and convenient feature of the Windows operating system. However, there might be instances when you would like to hide it temporarily, especially when using full-screen applications. This article will guide you through creating a command to toggle the visibility of the taskbar without requiring a restart of Windows Explorer.
Understanding the Taskbar Visibility Setting
The taskbar can be set to auto-hide or be always visible. To enable auto-hide, right-click on the taskbar, choose Taskbar settings, and toggle the Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode option. This action will make the taskbar disappear when not in use, and it will reappear when you hover your mouse cursor over the taskbar area.
Using a Command to Toggle Taskbar Visibility
To accomplish the taskbar toggling without restarting Windows Explorer, you can use a utility called nircmd. You can download it from nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html.
Installing Nircmd
After downloading the Nircmd package, extract it. Then, add the nircmd executable to your system's PATH. You can do this by right-clicking on nircmd.exe, choosing Properties, then selecting the Security tab and granting Full control to your user account. Next, copy the nircmd.exe file to your C:\Windows\System32 directory.
Creating a Command to Toggle Taskbar Visibility
Create a new text file named toggle_taskbar.bat with the following content:
@echo off
tasklist | find /i "explorer.exe" > nul
if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
nircmd.exe win hide class "Shell\_TrayWnd"
) else (
nircmd.exe win show class "Shell\_TrayWnd"
)This script will check if explorer.exe (which manages the taskbar) is running. If it is, the script will hide the taskbar. If not, it will show the taskbar.
Running the Toggle Taskbar Command
To use the command, open a Command Prompt window (cmd.exe) and execute the toggle_taskbar.bat script.
References
- NirSoft – NirCmd (https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html)