How to Change Which Taskbar Shows Apps on Multiple Screens in Windows 11

What is the Taskbar?

The taskbar is the bar usually at the bottom of your screen. It has important icons like the Start menu, Search, Task View (a feature to see all open windows), Widgets, Chat, File Explorer, and your web browser. By default, these icons are centered on the taskbar.

Multiple Displays and Taskbars

Windows lets you put a taskbar on every screen when you use multiple monitors, not just your main one, giving you more control over how you see your apps.

• Main display: This is where the clock and special icons appear 🖥️ on the taskbar.
• Other displays: They can also show taskbars, but these usually don’t have the clock or corner icons.

You can choose exactly how the taskbar shows your apps on multiple screens.

How to Choose Where Your Taskbar Shows Apps

You have three main ways to decide where your apps show up on your taskbars when you’re using multiple screens.

• All taskbars: Apps you pinned or opened appear on every taskbar on all screens.
• Main taskbar and taskbar where the app is open: Pinned apps only show on the main taskbar. Open apps show on the main taskbar and also on the screen where the app is open.
• Taskbar where the app is open: Pinned apps only show on the main taskbar. Open apps only show on the screen where the app is open.

—

Option 1Change Taskbar App Display Using ⚙️ Windows Settings

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
2. Click Personalization on the left menu, then select Taskbar on the right.
3. Scroll down and click on Taskbar behaviors to expand it.
4. Find the dropdown next to When using multiple displays, show my taskbar apps on.
5. Choose one of the three options mentioned above:
   
   All taskbars, Main taskbar and taskbar where window is open, or Taskbar where window is open.
   
6. Close Settings when done.

You can easily change how 🖥️ your taskbar apps appear across multiple displays right in ⚙️ Windows Settings by going to Personalization and then Taskbar.

You can easily change how 🖥️ your taskbar apps appear across multiple displays right in ⚙️ Windows Settings by going to Personalization and then Taskbar.

Note: If the option to choose where apps show is greyed out, make sure ‘Show my taskbar on all displays’ is turned on.

—

Option 2Change Taskbar App Display Using a Batch File

If you prefer, you can use a small script (a batch file) to change these settings quickly without navigating through menus. I’ve provided three options below, each tailored to one of 🖥️ the taskbar app display methods.

Show apps on All taskbars:

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V MMTaskbarEnabled /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V MMTaskbarMode /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

Show pinned apps on main taskbar, open apps on main and open window taskbar:

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V MMTaskbarEnabled /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V MMTaskbarMode /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

Show pinned apps on main taskbar, open apps only on taskbar where window is open:

For advanced users, you can use a simple script to set your taskbar to show pinned apps only on the main screen and open apps only on the screen where they are running.



Open Notepad on your PC.
Copy one of the code blocks and paste it into Notepad.
Save the file with a .bat extension, like change_taskbar.bat. Make sure "Save as type" is set to "All files".
Right-click the saved file and choose Run as administrator.
Your taskbar will restart, and the new setting will apply.



---

Summary

• Multiple Display Options: You can pick how and where taskbar apps show when using more than one screen.
• Easy Settings: Change this anytime in the Windows Settings under Personalization > Taskbar.
• Quick Changes with Scripts: Use batch files to switch settings fast if you prefer.
• Better Workflow: Adjusting taskbar behavior helps keep your workspace organized and easy to use.
• Consistent Look: Make sure your taskbars look and act the way you want on all screens.

You have flexible options for how your taskbar apps appear across multiple monitors, which you can easily adjust through Windows Settings or even quick scripts for a more organized workspace.