How to Change Windows 11 Taskbar Search Button Layout

Change the Search Button Style Using Settings

You can change your Windows 11 taskbar search button style through the main Settings app ⚙️ by going to the Personalization menu and selecting your preferred layout option. This lets you hide the search 🔍 bar completely, show just a small icon, or keep the full search box visible on your screen without touching any advanced system tools.

1. Open the Settings ⚙️ app. Click the Start menu ⊞ (Windows icon) at the bottom-left of your screen. Then click Settings ⚙️. Or press Win+I on your keyboard to open Settings ⚙️ directly.

2. In Settings, click Personalization on the left side menu.

3. On the right, click Taskbar.

4. Scroll to the Taskbar items section. Find Search and click it.
5. Pick how you want the Search to look on your Taskbar:

   • Hide – No Search button shown
   • Search icon only – Just a small magnifying glass icon
   • Search box – A box where you can type your search (default)
   • Search button – A button style different from the box

Applying modifications updates the taskbar instantly. New search styles appear right away without requiring a reboot.

Change the Search Box Layout Using Registry Editor (Advanced)

You can change the Windows 11 taskbar search box layout globally for every user account on your computer by modifying specific values inside Registry Editor (a database that stores low-level settings for Windows and apps). This advanced method applies your preferred search style to all profiles at once, but you must follow the steps carefully to avoid system errors.

Registry Editor configurations target global user environments. Precision remains critical when altering system keys. Experienced administrators utilize this database path for persistent deployments.

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor. Press Windows key + R. Type regedit and press Enter. You can also read how to open the Registry in Windows 11.
2. In the Registry Editor, go to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search
3. If you do not see the Search folder under CurrentVersion, right-click CurrentVersion. Select New › Key and name it Search.

4. Click on the Search folder on the left.
5. On the right side, right-click in the empty space. Choose New › DWORD (32-bit) Value.
6. Name this new value SearchboxTaskbarMode.
7. Double-click SearchboxTaskbarMode and set its value to one of these numbers:

   • 0 – Hide the search box
   • 1 – Show search icon only
   • 2 – Show search box (default)
   • 3 – Show search button

8. After you set the value, the Taskbar will update right away. Close the Registry Editor when done.

The taskbar updates your search preferences immediately.

Summary

You can customize your Windows 11 taskbar search appearance using either the built-in Settings app for your personal user account or Registry Editor for every profile on the machine. These available layout options let you switch between a hidden state, a small magnifying glass icon, a standard button, or the full search box depending on your personal workflow preferences.

Available layouts include hidden states, small icons, full boxes, and standalone buttons.

Participants in the Insider Preview program (Microsoft's beta testing channel) frequently receive experimental interface updates.

Further documentation regarding document retrieval is available in this comprehensive guide: How to Search and Find Documents in Windows 11.