This guide will help you easily hide or show the small icons that appear near your clock on the taskbar in Windows 11. These icons tell you about app notifications and other important info.

What is the Taskbar Corner Overflow Menu?

On Windows 11, some app icons don’t always show directly on the taskbar. Instead, they go into a hidden area called the taskbar corner overflow menu (sometimes called the “Show hidden icons” menu). You can open it by clicking the little up arrow (^) near the clock.

You can choose which icons appear directly on the taskbar and which ones stay hidden in this menu.

How to Move Icons Using Drag and Drop

Hide Icons (Move from Taskbar to Overflow Menu)

1. Click and hold the icon you want to hide on the taskbar.
2. Drag it upward away from the taskbar.
3. Drop it into the overflow menu area (above the taskbar).

Show Icons (Move from Overflow Menu to Taskbar)

1. Click the little up arrow (^) on the taskbar to open the overflow menu.
2. Click and hold the icon you want to show on the taskbar.
3. Drag it down onto the taskbar and release it.

Change Which Icons Appear Using Settings

1. Press Win + I keys to open Settings.
2. On the left, click Personalization, then select Taskbar on the right.
3. Click on Other system tray icons to expand the list.
4. Turn the switch On to show an icon on the taskbar, or Off to hide it in the overflow menu.

Open Taskbar Settings

Note for Advanced Users

Windows saves your icon preferences in the system registry here:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\NotifyIconSettings\App ID
IsPromoted

• 0 means the icon is hidden (in overflow menu)
• 1 means the icon is shown on the taskbar

About “Always Show All Icons and Notifications”

There used to be a Control Panel option called “Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar”, but this option no longer works properly in Windows 11.

If you want to check it anyway:

1. Press Win + R to open Run.
2. Type or paste shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9} and press Enter.
3. In the window that opens, check or uncheck Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar, then click OK.

Summary

• The taskbar corner overflow menu holds hidden app icons and notifications.
• You can customize which icons show on the taskbar by dragging icons or using Settings.
• Settings are found under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Other system tray icons.
• Advanced users can tweak registry settings for more control.
• The “Always show all icons” option is outdated and may not work as expected.

By following these simple steps, you can keep your taskbar clean and only show the icons you need.