How to Change Taskbar Size on Windows 11

One of the biggest changes in Windows 11 is the taskbar. You’ll notice that your taskbar icons are now centered and there isn’t a “small icons” or “labels” option to shrink them down. Not to fear, though – today we’re going to show you how to make taskbar icons bigger or smaller in Windows 11 using a handy registry hack.

Taskbar too big or small? Here is how to change Windows 11 taskbar icon size

First, you should know that Windows 11 taskbar icons come in three sizes: small, medium, or large. Medium is the default size, so you have room to maneuver whether your taskbar is too big or too small.

The easiest way to change the Windows 11 taskbar size is with a registry edit. You can learn more about using the registry here, but as long as you follow along carefully and back up the registry beforehand, it should be straightforward and safe.

By default, Windows 11's taskbar is a decent size, but what if you want it a little bigger so you can see the icons better? Conversely, what if you want it a little smaller so you can fit more of your content on the screen at once?

The good news is that, using a simple registry tweak,  you can set the taskbar in Windows 11 to one of three sizes: small, medium or large, with the medium size being the same as the default. The size will effect both the bar itself and any icons within it, including the Start, search and task view buttons. 

How Make Taskbar Icons Bigger or Smaller in Windows 11

1. Open Regedit To open the Registry Editor, click the search button on your taskbar and then type Regedit. Click the top result.

2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.

3. Create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value by right clicking in the right window pane and selecting New->DWORD (32-bit) Value.

4. Name the file TaskbarSi, exactly how it is written here, without any spaces.

5. Next, double click on the newly created TaskbarSi key and make sure the Base is set to Hexadecimal.

6. Set the value to one of the following to 0, 1 or 2 which give you small, medium or large. Then save your changes by clicking the OK button.

• 0 = Small icons
• 1 = Medium icons (default)
• 2 = Large icons

7. After saving the changes in the Registry Editor, restart the Windows Explorer using the Task Manager.
8. Right-click on the Start button and select Task Manager from the menu options.

9. On the Task Manager window, scroll down until you find Windows Explorer, then click on it to highlight it and press the Restart button at the bottom right corner of the window.

It will refresh and update your Taskbar to a smaller size. As you can see in the screenshot below, the taskbar height and icon size are smaller than the default size in Windows 11.

Video:

How Do I Make My Taskbar Normal Size?

If you ever wish to restore the default Windows 11 Taskbar, you can do so by deleting the TaskbarSi file that we created in the following directory in the Registry Editor.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Inside the above-mentioned directory, right-click on the TaskbarSi file and select Delete from the context menu.

Then, restart the Windows Explorer (or restart your PC) and everything will be back to normal.

Creating the ‘TaskbarSi’ registry key is an harmless workaround if you need a small Taskbar with smaller app icons on Windows 11. We hope this guide serves you well.