7+ Taskbar Tweaker
7+ Taskbar Tweaker allows you to configure various aspects of the Windows taskbar.
Most of the configuration options it provides can’t be tweaked using the taskbar properties or the registry.
The tweaker is designed for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
Download
7tt_setup.exe (1.78 MB, changelog)
Latest version: v5.15.2
Note: The installer can be used to extract a portable version. Refer to the FAQ below for details.
Beta version
7tt_setup_beta.exe (1.78 MB, changelog)
Latest beta version: v5.15.2.2
More info about beta versions.
✖
Windows 11 Support Status
- 7+ Taskbar Tweaker doesn’t support the Windows 11 taskbar, and probably never will. See this blog post for more details.
- Some of the tweaks are available in Windows 11 as Windhawk mods. See here for the list of mods, and vote for missing mods that you’d like to see implemented. Read more about Windhawk here.
- 7+ Taskbar Tweaker works on Windows 11 version 23H2 and older with the old taskbar which can be restored with third party tools. See this blog post for more details.
Demo video
Here is a video that demonstrates some of the tweaks:
Source code
https://github.com/m417z/7-Taskbar-Tweaker
FAQ
Q: Which registry keys does 7+ Taskbar Tweaker modify? I don’t need extra processes in my system.
A: The only registry keys the tweaker modifies are its own settings. There are no registry keys for the options it provides. The tweaker does that by injecting a DLL to explorer, hooking/subclassing/some other methods of the dark side.
As for extra processes, the tweaker is a native program, and is very lightweight. It shouldn’t slow down your system, and uses an extremely small amount of memory. Also, you can hide the tray icon if you want.
In case you want to remove the tweaker’s settings from the registry, look for them here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\7 Taskbar Tweaker
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run (7 Taskbar Tweaker value)
P.S. if you’re a programmer, you might want to take a look at the 7+ Taskbar Tweaking Library.
Q: My antivirus complains about 7+ Taskbar Tweaker.
A: It’s a false positive. I guarantee that the tweaker binaries (and any other files on this site, unless specifically noted) are 100% clean.
Also remember that the tweaker injects into explorer and modifies its memory, which is indeed suspicious.
Q: Can I Group/Combine/Label only some of the items on the taskbar?
A: Yes, use Taskbar Inspector.
Q: May I use 7+ Taskbar Tweaker in a commercial environment?
A: Yes, feel free to use it wherever you want.
Q: Where is the portable version?
A: When installing the tweaker, choose the Portable type of install, as shown on the image below.
The portable version will be extracted to the selected folder.
Note: If the tweaker is already installed on your computer, the option won’t be visible. You can launch the setup with the /portable command line switch to force a portable installation.
Q: I want to report a bug/suggest a feature! What is the best way to do it?
A: Post it on the UserEcho page.
Q: I want to translate 7+ Taskbar Tweaker to my language.
A: The archive below contains the files needed to be translated.
Please read readme.txt before proceeding.
7tt_translate.zip (758.63 kB)
If you are brave enough to translate the help file, contact me for the required software and files.
Tags: 7+ taskbar tweaker
Hi,
KB5039239 Windows 11 24H2 [Manual download] 26100.863 as a new security update [First official update]
read:
https://www.deskmodder.de/blog/2024/06/16/kb5039239-windows-11-24h2-manueller-download-26100-863-als-neues-sicherheitsupdate
I like the multipage_wheel_scroll option because it’s very cumbersome to use the tiny scroll bar buttons when my taskbar is full. But I have some problems because it collides with the mouse wheel minimize/restore feature and mouse wheel volume control.
Could you consider the following ideas to fix these issues?
Problem #1: Multipage scrolling vs. Minimize/restore
If I scroll on a program icon, two actions are triggered at the same time. The window is minimized or restored and the taskbar scrolls to the next or previous page.
Solution:
Prioritize minimize/restore when the mouse on a program icon. Don’t scroll to the next or previous page if minimize/restore feature is enabled.
Problem #2: Minimize/restore makes it impossible to use multi-page scrolling
When minimize/restore and multi-page scrolling are enabled, it’s impossible to scroll to the next page without minimizing windows. There’s no empty space on the taskbar, so it’s unavoidable that I’m hovering a program icon. If you prioritize minimize/restore on program icons as suggested in solution #1, it becomes impossible to scroll down. (except I place the mouse on the scroll bar buttons)
Solution:
Multi-page scrolling is only triggered inside the area where program icons are displayed (the area between the task view button and the system try). Instead, make multi-page scrolling available on the complete taskbar. That way users can benefit from both features. You can minimize/restore programs and you can scroll pages if you move the mouse on the start button (or search field/search button/task view button/system tray).
Problem #3: Multi-page scrolling vs. Volume control
Volume control doesn’t work when multi-page scrolling is enabled and the mouse is at an empty space on the taskbar. Even if the taskbar has only one row.
Solution:
If there’s only one row, use the scroll wheel for volume control. If there are two rows, use the scroll wheel for multi-page scrolling, except in the notification area. Always use the notification area for volume control, if it is enabled.
In case you implement solution #2, this allows you to still use volume control in the notification area.
I don’t see this behavior. In my tests, it only appears to be scrolled if after minimizing, the active window becomes a window from a different taskbar “page”, so scrolling happens to make it visible (also happens after alt+tab etc.).
That’s already what should happen.
Indeed, you can hover the scroll bar buttons. You can also use the empty space. You can use the “Reserve empty space on taskbar” option to always have some empty space on the right.
Right, I thought that it would be confusing to have it sometimes control the volume and sometimes scroll the taskbar. As you noted, you can just use the notification area for the volume in this case.
All in all, I see no issues and no collisions. All three options are usable together. The only suggestion I think can be useful is to extend scrolling to the whole taskbar in case the arrows are too small for you and you don’t like the “Reserve empty space on taskbar” option, but it’s so niche that it’s unlikely to be added.
Using mouse wheel for both:
a) cycle between taskbar buttons
b) control volume when mouse is over the taskbar
is making volume control to work only over the notification area.
Is it possible, please, to add a secondary checkbox for volume control over taskbar in order to choose to work over the empty space of taskbar (c)?
In this way, using a+b+c will split the taskbar space more evenly between both commands.
Thank you
Paypal prompts that my country/region cannot provide sponsorship to your country/region
Is there any way to get the request code?
Hi, thanks for offering a donation. Currently, the only options are PayPal and Bitcoin.
StartAllBack 3.8 has been released and 7+ Taskbar Tweaker is not compatible with it anymore. It shows the classic message “Can’t load library”. Could you please adjust 7+TT so that it is compatible with StartAllBack?
Hi Dmitry,
I might look at it in the future, but it’s not a priority.
Also, how about asking the StartAllBack authors about it? StartAllBack is a paid software, after all.
Hi Michael,
Wanted to also put my vote in for the compatibility fix with StartAllBack. It will be super useful, if possible for you to issue such a fix. I will write to the authors of StartAllBack also as you have suggested.
By the way, Taskbar Tweaker has become such an essential utility for me that I (and I am sure many others) would be happy to pay for it.
Thank you.
Hi, the donation page can be found here. Thank you for the support.
Tihiy didn’t seem interested in implementing middle-click to close taskbar buttons, as they seem only interested in reimplementing the taskbar as it is in Windows 10 on 11.
But maybe if more people request features, they will end up budging.
Thankyou for this. I updated to 3.8.3 recently but didn’t realise that was the issue. I’ve downgraded to startallback-3-7-10 and 7tt works again.
With the newest StartAllBack it seems to have broken compatibility with 7+TT. I updated it because the show desktop button disappeared.
The error I get now is “Could not load library(5)”
I’m not sure if anything can be done on your end but I thought I’d at least let you know.
Hi, thanks, I just replied to another comment about it:
I too hit this issue and first sent an email to StartAllBack/StartIsBack and the developer kind-of skipped over the fact that it stopped working and only spoke to one of my questions. So I don’t think anything’s going to happen on that end. I have reverted to StartAllBack v3.7.11 which is allowing 7TT to keep working for now. Not sure who’s end the problem started from, but if easily fixable, I would appreciate a fix too (I donated quite a while back to you as I’ve been using 7TT for years and love it).
After the KB5041580(19045.4780) update, every time the mouse moved over the start button on 2nd display’s taskbar, the explorer.exe crashes and restarts.
Exit 7TT will fix the problem (explorer.exe will still crash once but will be fine after that). Please take a look when you have a chance, thank you.
Might related to the taskbar option “Show Task View button”. It seems no more crash with 7TT running after disabled this option. But explorer.exe still crashes if hit win+tab to bring up the task view.
I can confirm both reports by Hibino, after installing Windows 10 August updates, when 7+ Taskbar Tweaker is running explorer.exe crashes and restarts when:
1. Hovering the mouse over the Start button on secondary display, or
2. Pressing Win+Tab or the Taskbar’s Task View button.
Closing 7TT fixes the issue (after an additional explorer.exe crash).
Thank you!
Uninstalling KB5041580 fixes the issue. BTW, the issue only seems to be present when the system has multiple displays configured.
Thank you!
The issue was fixed in version 5.15.2.
Thank you very much for the update. It is working as expected again. Cheers.
Thank you very much for the update, donated again.
Thank you for the support, I appreciate it.
Unfortunately this update did not fix the issue for me. I’m on Windows 11 23H2. 7TT still crashes with the error message “Could not load library (107)”. Reverting to StartAllBack 3.7.11 allows 7TT to still work.
That’s a different issue. 7+ Taskbar Tweaker isn’t compatible with StartAllBack 3.8. See:
https://tweaker.userecho.com/topics/1307-7-taskbar-tweaker-isnt-compatible-with-startallback-38
That’s a bummer. Thanks for the clarification though.
Heya, I’ve been using 7TT for a while on Win10 and love it.
Since a recent update I’ve noticed that with disable_topmost=2 set, tapping the Win key to pull up the taskbar will make Explorer hang, but not crash. The only way to get the taskbar, Alt+Tab etc working again is to pull up Task Manager and restart the Explorer process through there. Event Viewer doesn’t appear to show any logs of Explorer crashing.
I have the “multiple choice”(filled in bubble) options set to the default behavior in the main 7TT settings, both drop-down settings are on “Nothing(default)” and the only boxes I have checked in the settings are “Display seconds on the tray clock” and “Reserve empty space on taskbar”. In the advanced options I have disable_topmost=2, fix_hang_reposition=1, and w10_large_icons=1 with no mouse button control or keyboard shortcuts active.
Some compatibility issues with the latest version were fixed in version 5.15.2. Please try it and let me know whether it fixes this problem too.
Unfortunately 5.15.2 appears to have not fixed this particular issue.
Further information that might help is that when the taskbar is already visible, such as when pressing the Win key and then clicking on the taskbar so it’s on top, pressing the Win key any number of times does not cause a hang. It opens and closes the Start menu without issue. It only seems to happen if the taskbar isn’t on top of the active window.
The exact steps I’ve been able to take to reproduce Explorer hanging even in 5.12.2 are as follows:
Setup – Have disable_topmost=2 set in advanced settings.
1 – Have a program running in borderless windowed mode. In my case it’s usually a game.
2 – While the active window is the program running in borderless windowed mode, press the Win key a few times in a row without doing anything else.
Explorer will hang, and if you press the Win key again it will outright crash. In either case, Explorer will require a restart via Task Manager.
I used ProcDump to try and get a good look at what happened, though it didn’t actually generate a dump file. This is what the command prompt had:
Process: explorer.exe (29352)
Process image: C:\Windows\explorer.exe
CPU threshold: n/a
Performance counter: n/a
Commit threshold: n/a
Threshold seconds: n/a
Hung window check: Disabled
Log debug strings: Disabled
Exception monitor: Unhandled
Exception filter: [Includes]
*
[Excludes]
Terminate monitor: Disabled
Cloning type: Disabled
Concurrent limit: n/a
Avoid outage: n/a
Number of dumps: 1
Dump folder: C:\Users\MetalIzanagi\Desktop\Procdump\
Dump filename/mask: PROCESSNAME_YYMMDD_HHMMSS
Queue to WER: Disabled
Kill after dump: Disabled
Press Ctrl-C to end monitoring without terminating the process.
[21:18:01] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:01] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:01] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:01] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:01] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:01] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: 40080201
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.PE$AAVCOMException@Platform@@
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:02] Exception: E06D7363.msc
[21:18:11] Process Exit: PID 29352, Exit Code 0xcfffffff
[21:18:12] The process has exited.
[21:18:12] Dump count not reached.
I was able to reproduce a taskbar hang. It happens while calling the
NotifyNewLockscreenContentfunction, perhaps because there’s nobody to receive that content.The
disable_topmost=2option always had issues since the taskbar wasn’t designed to operate in this mode. In fact, option 2 of “disable_topmost” is a seemingly unused Windows flag which I found by accident and allowed to turn on. I don’t know if or when it’s used nowadays.In any case, I created a quick Windhawk mod that just disables that function, hopefully fixing the hang:
https://gist.github.com/m417z/1cb0ffd3c9bbb5f5333ac3413b27b71a
To install the mod, install Windhawk, then click the bottom right button to create a new mod, replace the code with the content from the link, click “Compile Mod”, then “Exit Editing Mode”.
Let me know if it helps.
It worked! Thank you so much!
Bit of further experimentation and it seems that what’s causing the hang is first tapping the Win key to pull up the start menu/taskbar, and then tapping the Win key again to close it. I’ve consistently made Explorer hang every time I’ve done that.
I can also confirm that it’s disable_topmost=2 that’s causing this. With disable_topmost=0 I can mash the Win key to make the taskbar appear and disappear as much as I want without it making Explorer hang.
Additionally, this seems to only happen when using an application in Borderless Windowed mode.
Since today’s Windows 10 Update (2024.08.16) when trying to change from Virtual Desktop Windows Explorer crashes everytime and restarts.
Exiting 7TT and restarting Windows Explorer then everything works fine!
The issue was fixed in version 5.15.2.
Hi,
Thanks for the reply.
Already installed now and it is working fine!
I had some issues with your software that the 7tt would keep restarting by itself, fixed the issue by disabling the auto updater, no idea how that works, but i thought i should let u know, on both beta and stable ver
rn im running the beta cos i dont want to be stuffed trying the v5.15.2
Hi, I haven’t encountered it, but I’d like to fix it.
First, are you using Windows 10 or Windows 11? If Win11, with which tool? Usually it’s ExplorerPatcher or StartAllBack.
Also, can you please enable dump capturing and send me a crash dump?
You should be able to get it with the following steps:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error ReportingLocalDumpsDumpTypewith value2%LocalAppData%\CrashDumpsfolder, you should see a dump file in thereYou can email it to me.
It’s not exactly crashing, just constantly restarting so it would constantly refreshing, the 7+ taskbar
Im in win 10
https://imgur.com/a/hbxgJFW << Regedit layout that you asked
And no, it didn't generate crash report
""Usually it’s ExplorerPatcher or StartAllBack."" i have no idea what this meant
Constantly restarting usually indicates a crash. The link you posted doesn’t work. Can you also post a video recording of you running 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, and what exactly happens?
https://youtu.be/yqxTtLTEKzA
yeh, idk why the imgur doesnt work, hope this vid of yt work
Thanks, now I understand better what’s going on. I tried to reproduce it, but it doesn’t happen on my computer. Is it still running version 5.12.2 after each relaunch? Or does the version change after each relaunch?
When set to auto-update, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker checks this link for updates:
https://ramensoftware.com/downloads/7tt_setup.exe?update_from=5.15.2
What it should return is `0`, meaning that there’s no new update. What do you see when you visit this link? Perhaps your proxy or VPN makes it so that an incorrect result is returned.
Also, what happens if you don’t enable automatic updates, just “Check for updates”? Does the tweaker show that there’s an update? What info is shown?
currently it got updated from the beta to 5.15.2
When only “check for updates”, it would just do the restart loop as well
yes, i see the 0
ah, when you told me about the proxy, i checked up and disabled my anti deep packet software, Green Tunnel and the restart stopped. i guess it has something to do with proxy/vpn thing then
After updating to v5.15.2, virtual_desktop_order_fix isn’t working.
This area wasn’t touched for a long time, so I assume it stopped working due to a Windows update. I’ll take a look. You can also grab an older version here and make sure that it’s not related to the v5.12.2 update:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mcbychsh0xc1dvu/AAC7NwQTQ-tOTNL2BUZ_CwUua?dl=0
I checked it in my Win10 build 19045.4780, and it seems to work. Please provide more details about your issue, and how to reproduce it.
Thanks. Actually I figured out it was another program (PersistentWindows) that was re-ordering the taskbar.
Hi Michael, sorry to bother but I can’t run 7+ Taskbar Tweaker after updating.
I’ve been using Taskbar Tweaker on Windows 11, along with ExplorerPatcher and StartAllBack, for years. It used to run perfectly with these. Today I applied several updates and now I get this when I start Taskbar Tweaker:
7+ Taskbar Tweaker: Could not load library (5)
Library initialization failed, perhaps your Windows version is not supported.
I tried reinstalling. Do you have any idea what it might be? Thanks
Windows 11: 23H2 build 22631.3880
Explorer: 10.0.22621.3880
Taskbar Tweaker: 5.12.2
(StartAllBack: 3.8.6)
Hi, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker isn’t compatible with StartAllBack 3.8. See:
https://tweaker.userecho.com/topics/1307-7-taskbar-tweaker-isnt-compatible-with-startallback-38
That sucks. I’ll try switching back to 3.7.8 and see if it really causes issues with new Windows updates as they claim.
Thanks for clarifying!
I updated my 64-Bit “Home” version with the latest Win-10 update yesterday/10-11-24 (but the update was from approx. 10 days ago) THEN my 7 Taskbar-Tweaker stopped working. Is there a work-around; for example, a different version of 7 TT that will or might work OR do you plan to revise the SW so it will still work? Thank you!
—Richard
Hi Richard, I’m not familiar with issues with recent Windows 10 updates. What do you mean by “stopped working”? Are you getting an error message? Does explorer crash?
Also, what’s your exact Windows 10 version? It’s best to check the version of the
explorer.exefile in properties. It can be found in theC:\Windowsfolder.The 7+ Taskbar Tweaker version that should work is the latest version (currently v5.15.2) unless there’s some new incompatibility.
https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/wiki/ExplorerPatcher's-taskbar-implementation
and latest W11 support would be great…
I see it’s mentioned in the FAQ.
On my side, I don’t plan on making 7+ Taskbar Tweaker compatible with ExplorerPatcher’s taskbar implementation, but I’m working on making some Windhawk mods work with it. Mods that are planned to be compatible include:
I have to use w10 taskbar&7+tt&win1122h2 only because “grouping on the taskbar” lacks the “Taskbar Inspector” of 7+tt, namely the ability to arbitrarily group WINDOWS.
And yeah I see that the “grouping on the taskbar” in winHawk presumably allows grouping by application ID, but I need exactly the same functionality and UI as “Taskbar Inspector” of 7+tt.
What’s missing in Windhawk?
Functionality and UI of “Taskbar Inspector” of 7+tt. Ability to arbitrarily group WINDOWS in real time For example [one chrome.exe window, webstorm.exe window] [other chrome.exe window, zoom.exe window]
while not breaking default grouping. just on top of that the ability to arbitrarily customize groups by drag&dropping. that’s all I personally need from 7+TT…
And btw that is needed to shfit+right_click a group of windows and minimize/restore it (all its windows).
I understand. Yes, that’s not available in Windhawk. So your best hope for now is to wait for the ExplorerPatcher devs to make 7+ Taskbar Tweaker compatible with ExplorerPatcher’s taskbar implementation.
My actual hope is that windhawk has a mode with functionality and UI of 7+tt’s “Taskbar Inspector” compatible with w11 taskbar! 🙏👉👈 🥺 I presume you cannot query the list of windows from W11 taskbar. Is it true? And/or windows no longer have ids.. Though I believe it’s impossible because precessExplorer’s “target” button still is able to get process by window…
You can query the list of windows, and there are mods which do that, for example Cycle taskbar buttons with mouse wheel.
And windows have IDs.
For a simple solution, you don’t have to enumerate taskbar windows. You can just enumerate all top-level windows similarly to what Alt+Tab does, and allow to change their ids for custom grouping.
Its not working with startallback new version hmmm
Yes, see my comment here:
https://tweaker.userecho.com/topics/1307-7-taskbar-tweaker-isnt-compatible-with-startallback-38
5.15.2.1 at install
Error opening file for writing:
…inject.dll
That means that the inject.dll file is in use and can’t be overridden for some reason. Try the following: uninstall the tweaker (settings will be kept), restart the computer, and install the new beta version.
Uninstall + restart. OK.
Install again > choose reinstall.
Same error.
Install new + reinstall => error
After uninstallation, there should be no reinstall option.
If installation succeeded, why are you trying to reinstall? Just to try it?
Yes, just to try if the error persists.
No error with 5.15.2.
Weird, are you using an antivirus?
That’s not quite right, if you have 5.15.2 installed, then the 5.15.2 inject.dll file is the file that can’t be replaced.
When the error happens, you can try checking what’s holding the file. I usually use Process Explorer for that.
ESET Internet Security (I excluded inject.dll => same error)
Process explorer reports only explorer.exe for inject.dll.
I’ll use it like this.
Thank you.
I can’t reproduce it:
https://imgur.com/a/XTx7tkp
Maybe it’s related, perhaps it prevents the module from unloading for some reason.