7+ Taskbar Tweaker

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

exe 7tt_setup.exe (1.78 MB, changelog)
Latest version: v5.15.1
Note: The installer can be used to extract a portable version. Refer to the FAQ below for details.

Beta version
exe 7tt_setup_beta.exe (1.79 MB, changelog)
Latest beta version: v5.15.1.2
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 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.

Selecting the portable installation type

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.

zip 7tt_translate.zip (758.63 kB)

If you are brave enough to translate the help file, contact me for the required software and files.

Posted in Releases, Software by Michael (Ramen Software) on September 30th, 2009.
Tags:

6,605 Responses to “7+ Taskbar Tweaker”

  1. Threshold says:

    I don’t know what happened in last version but I just updated and with the application running my PC freezes and explorer crashes constantly (7 Ultimate x64).

    Are previous versions available somewhere?

    Thanks

  2. v4.0.2:
    * Fixed a crash when using the “When not grouping, place new items next to the existing ones” option (this time, hopefully, for real).

    • Geo says:

      Hi RaMMichael,

      Thank you for this great tool. I have two questions please:

      1. Is there a way to see the list of fixed items or added features to each new update version?

      2. Where van I get earlier versions from?

      Thank you in advance and keep up the excellent work.

      Geo

      • Hi,

        1. Is there a way to see the list of fixed items or added features to each new update version?

        For now, only here, in comments.

        2. Where van I get earlier versions from?

        Nowhere. Why would you need an older version?

        RaMMicHaeL.

    • Phil says:

      oh cool! thanks

  3. Cosmin says:

    After 4.0.2 update, when starting, says ”cannot load library”.
    Crash, boom, bang 🙁

  4. Cosmin says:

    Hm, i downloaded the file from the website and reinstalled, and the problem is gone. So the automatic update spawned that problem.

  5. Walt says:

    Can you add some extra space on the left side and right side of the toolbard to for clicking to desktop action?

  6. Threshold says:

    Thanks for the older version which works fine!
    Sure I will cooperate: what I need to do?

  7. zjadarka says:

    Thank you!

  8. ahmed says:

    It would be really great if you add an option to disable green progress bar on icons (the ones that appears on video players or browsers when you download something)

  9. Roel says:

    The option ‘When not grouping, place new items next to the exisiting ones’ does not seem to work anymore since the latest version. When I open a new instance of the same applications it opens at the far right like it did before this option was available …

  10. v4.0.3:
    * The tweaker shows you a changelog before updating:
    http://i.imgur.com/ypFSR.png
    * Taskbar Inspector: a per-AppID option to group pinned items.
    * Improved interaction with sndvol.exe, making volume controlling more robust.
    * Fix: the “When not grouping, place new items next to the existing ones” option didn’t work with pinned items.
    * New language: Traditional Chinese, thanks HJL!

  11. therube says:

    When an update is available, assuming you didn’t want to update at that time, your ability close 7tt “normally” (right-click, Exit) is thwarted by the update dialog itself.

    • That’s because when a tray icon balloon is visible, Windows processes right/left clicks as balloon clicks.
      I didn’t find a solution for that, meanwhile a workaround is to right click before the balloon shows.

      • Stamimail says:

        When an update is available, assuming you didn’t want to update at that time…
        Please put:
        Don’t remind me again about this version

  12. Richard says:

    Hi, I’d like to suggest a feature. I find the highlighted tab in the taskbar in windows 7 is different from earlier versions of windows, and I find this confusing. I’d like to be able to change the look of the highlighted tab.

    Great app.

  13. bru.net says:

    С П А С И Б О ! ! !

    Ты лучший !

    После Flip3D и желать нечего =)

    Хотя………, можно было бы еще подобавлять разного плана настройки, наподобие тех, что есть в Windows 7 Manager для Taskbar:
    – выбор размера эскизов и расстояние между ними
    – задержка указателя для всплытия эскиза
    – задержка указателя для показать рабочий стол
    – выбор формата времени (типа “27 авг Пн”)

    – еще из области фантастики возможность быстро добавить “Корзину” на таскбар (я это делаю добавлением новой панели инструм.)

    • a13ph says:

      Все это уже реализовано в другом софте.
      Я бы предложил сначала делать то, что еще не реализовано нигде либо что непосредственно плотно связано с уже имеющимся функционалом

  14. Shaun McFall says:

    I update to version 4.0.3 today, and when I start it I get an error:
    7+ Taskbar Tweaker: Could not load library
    The UI then loads, but dragging within groups with right click no longer works. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

    Thanks,
    Shaun

  15. PhilD says:

    As always – thanks for this great program.

    Two of applications that I pin to the Taskbar are the FastPictureViewer Image Viewer and the Waterfox Web Browser (64 bit Windows Firefox).

    Waterfox has been problematic since I started using it a few months ago and recent versions of FPV have exhibited the same problem. Even though both programs are Windows specific, my experience is that the authors, good as they maybe with respect to browsers and image processing, are not well versed in the mysteries of Windows task bars, especially Win7 taskbars

    When I launch these programs they use a different Application ID to one used by the Pinned Item, as a result I get two icons in the taskbar – grouping by Application ID is, for me at least, one of the primary features of 7TT I love.

    Here is a screen shot from Taskbar Inspector

    http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/8211/7ttinspectorcapture.jpg

    I can ‘fix’ it via the Change Application ID feature in Taskbar inspector, but that’s not a sticky ‘fix’. The next start of the application will result in two taskbar icons which I will have to manually fix via Taskbar Inspector Change Application ID – this is not a viable solution.

    So my question is – can the Change Application ID feature in Taskbar Inspector be enhanced to make the change ‘stick’.

    I know I should ask the Waterfox & FPV guys to fix their programs, but I know they wont. In the case of Waterfox I have asked, I was met with shrug and ‘it must be a bug in Windows or 7TT’. I can’t even get FPV to leave the pinned item on the task bar as they found it when I install a new version, again a shrug and ‘its a Windows bug’.

    ================

    Two other things

    a) can you put a close button on Taskbar Inspector, I had to use a delayed screen capture to grab the screen shot. And how about a Save & Close button on the main window – for cosmetic/peace of mind purposes only

    b) I don’t think a WordPress blog is working very well as a software distribution & support vehicle. Have you thought about using a regular forum or something like – Codeplex, Sourceforge or GooglyCode sites.

    Thanks PhilD

    • Try the following: Unpin the icons, and then pin them again from the jump list.

      can you put a close button on Taskbar Inspector, I had to use a delayed screen capture to grab the screen shot.

      You can hold Ctrl+Shift while opening the inspector to leave it open.
      You can use ESC to close it.

      I don’t think a WordPress blog is working very well as a software distribution & support vehicle.

      Why not?

      • PhilD says:

        I assume my previous reply is waiting for moderation

        As I said the JumpList trick worked for FPV

        But not for Waterfox – its a weird program. It seems to start a version of Firefox but calls it Waterfox – I might do an uninstall install tomorrow – its reporting XUL version errors when I use the JumpList pinned item.

  16. PhilD says:

    The jump list trick worked for FPV, I’ll try Waterfox later I have too many things on the boil at the moment to shut it down, if you don’t hear from me then you can assume it also worked.

    Thanks for the tip on making the Inspector sticky

    Re the Blog, the download link is not easy to find, nor is the Change Log, my perception is that there are at least 2 discussion threads for 7TT, and they are both multi topic threads. Basically I get “lost” when I some here.

    For software “support” I guess I’m accustomed to forums like these
    http://netez.com/bbs/
    http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=166

    I see blogs as something to which the author makes regular posts that share an overall theme but where each post addresses a particular issue/event/idea. This is an example of what I regard as good use of the blog medium
    http://klauskastner.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/chile-as-possible-example-for-greece.html

    Phil D

  17. Adam says:

    “Remove extra gap between items” doesn’t quite work for me. When I tick the option, the gap is removed, but it reverts back to normal after a reboot.

  18. Stamimail says:

    What is the reason that the application IE behaves differently?
    Why do the buttons on the taskbar does not go along with the preview?

    • Because IE uses preview thumbnails per tabs, not per windows, and therefore the thumbnails are not linked with the taskbar buttons.
      Even without the tweaker, you can make the thumbnails go out of sync:
      * Open two windows of IE, each with one tab.
      * On the first window, create a second tab, and close the first.
      * Look at the taskbar:
      http://i.imgur.com/rREzC.png

      • Stamimail says:

        Hey, you’re right.
        It’s funny …
        Or sad …
        Thank you for the explanation. I understand there is no way to fix it.

  19. Kashif says:

    I have searched for such a program for months. And this absolutely does it. I hate when Win7 does not let me move individual taskbar buttons.

    Thanks for the work!

  20. DDoc says:

    Thank youuu!! This tiny gem is what I’ve been looking for so long! Finally I can arrange the windows in my vertical taskbar the way -I- want, not the way Win7 wants 🙂
    Love and respect!

  21. AA says:

    Hello,

    I have version 4.0.3 and running Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit.

    Can you bring back the ‘Hide main window’ option, because the main window keeps appearing at startup and becoming a nuisance. The .exe is not in the startup folder.

    I have ‘Run at startup’ checked so that the taskbar tweaker settings apply, but the main window never used to appear in the older versions.

    If you can’t bring this option back, please give me a link to an older version which has the ‘hide main window’ option available.

    Thanks.

    • Did you try unchecking the “Run at startup” option and then checking it again?
      The only reason I can think of that the tweaker doesn’t start hidden is that it doesn’t have the appropriate command line switch set in the registry. Doing the above should fix it.

  22. thiefpeace says:

    Great work man. I’m using it with Windows 8 RTM (90 days trial). 4.0.3 works well, but with the last update (4.0.5) Windows Explorer crashes repeatedly. Get a look to it.

    Thanks!

  23. bru.net says:

    Как скопировать (быстро) настройки твикера с одной ОСи на другую ?

  24. eMcE says:

    v4.0.6 -> appcrash after start Taskbar Tweaker, on Win Seven Ultimate x86.

  25. ruben says:

    Hey there

    since 4.02 i have trouble with hibernate when running the tweaker

  26. Walla_baaya says:

    Hi RaMMichael, I have a little, but annoying problem – and I hope you are man that can help me. Actually, I’m trying to install some modification of foobar2000 player, called Foobar2000 zPack . I get three errors during installing process, and so one error anytime I start the program. Those are screenshots, describing the situation. http://imageshack.us/f/28/20120904125510.png/
    http://imageshack.us/f/705/20120904125544.png/
    http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1046/20120904125622.png
    http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8505/20120904125719.png
    Please, help me!

  27. ruben says:

    hm, I am on win7 enterprise but 32-bit and hibernate is hanging always. When trying to restart taskbar is having trouble., Disabling tweaker it works

  28. ruben says:

    Hm, I really don’t remember – I came back from a trip and just updated

  29. Mike says:

    i’m running 32bit version on windows 7, since version 4 “combine grouped items” doesn’t automatically combine grouped taskbar items i have to use “decombine on mouse hover” and hover over the groups and then unhover to make them combine, this is rather annoying as it used to work without me needing to mess about in older versions

    • I can’t reproduce the issue with the following setup:
      Windows 7 32-bit, 7TT v4.0.7.
      Taskbar properties: Never combine.
      7TT: The only option on is “Combine grouped items”.

      I open two explorer windows (or two windows of another application), and they combine just fine.
      Any ideas?

      • Mike says:

        would knowing the version of explorer.exe be any help? also my taskbar options are ( / = ticked, X = not ticked )
        / Lock the taskbar
        X Auto-hide the taskbar
        / Use small icons
        Taskbar location on screen: Left
        Taskbar buttons: Never combine

        there are no toolbars on taskbar and i don’t use any otheer customisation software, i have also gone through all variations of 7+ options that i can come up with and the bug persists, i have an installer for an older version i’ll install it and tell you whether i still have the problem and the version

    • Should be fixed in v4.0.8.

      • Mike says:

        as far a s i can tell it is fixed if i notice any problems i’ll let you know, also if we ever meet i’ll buy you a beer or something thank you so much for this awesome app

  30. leopoldus says:

    The option “Control volume when mouse is over: … The tasbar”. Windows 7 x32. The taskbar is moved from its default location (the bottom of the Desktop) say, to right edge (what is the optimal place at a wide display). However the volume control dialog is connected with the empty bottom part of the Desktop, where taskbar resodes by default, and not with the taskbar actual location.
    Is this a bug or feature?

    BTW is there any option to exit 7+ Taskbar Tweaker when it runs? The only way I was able to find is killing the process via Task Manager.

    • I didn’t understand the question. Can you make a screenshot?

      BTW is there any option to exit 7+ Taskbar Tweaker when it runs? The only way I was able to find is killing the process via Task Manager.

      Right click on the tray icon and choose “Exit”.

      • leopoldus says:

        I’m afraid, that there is nothing here to put on the screenshot.
        Actually you can easily reproduce this situation yourself at Windows 7 x32.
        1. Make the 7-Taskbar Tweaker settings as I’ve described: “Control volume when mouse is over: … The taskbar”.
        2. Move Windows taskbar to the right edge of the Destop/screen.
        3. Try to scroll the mouse wheel at the right edge of the screen, over the taskbar new location, in the upper part of it. You’ll see, that volume control does not work.
        4. Try to scroll the mouse wheel in the bottom part of the sreen, where the taskbar had resided before and not it is simply empty space of Desktop. You’ll see, that volume control dialog will appear there, although it should not.

  31. Bart Crijns says:

    Thanks for this great app…

    One feature I think would be nice is an extra option in the decombine settings. ‘Decombine active group’ is very nice, but when combined with ‘on mouse hover’ and ‘…and show labels’ the taskbar gets very crowded when 2 groups are decombined.

    It would be nice if there would be an extra option under ‘on mouse hover’ named ‘… and combine active group’, so only one group is decombined at once.

  32. Thanker says:

    Thanks for the middle click close! 😀

  33. ruben says:

    sounds godd – where do I get the older versions

  34. acm says:

    I get this error when I try to run the installer on Win7 Professional:

    [Content]

    The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail.

    The link below suggests I’m in need of a Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Package.

    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-pictures/error-the-application-has-failed-to-start-because/df019c0d-746e-42d0-ad68-465e18e3f3ef

  35. Ben says:

    Great work on 7+ TT. Thank you!

    What about a similar utility that enables the user to perform the same kind of reordering (via drag-and-drop) for Aero’s Alt-Tab pane?

    One of the most annoying limitations of the Windows 7 Taskbar (prior to installing 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, anyway) is the inability to reorder grouped items by dragging their thumbnails.

    This same lack of functionality plagues the Alt-Tab interface, too.

  36. finalbegining says:

    Hello,
    I would like to request an option to whitelist certain applications to show the thumbnails on mouse hover. It is necessary for people that don’t want the thumbnail feature but want to use some program’s specific popup menu on mouse hover (like the Windows Media Player controls).

  37. To98 says:

    In version 4.* there’s a bug with Opera. It does not group anymore. It shows the title of the window. All the other application are grouping.

    Now I have downgraded. It would be nice, if you could fix it.

    PS: Sorry for my bad English. I’m from Germany.

  38. Bart Crijns says:

    When using the following options together:
    – combine grouped items
    – decombine on mouse hover and show labels
    The icons move around quite a bit when moving your mouse from left to right on the taskbar. When leaving a decombined group (and moving to the right), the group combines again, so you probably have to move your mouse to the left again, since the icon you wanted to click on now moved (quite a bit) to the left.

    An extra option under decombine would be nice:
    – until mouse leaves taskbar
    Behaviour: the groups that are decombined remain decombined until you move your mouse out of the taskbar, so the icons don’t jump around so much.

    Anybody else thinks this would be a nice addition?

  39. Noah says:

    Hey! I just downloaded your program, and it’s kind of not doing what I want it to. Basically, I’ve got a batch set up to launch Minecraft, and I’ve got that linked on my taskbar. However, once Minecraft launches, it turns into a Java window separate from the launcher. I’d like it such that when Minecraft launches and the Java window comes up, it automatically groups on the pinned .bat launcher.

    I’ve managed to do this manually with the Taskbar Inspector, but after a Minecraft restart, it doesn’t stick. What am I doing wrong?

    !Noah!

  40. Noah says:

    Hey, thanks for your suggestion. I ended up figuring it out. I basically made the .lnk for the .bat that starts Minecraft show up as a Java AppID by going into the shortcuts folder (C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar) and changing the Appid to the same as the actual Java window that shows Minecraft. (thanks to 7TT for the ID…couldn’t have done it otherwise.)

  41. Dave says:

    what are the odds this works with Vista, or partially anyway? i’m most interested in the mouse wheel to control volume functionality. this is very similar in what i am used to with Ubuntu and i’m happy to be able to do it with Win7 now. there’s another program called Volumouse that does something similar and works with Vista, but i’m not overly impressed with it. thanks.

  42. Stamimail says:

    I need the middle click for “New program instance (default)”.
    Can you add another convience option for “Close”?
    mmm…
    option 1 is to add “red x” to taskbar buttons.
    option 2 is closing by – dropping the taskbar button to desktop (like in RocetDock).
    Does any from above possible?

  43. Haggis says:

    Thank you for a great program. I have one problem in that no matter what settings I use in Taskbar Tweaker Microsoft Excel spreadsheets always group. I am running 7 Ultimate 64bit and Office 2007. Any ideas would be very helpful.

  44. Mr Wolf says:

    Thanks so much!!!
    This program solved me three annoying problems:
    1) Disable preview thumbnail on the taskbar
    2) Disable grouping applications on the taskbar
    3) Enable closing applications on the taskbar with middle click

  45. Stamimail says:

    Hello RaMMicHaeL,
    Congratulations to version 4.0.8.

    How can I avoid current update, and still wait for next update without the annoying system tray balloon?

  46. Albert says:

    I seem to notice my screen freezing in IE9 Win7 pro 32bit but the curser can move freely. If I have more than 7 tabs playing video then when it comes time to shut them down one by one then the whole screen freezes for up to 15 seconds before things revert to normal. While frozen the _ (top right) button works fine. When I downloaded this program I initially changed its setting to as close as possible to default as I think this will generate less interference and enhance OS stability. I use superAntispyware daily and it seems to remove some entries of 7+ taskbar tweaker which I guess this program seems to replace once I reboot, just guessing.

    • I seem to notice my screen freezing in IE9 Win7 pro 32bit but the curser can move freely. If I have more than 7 tabs playing video then when it comes time to shut them down one by one then the whole screen freezes for up to 15 seconds before things revert to normal. While frozen the _ (top right) button works fine.

      What you are trying to say is that the freeze only happens when the tweaker is running?

      I use superAntispyware daily and it seems to remove some entries of 7+ taskbar tweaker which I guess this program seems to replace once I reboot, just guessing.

      Do you mean registry entries? The tweaker doesn’t change those, read FAQ.

  47. LongtimeUser says:

    Useful – appreciated. Possible new tweak: left click on uncombined item: options: “Toggle restore/minimise” -or- “Always restore”. I separate all my items into single tasks. Don’t like when I select a task and it minimises because of toggle. If I select a task that’s already selected, I want it to just stay open. Ta.

  48. Albert says:

    The frozen screen does not happen all the time.
    Only when I have over 7 active tabs in IE does a screen freeze get triggered.
    I have tweaker running all the time because it starts when windows boots up. The only time I stop running tweaker is when I shut down windows. I’m not sure whether tweaker is responsible for the freeze.

  49. Stamimail says:

    Do you know if there is XP Taskbar Tweaker?
    I do not need too much, just the ability to change the order of the taskbar buttons.

  50. Tiger-Heli says:

    Great Program!!!

    I’m really only needing the option to middle-click to close programs, which it does fine, but I have three problems with it:

    1) When I start the program, it shows up in the taskbar rather than the systray. It works fine and I can close the program window, and it still runs, but I’d rather have it start directly to the systray – there might be a command-line option for this, but I didn’t see it documented. (I could maybe end it with an AutoHotKey command, but I’m hoping it’s something more simple.)

    2) When I close the program per the red X, it exits from the taskbar, but keeps running – there is no systray icon. There is a menu setting to show or hide the systray icon, but it doesn’t seem to do anything.

    3) Because of the above, I can’t find a good way to exit the program, other than re-booting the machine, or going to the task manager and ending the TT process.

    I am running Win7 and I don’t have admin rights or the ability to change registry keys, so that might be part of the problem – would be nice if there were a portable version of the program that used .ini files if that is the issue.

    Thanks again for all the great work.

    • 1) Use the -hidewnd command line switch.
      2) There should be a tray icon. Check the hidden icons, maybe it’s among them.
      3) The only way to exit the tweaker is from the tray icon right click menu.

      I am running Win7 and I don’t have admin rights or the ability to change registry keys, so that might be part of the problem – would be nice if there were a portable version of the program that used .ini files if that is the issue.

      You don’t need admin rights to use the tweaker. Also, there is a portable version – choose the portable setup option when installing the tweaker.

      • Tiger-Heli says:

        Indeed!!!!

        Great Job!!!

        -hidewnd works great, but it would be nice if there were either a readme.txt file with command line options or something on this page listing them.

        There is a tray icon now that I did a portable install, there was not before – not sure why. (I did see the link above said there was a portable version, but missed the selection in the installer).

        I’m not planning to hide it, but if you use the “Hide Tray Icon” in Settings, how would you right-click on it to exit?

        • I’m not planning to hide it, but if you use the “Hide Tray Icon” in Settings, how would you right-click on it to exit?

          You need to unhide the tray icon to exit the tweaker. The “Hide Tray Icon” option is useful only in case you have the tweaker constantly running.

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