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. Schkred says:

    Hi there. I totally fell in love with your little tool. Just wanted to let you know =)

  2. ches says:

    Tried this program
    -The download failed to show in Firefox’s download window, although it was in the download directory (!)

    -NO Portable version was offered, despite being a first time use.

    -Found nothing of use in the tweaks, I could already do most of the things without this anyhow, the rest were, well pointless.

    -un-installed and burnt at the stake in 3 minutes

    RIP

    • shnbwmn says:

      This is either the most ridiculous or dumbest comment here. The first complaint is not 7+TT’s fault. The second is flat-out user ignorance – the installer DOES provides a portable option. The third is irrelevant .. so what if you could do most of these things? The app is aimed at people who can’t. And the fourth: thank goodness. The user-base of this excellent, FREE program doesn’t need such rude/narcissistic people as yourself bringing it down.

    • TheKid says:

      How ignorant. Just being able to move browser tabs around is worth the price of admission all by itself.

  3. KnorxThieus says:

    I would love to specify a custom command line for any application in the mouse/Keyboard OptionsEx! 🙂

  4. van says:

    THANK YOU FOR GETTING RID OF THOSE nasty taskbar thumbnails in Windows 8.1 This really works!!!

  5. PreXident says:

    Hello,
    I really enjoy using Taskbar Tweaker! I have one question though – is there any way how to duplicate the taskbar clock with seconds on secondary monitor(s) in Windows 10? I have recently switched to multi-monitor setup and this is the last thing before I am completely satisfied with it. I know there are some third-party tools creating clones of the taskbar on other monitors, but I am afraid that they may not be compatible with Taskbar Tweaker. Thanks a lot for you hard work!

  6. J says:

    I’m poorer than a dog without a bone, and I still felt compelled to drop you enough for a decent cup of coffee. Thanks for making this compatible with Windows 10!

  7. dzw says:

    I need the function to change the Language of IME
    hook Ctrl+Space and change to Alt+Shift

    I prefer use Ctrl+Space to change Language

    • Stamimail says:

      Hi,
      If you can’t set it from:
      Region and Language > Keyboard and languages (Tab)
      Try HotkeyP:
      Command: Macro
      Parameter: /Ctrl/Space
      Or Try AutoHotkey.

  8. Dale says:

    Hi,
    Any chance of being able to change the order of virtual desktops in windows 10, in exactly the same way that apps can be reorganised on the taskbar?

    If I have 5 virtual desktops:

    Original order:
    [0] =>1
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 3
    [3] => 4
    [4] => 5

    Drag and drop #2 to be the last:
    [0] =>1
    [1] => 3
    [2] => 4
    [3] => 5
    [4] => 2

    Etc.

    So that when the Control + Windows + Arrow keys are pressed, the desktops are cycled through using the new order.

    Thanks,

    Dale

  9. shnbwmn says:

    First of all, thanks a bunch for this program. I use it portably on every computer I use. There is just one caveat though: every time the program starts, the settings window pops up. Is there a way to start it minimized? I looked at all the options available, and at the ini file, but nowhere is there an option for this. Is there a line that can be inserted in the ini file?

  10. Martin says:

    Thanks for this awesome program. That is exacly what i needed.
    But there is one thing that you can improve/add.

    Let me say i have a simple folder on my desktop named “New Folder”. It has the default folder Icon.

    And i have the option “Don’t combine grouped Buttons” on. If i open the folder, the default icon will be displayed.

    Would it be possible to show the parent folder icon (in this case the desktop icon) if the opened folder has the (meaningless) default icon.

    I would be very happy if you can add such a option.

    • Martin says:

      Come on. That should be possible. I’m also a programmer 🙂

      • Cool, so how come you haven’t implemented it yourself? 😛

        The thing is, while possible, Windows (and Explorer) is not open source, so every little change can be very time consuming to implement. Because your feature request is not very popular, I don’t plan to implement it at this time. Sorry.

  11. Passos says:

    Any way to fix the icon padding on windows 10(using no width limit on left side)?
    Btw excellet program, im using it for a year.(saddly the padding worked on win7 but no on win 10).

    • Can you post a screenshot to clarify what the issue is?

      • Passos says:

        http://i.imgur.com/izjxhkj.png
        They don’t fit more, they are pushed off the screen.

        On win7 with fix icon padding it worked, not on win10.

        • On my computer, the tray icons turn into a single row if I shrink the taskbar to a smaller size.
          Perhaps you’re using another tweaking tool, or have some additional settings?

          In general, the tweaker only removes the width limitation, it doesn’t change the basic functionality of the taskbar, so perhaps that happens because the taskbar wasn’t designed for such a narrow width.

          screenshot

        • OK, I could reproduce it with different settings. It seems like it’s an issue of the taskbar, which exists even without the tweaker, but to a lesser extent as the taskbar cannot be that narrow.
          For example, look at the following screenshot. The tweaker is not running there. The tray icons control is off-screen, and as you can see, the leftmost icon is touching the edge of the screen. I’m not sure whether that’s the way it was designed to work, but it looks wrong to me.

          screenshot

          • Passos says:

            I get it.

            I tested on right side and was equal to yours first printscreen.

            Its seems to be a windows problem on side bar.

            Anyway thank your for your time and your help.

            Keep the good work

  12. GWK says:

    another fatal crash when startup windows 10 upgrade build 11099
    please update v5.2

  13. Wolf says:

    Would it be possible to make your own group, e.g. by d&d an taskbar icon on top of another? I had an utility in WinXP that did this.

  14. Jack says:

    Hello,
    I’d like to know if it’s possible
    when I use virtual desktop program,
    I can have 2 sets of settings for each virtual desktop?
    Thanks
    Jack

  15. Jorge says:

    After updating to the latest Windows 10 Insider build, Taskbar Tweaker fails to load with the error “Could not load library”

  16. David says:

    Hi! I really love this app, but unfortunally, I discover one of the worst bug that totally ruined my experience in Windows 10.

    I use Windows 10 since August 2015. I have to reinstall it at least 3 times. I have a power-capable laptop (Asus Zenbook, with SSD).

    With W8.1, it was really fast. I always used 7TT without any problem (or just what I belive). My laptop started well (as usual) but after a while, it became laggy (programs and app start lag, File Explorer start lag… many kind of lag problems in most cases. The most recent problem was trying to play music with Bluetooth speakers. The sound virtually is impossible to hear, full of lag, hicups, choppy… really a nightmare. I tried everything to fix this problem by updating bluetooth drivers, souncard drivers, etc with no success at all. I was very frustrated. So… after trying many things, I disabled auto-start of 7TT (and not running it at all)… And I found that THIS WAS THE MAIN PROBLEM of lag (in Apps and programs, windows usage) and SOUND problems GONE! Now, all seems fixed, no more lags, the OS is really fast, and no problems at all with bluetooth speakers.

    So, I can confirm that 7TT is not ready for W10, and I won’t use it again.
    I’m really sorry because I like this tool, but, til today, it was ruining the whole experience on my laptop. Thanks God I found the cause of the problem.

    I hope I can use 7TT again. I’m sure the developer have the better intention and doesn’t want this to happen. Maybe you’re not experiencing this problem at all.

    FYI, my laptop is:
    ASUS Zenbook ux32vd
    Intel Core i5
    4 GB RAM
    512 SSD
    1GB NVIDIA Video d/Card

    • Hi David,

      I’m sorry for your bad experience with 7+ Taskbar Tweaker.
      I’m not familiar with this issue. In fact, you are the first user to report this kind of problem.

      Have you tried running the tweaker with the default settings? Perhaps one particular option interferes with your system.

      Other than that, if you’re willing to cooperate, I can send you several custom builds with removed functionality, so we can deduce which part of the tweaker causes the problem.

      • David says:

        No problem!
        I’ve used 7TT with only this options enabled:

        1) On “Left click of combined items”, I used: Cycle through windows
        2) On “Middle click on empty space”, I used: Task Manager

        That’s all.

        The thing is that I’m very busy this days. If you want, you can send me those builds… but the lag problem is something that happens in certain moments (almost always the lag start after 1 or 2 hs of computer use)… it’s very strange!

        I can confirm that this problem only happens in Windows 10. When I had Windows 8.1 on the same computer, I didn’t notice any lag… even on Windows 7 (years ago), 7TT worked great. So, I think it’s something in W10… or maybe my Asus Zenbook “combined” with W10… Really don’t know.

  17. ivan says:

    Пожалуйста добавьте чтобы было написано количество окон в группе, как это было в win xp.

  18. shady says:

    The newer Windows 10 builds are conflicting with some features. The taskbar/explorer.exe freezes frequently and can only be fixed by killing 7 Taskbar Tweaker. I am also getting the load libary error as the others.

    I hope you can fix it when you get the time.

    waits for a fix

  19. Fernando Garita says:

    Hola a todos

    Lo he estado usando con Windows 7, Windows 8 y ahora con Windows 10 y es una marvilla lo recomiendo.

    Saludos,

  20. Scott says:

    Hello, I’m probably missing something basic, but once I’ve set everything up, how do I get back to the program to make setup changes … I can’t find the program anywhere???

    Thanks for something so useful!

  21. Paul says:

    I love this utility! Someone at the classicshell forum just recommended this to me. I use it to enlarge the shrunken Win10 icons.

    I have a question/feature request. Is it possible with the current version, to take away the thin blue line that Win10 puts in the taskbar icon, when a program is open? If not—this would be a mod that would be great to put into the next version of this program.

  22. simon says:

    the “could not load library(5)”message comes out after the windows update,anything i can do or just to wait the new update comes out?

  23. Влад says:

    Thank you!

    It helped me very much to disable taskbar thumbnail preview (win8).

  24. Ben says:

    Thank you.
    I was always annoyed, that I couldn’t move grouped programs separately. After years I actually googled that problem and found your amazin program.

    Do you have any plany to implement showing the date additionally to the clock in W7 when the taskbar is only one line (with two lines it shows it by default but takes too much space).

  25. Yves says:

    The advanced option “large Windows 10 icons” is really nice! But now the size of the Start (Windows) icon doesn’t match the application icons anymore, it’s too small. I know that some tools could replace the Start menu icon in previous Windows versions (haven’t used it in a while). Could 7TT also allow replacing the default Start (Windows) icon with a larger version? Either built-in by an additional advanced option, or by allowing a custom icon. The Windows logo is available as vector graphic on Wikipedia so any icon size could be designed. I think 100% 32×32 should be enough, as I expect the 24×24 default size to work better on high-DPI screens. I’ll see when I have one.

  26. Aris says:

    Some error on last 2 updates on Windows 10.
    http://i.imgur.com/TgvXF8K.png

  27. Tsvetan says:

    Hello! I’m using this program on Windows 8.1, because I don’t like thumbails when hover with mouse. But, while in Windows 7 there was no problem with the program, on Windows 8.1 it doesn’t let me pin items to taskbar icons. I hope this problem will be fixed soon.

  28. Tsbetan says:

    Oh, sorry, my fault! My brother told me about the problem on his computer. But he forgot to say me that he choosen option “Open with” for draging instead of “Pin”. Sorry again.

  29. sjmyst says:

    Hi,

    Great work!

    One thing that is still annoying to me is a problem that exists on the Windows 10 taskbar. I was hoping it was also fixed with 7+ Taskbar Tweaker. But, it doesn’t seem to be fixed.

    When I use the “multiple desktop” feature and I have multiple windows that have multiple tabs in the taskbar, when I jump to a 2nd desktop, and then jump back to the first desktop, the tabs on the taskbar change order.

    I have grouping off. And, my preference is to have about three of my “up” programs be the first (top left) in the list of items in the taskbar. I often have 20 or 30 items in the taskbar, so I expand my taskbar vertically to show three rows of items.

    When I move the items I want to “start” the list to the top (row 1) and left (1st item in that row), and I switch to desktop 2 and then back to desktop 1, the items I had put in the positions I wanted them to be in, have been re-ordered.

    Regards,
    sjmyst

  30. nexayq says:

    Thank you for this great application!

  31. Hello,
    neat, nice and helpful app, thank you!

  32. Is it possible to add a feature to “Left click on combined item” to minimize first (main) window in combined group if active?
    I use TT to avoid windows mess in Photoshop while working with many documents. It would be nice to have the ability to minimize the main PS window through clicking on the combined button.

  33. pstas says:

    Hello,
    your utility, together with the Classic start Menu, are the only ones that helped me accept the look and feel of W7. They are both awesome.

    If we could have the option to group and combine a button with another button or group of buttons by dragging the first over the other, it would be the perfect task bar utility!

    Then I could have a single task bar button group containing an explorer window, a notepad++ and something else and the next group containing a database utility with java IDE and more…

  34. Jan says:

    Hi,

    I love this app, but….
    …when I use the multiple desktop feature (Win10) and I have multiple windows that have multiple tabs in the taskbar, when I jump to a 2nd desktop, and then jump back to the first desktop, the tabs on the taskbar change order.

    So I cant use multiple desktop feature, because I need always the same order. 🙁

    Jan.

  35. Steve says:

    Very cool util, thanks for writing it. Any chance we could get a feature that sorts taskbar items alphabetically? That way with the bar in a vertical orientation, a given item will tend to stay in the same general area whenever it’s opened.

  36. darki says:

    Hello RaMMichael, todays Windows 8.1 Updates broke TaskbarTweaker. The Tool cannot inject. Microsoft change a Systemfile with one Update (i think Explorer.exe 6.3.9600.18231) can you fix your Awesome Tool ?

    Thanks for you Hard work

  37. arj6321 says:

    On Windows 10 Pro, I am facing error:
    “Could not load library (204)”
    Would it be possible to help ?

    Thanks in advance

  38. Jan says:

    Hello, this is a wonderful tool and thank you for that.
    I would like to ask something, if you have your start bar in a two row (like when you have a lot of pinned icons and you do not want to scroll all the aps, you extend the bottom from one row to two rows) and you have open an app from bottom row, you are going with a mouse on it and a thumbnail will show up (but it’s covering the row of apps above) and when you are going to click on that thumbnail and you hit the blank space in that thumbnail, than you are clicking on the icon/app(from the first row which is covered with the thumbnail) behind the thumbnail. And the app is opening even if you do not want that. To make it short, that thumbnail is actually transparent and you can trigger an action when you click on a blank space in it. Is there a way to fix that, because I’m almost always opening an other app which I do not want to open. That thumbnail should always open above the start bar, no mater how much rows of apps you have. I hope you have an idea what I’m talking about, I could make a short video if you need for better imagination. Thank you very much for any reply!

    • I couldn’t reproduce it on Windows 10. Which Windows version are you using?
      http://i.imgur.com/RJKKcPU.png

      • Jan says:

        I’m sorry, I’m using Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit…
        Please see the screen http://screenshot.sh/ofiZM4hwqzP8F

        More info after deeper investigation 🙂
        You need to have it default in groups as I have and you need to have at least two files open as I have in the same group. Then, when you go with mouse over it, it will show that thumbnail normally, over the first row as in your screen(that is ok), but when you click on that group, then the thumbnail will appear over the bottom row as in my screen. And that whole area which is covered by transparent thumbnail is fully clickable through the thumbnail.

        One solution would be not to click on that group (which is for me normal and I do that always), but to wait for that thumbnail, which will appear over the top row.

        I realize now that this info is more helpful as the first one and also now I know, that there is one solution how to go around the problem, so I’m sorry about that.

  39. FrAnKenStEiN MC says:

    AWESOME

  40. Rolando says:

    Great but is not working anymore with the lastest update of windows 10 build 14291.

    On windows startup says that library 107 was not found

  41. Ben says:

    Using v5.1 on W7x64 and disabled update check, the options.exe tries to connect to 159.203.215.192:80 roughly every day between 19-20 local time.
    Why?

  42. Jonny says:

    This is such a useful ‘shell extension’, some really clever blackmagic going on!

    Are you still open to suggestions re ‘Feature requests’?

    I wondered if it’s possible/feasible (worth the time&effort?) to expose some of the config-values to the super-handy ‘mousecontrol’, ie

    I use the right-drag to regroup – occasionally.
    To do this ^ I think need to enable a decombine option (I use ‘on mouse hover’ with ‘drag between groups using right-mouse’ ), I think

    1318069940=1
    1318069546=1

    I personally prefer to not ‘decomine’ outside this context, and would LOVE to be able to set a mousebutton clickevent, ie IDEALLY

    taskbaritem|ctrl+shift – 21
    (ie, no click, just press ‘ctrl+shift’ with mousehover on taskbaritem, if that can be detected as an event, and ‘hooked’ to the action #21, “toggling” the config values, so that you can switch into right-drag mode using the CTRL+SHIFT mode-switch, and then right-drag the application to it’s new group)

    emptyspace|ctrl+shift – 121
    (similar to above, but ya hit a blank spot BEFORE the hover>decombine>drag operation)

    OR

    taskbaritem|ctrl+shift+lclick – 22

    cause that would be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet 🙂

    Thanks!! love this tweaktool

  43. Nime says:

    Hi! I use taskbar at left and it auto hides itself. Thanks to Microsoft, Windows has a bug for years, XP, Vista, 7, now 10. All they might not appear when you move the mouse at left edge of the screen. I have to use Win key to make taskbar visible.

    I’ve read tons of forums with same problem. In 2016, Microsoft didn’t fix it.

    I just inform you, if you’ll have a bright idea…

    Thanks for the tweaker.

  44. Cengiz says:

    This not work with Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview Build 14295 (Release 160318-1628). “Library Error Message”..

  45. Barry says:

    I very much like 7+ Taskbar Tweaker.

    I use Dexpot for virtual desktops. I keep alot of spreadsheets open, and devote one of the desktops for spreadsheets only. The 7+ Taskbar Tweaker feature ‘Don’t combine grouped buttons’ works great for this.

    I have a new issue, I hope you can address it in your next version. I just added a 2nd monitor. I found several programs which let me add a taskbar to the 2nd monitor. Problem is, no matter which one I try, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker will only work on the monitor that is set as primary.

    • I have a new issue, I hope you can address it in your next version. I just added a 2nd monitor. I found several programs which let me add a taskbar to the 2nd monitor. Problem is, no matter which one I try, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker will only work on the monitor that is set as primary.

      There’s no simple solution to that, as these programs use their own implementation of the taskbar. The only viable solution is to upgrade to Windows 8 or Windows 10, which implement secondary taskbars out of the box.

  46. Tim says:

    I am a long time user of 7+TT. I have the taskbar vertically down the screen with labels, small icons, nothing pinned, and never combine, so basically it’s a menu of my open windows. I use 7+TT to manually group my taskbar buttons.

    I have just updated to windows 10. Now, taskbar buttons have no border and are the same background color as the taskbar itself, so I can’t see which are grouped together. It there any way round this? Alternatively would it be possible to increase the spacing between groups so they are more distinct?

  47. EveryZig says:

    I just got this program with Windos 10 and am happy with it. The right-click dragging within groups with groups is kind of clunky, but deactivating the groups all together bypasses that problem and works great. I am so glad to be rid of having to open and close programs just to get their taskbar windows into the proper order.

  48. Dave in Nordest says:

    Wonderful program. I’m using it on Windows 7.

    Is there any possibility of adding the ability to reduce the padding/spacing between icons in the system tray/notification area?

  49. Daniel says:

    With the Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview Build 14295.rs1_release.160318-1628 the Tweaker isn’t working.

    An error message like this appears: Runtime libraries could not be loaded (107)
    (My own translation, because I’m using the German version of the Taskbar Tweaker)

  50. Justin says:

    I wish I had found this sooner!

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