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
Windows Defender also identifies it as potentially harmful.
That’s a false positive detection. False positives are unfortunately common for new versions of 7+ Taskbar Tweaker and for beta versions which are less common. Please see the FAQ here and this blog post.
Thanks for this great tool, I absolutely love it! I have a small suggestion. Could you add a mute on one click button or something like that? Thanks
You’re welcome 🙂
There are several options for a one-click mute. First of all, there’re the “Double/middle click on empty space” options. If you enable one of the “Control volume when mouse is over: …” options, you can mute by middle clicking on the volume tray icon. There’re more options you can use in the so-called advanced options – refer to the help file for more details.
You are absolutely awesome! When a windows update temporary breaks functionality I have to instantly roll back else I can’t use the PC 😛
Great and thanks! W10 1903 Build 18362.387 and 5.7.0.6 works!
where would I find the beta for download?
You can find it in the downloads section at the top of this page (I know that it wasn’t there a minute ago, it was removed by accident and I’ve just restored it).
Home
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that is all I am seeing
Right here 🙂
downloaded it, but windows won’t execute it even though I have told norton that it is trustworthy
Unfortunately I’m not familiar with Norton so I can’t help you with that. Please contact Symantec for help, or wait a couple of days until they remove the false positive detection.
Your site cannot be reached using an ISP cable connection.
Error 522.
I can connect only by a mobile data connection.
Hope for a fix.
Thank you.
I know that there are issues sometimes for some geographical locations. The proper solution would probably be to switch hosting, but I’m reluctant to do it for now, since it’s time consuming to move it all. As a workaround you can use a web proxy, there are plenty of those, Google for it.
Hi. Version 5.7.1. On my Windows 10 home system (latest windows version), 7+ Taskbar Tweaker fails on startup: “7+ Taskbar Tweaker: Could not load library (109). Windows Defender tried to block installation, BTW.
On my Windows 10 work system, Symantec completely blocked installation and removed the existing files. It said “7+ taskbartweaker.exe (SONAR.ProcHijack!g45) detected by SONAR.” The tweaker no longer works on this system. Since this is a work system, I cannot bypass or subvert the antivirus software.
Let me know if you need more info.
Thanks,
Bill
Also, the beta version above also fails with the “could not load library” message.
Regarding your comment about waiting for Symantec and presumably Windows Defender to remove the false positive, I’m unclear on the mechanism by which they would know to do this.
I can’t contact Symantec, since it’s a work-managed installation. The first thing they would want is an account number or some such.
Hopefully instead, this can be repaired on your side. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Thanks,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Please try the latest beta, v5.7.1.1, and let me know whether it works. The latest Windows version build numbers are a bit of a mess, but I think I got it right this time.
This is a false positive detection. I contacted Symantec and asked them to remove the the false detection. It usually takes a couple of days. If you’d like to revert to a previous version until the issue is resolved on Symantec’s end, you can find it here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-Kz2SY2_fwH7gvBAQa3tdM63v7wTLO_E
The new version fails. Where can I find the previous version which worked fine?
Please try the latest beta, v5.7.1.1, and let me know whether it works. The latest Windows version build numbers are a bit of a mess, but I think I got it right this time.
Sorry, didn’t work. Anyhow I found an earlier version on the web 5.7 which works fine. I only want the narrow taskbar feature 🙂
I don’t see a reason for v5.7.1.1 to have a different behavior than v5.7. Can you paste the exact error message you see? I’d like to have it fixed so that you (and other users) will be able to update to the latest and future versions without compatibility issues.
Well what do you know. I installed the 5.7.1.1 beta and now no problem!!! Perhaps I tried installing a slightly earlier beta?
Cool. Thanks.
Maybe. Anyway, I’m glad that it works. Thanks for checking!
New version fails for me too, I’m on the Slow ring, 18362.10019
Please try the latest beta, v5.7.1.1, and let me know whether it works. The latest Windows version build numbers are a bit of a mess, but I think I got it right this time.
Avast Antivirus puts the Program exe everytime it starts into Virus Container. There is nothing i can do about it. i can not trusted the Programm file. I can not delete the entry about 7+ Taskbar Tweaker either. The Entry says ” IDP.ALEXA.51″ . Whatever that means. Is it possible to change to erlier Behavior of the Tweaker? It makes me mad that i always have to reinstall und Virus Programes are deleting the Installation. In that Case its Useless…..
Greetz Roland
It surely should be possible to configure Avast to trust the tweaker. Unfortunately, I don’t use Avast so I can’t help with that. If you’d like to try reverting to a previous version of the tweaker, you can find it here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-Kz2SY2_fwH7gvBAQa3tdM63v7wTLO_E
I switched to Avira Antivir…works …thanks for Reply…Greetz Roland..
I’m running Windows 10 Enterprise version 10.0.18362 and 7tt version 5.7.1 resolves the “could not load library error.
thanks.
Please try the latest beta, v5.7.1.1, and let me know whether it works. The latest Windows version build numbers are a bit of a mess, but I think I got it right this time.
why auto kill 7tt. im discuss with quick heal support to. but quick heal not kill 7tt now. but still i have face problem.. after sometime 7tt auto kill in background
You can try following this guide to see if the process is being killed by another program: https://bugslasher.net/2011/04/17/who-the-hell-killed-my-process/
checked.. no one kill 7tt.. ????
Everytime i run the installer, it’s status changes to “Suspended”, and freezes. I’m on Windows 10. What happened?
One reason I can think of is that your security software, such as an antivirus, interferes with the installer. A new version was just released, and unfortunately several security products falsely mark it (see FAQ).
Try whitelisting the tweaker in your security software and see if that helps.
The ” Freeze ” belongs to the Virus Software …same effort happens to me… just deactivate the Virus Software for few minutes…this should work then…Greetz ..Roland
thank you so much for the update!!!
I can’t use v5.7.1!
What’s the issue? If you see an error message, what’s the exact text that it shows? Also, what’s your Windows version, including build number?
The last comment I’ve done here is 2 or 3 years ago. I just want to thank you again for your work to keep this up to date. ♥
hi
i dont think this is a bug, but when moves a program with the right cursor pressed “to a grouped” and the program has the icon changed in properties then default icon comes back.
thank you
Hi,
Your description is not very clear, but I believe you refer to this issue. Please see the discussion there.
hi
i think isn’t related with the link you post. What I meant is: Change the icon from a shortcut, so the icon in the taskbar will also be the new when the program is opened. By moving the program with the right mouse button to group the program, the icon becomes the original one in taskbar. Even not grouping, just moving the icon with the right button.
thank you
It’s related. The core of the issue is that when labels aren’t displayed, and either there’s only one item in the group, or the group is combined, the “group icon” is used instead of the actual window icon. Currently 7+ Taskbar Tweaker doesn’t provide a way to customize this behavior.
thank you for explanation and sorry the misunderstand on the link you sent.
now I get it 🙂 again, thank you for the effort on this amazing tool.
I’ve found that 7+ Taskbar Tweaker cannot update itself; it’s blocked by either Avast or Windows “Too paranoid to give the administrator full administrator rights” 10. I can’t remember which, as I haven’t bothered even trying in a while.
Thankfully, I CAN always manually download the latest installer and install 7+ Taskbar Tweaker over the old installation.
7+ Taskbar Tweaker doesn’t require administrator rights. In any case, I’m glad that you sorted it out.
Highly sexual. Must have if you use vertical toolbar in Windows 10.
The order of opened apps in the taskbar is no longer preserved when switching between virtual desktops. It ceased functioning some months ago, after a Windows update.
Today I’ve installed the latest version, 5.7.1, but it still doesn’t work, also after a PC restart.
Windows 10 Home, Version 1903, OS build 18362.418
virtual_desktop_order_fix is set to 1
Please see my comment here:
https://tweaker.userecho.com/topics/945-virtual_desktop_order_fix-sometimes-not-working
I don’t think that it stopped working. At least on my computer – Windows 10 version 1903, grouping turned off – it works properly. Perhaps in some scenarios it worked before and now doesn’t. I’m not sure, I’ll need to check that. But as I wrote in the link above, it’s a research task, and I’m not sure when I’ll have the time to look at it.
Excellent, pro！ no_width_limit = 1 gives me a fit taskbar on the left. I wonder if I can find “no_width_limit” in the regedit or its correspondence, since that is the only feature I need for now.
I’m glad that you liked it 🙂 There’s no such option in the registry, it’s implemented manually by 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, like all the other options it provides.
Helle,
is 7tasbartweaker switching the color of taskbar? Around start button an clock it changes the color of my taskbar…
Hi,
No, the tweaker doesn’t change the color of the taskbar. In fact, any customization provided by the tweaker is opt-in, there are no forced or enabled-by-default changes (one exception is the
fix_hang_repositionadvanced option, but it’s a bug fix, not a customization feature). As for the color customization, it doesn’t have this functionality at all.Thank you so much for continuing to support this! It stopped working after I installed the October 2019 cumulative update for Windows 10 v1903, and I got worried because this is a crucial program for me. But uninstalling and installing v5.7.1.1 beta worked fine. Again, thanks for not abandoning this!
Please can you do this for MacOS ?
I’m not familiar with MacOS at all, so not anytime soon 🙂
In a vertical taskbar, how do i eliminate spacing between icons?
7+ Taskbar Tweaker doesn’t provide such an option.
This is the application I was looking for so long (=since MS switched these settings).
Making W10 better usable again for me, with a single click “don’t group”. Thank you, and Kudos to Desktopmodder site where I read about your tool.
i don’t know how to download
Visit the website. There’s a huge Download button that’s difficult to miss.
Does exactly what I needed (reorder grouped buttons). Volume control is a great plus.
Thanks!
Cumulative Windows update October 15, 2019—KB4520062 (OS Build 17763.832)
broke the 7+ Taskbar Tweaker…
+1 (I’m also affected)
reported the issue https://tweaker.userecho.com/communities/1/topics/950-can-not-load-librarydll-not-injected-after-october-15-update-kb4520062-build-17763832
I guess we have to wait for a new beta…
Win 10 LTSC 17763.832
Could not load library(5)
Same with beta
+1
I am also experiencing this issue after the following update —
October 15, 2019—KB4520062 (OS Build 17763.832)
Attempted installing the beta and received the same error.
Worth mentioning I’m on version 1809 (have not been prompted to update to 1903 as I am on a Surface Book 2)
Same here.
OS Build 17763.832 (LTSC)
5.7.1 “Could not load library (1004)”
5.7.1.1 “Could not load library (5)”
I hope this helps somehow.
Please try the latest beta version, 5.7.1.2.
Awesome, version 5.7.1.2 works great! Thank you for responding and fixing it so quickly, and for this great piece of software 🙂
Hey!
Just letting you know the v5.7.1 failed for me but the beta v5.7.1.1 is working like a charm (using Windows 10).
Thank you for the program!
Im Slow Ring ist Build 18362.10024 angekommen, 7+Taskbar Tweaker
findet nun einen Programm Bibliothek Fehler und funktioniert nicht mehr.
Mit der neuen Slow Ring Version 18362.10024 funktioniert
7+ Taskbar Tweaker 5.7.1.1 nicht mehr.
Please try the latest beta version, 5.7.1.2.
I seems that the BETA version 5.7.1.1 is no longer working with Windows 10 Home version 1903, build 18362.10024 (I am on the Windows Insider Program on the “Slow” channel) After the latest security patch update from 10/17 KB4508451. The application can no longer inject itself into Windows Explorer. Is this something that you have already been notified about, and will there soon be another BETA or major release of your 7+ Taskbar Tweaker? I love your application and the options that it lets me use for tweaking my taskbar.
Please try the latest beta version, 5.7.1.2.
Thank you, the new beta version seems to have fixed the issue.
Hi, I am on win10 1809 build 17763.832 (just updated). taskbar tweaker (either 5.7.1 or 5.7.1.1) do not work any more (they did before today’s upgrade).
Message is the very common “Could not load library (5)”. Could you help? THANKS
Slow Ring Version 18362.10024, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker 5.7.1.1 doesn’t just fail to load library, it crashes explorer.
Hi,
looks like the latest win10 update has broken tweaker again.
Could not load library (5)
I reinstalled the 5.7.1 library.
win 10 1903 build 18362.10024
Hurrah 🙂
beta 5.7.1.3 worked fine, nice narrow taskbar on the side – and I started using other tweaks as well after watching your little video – never knew you could do that moment lol
Yeah, the “culprit” is the Windows update KB4520062. I had to remove this update and then pause further updates (35 days). Now 7+ TT works again.
I guess we have to wait for a new 7+ TT version. Thanks in advance!
I see… would you be so kind to briefly explain how do you remove a specific update in win 10? thanks
Ps. I know how to pause further updates for 35 days 😉
Control Panel – Programs – Check Installed Updates. Search for KB4520062 and remove it.
(Sorry for my English, I’m from Sweden).
Programs and Features – View installed updates.
Hello RaMMicHaeL
The new beta 5.7.1.2 work nice with Windows update KB4520062
Big thanks
Thanks for the beta v5.7.1.2! 😀
Hi,
For the “large taskbar icons” option on Windows 10, is there any way you could make this apply to the Start button too (or have a separte option which uses the large icon found in Windows 8.1)?
Would be a great thing to have because the taskbar would be consistent then.
Hi,
Thank you for the suggestion. It was suggested before, but I haven’t had the chance to look at it, so I’m not sure how difficult it is to achieve. I’ll try to look at it when I have some spare time.
Hi, thanks for this great tool. Unfortunately it stopped working with “Could not load library (5)”.
I think this happened after updating to
– Win10 1709 16299.1481 (KB4520006 October update)
– .NET Framework 4.8 (KB4519564 October update)
Upgrading to 1809 or later is not an option for me…
Both versions 5.7 and 5.8 give me the same error. Any tips?
Thank you!
Hi,
Please try the newly released beta version, 5.8.0.1.
The recent explorer changes are a hassle to deal with now with the Windows 10 rapid update model. There are 9 (!) Windows 10 versions, all of them slightly different internally. The October 15 patches were pushed to Windows 10 versions 1903, 1809, 1803, and, as it turns out, 1709 (hopefully that’s all). The fix is similar in all of them, but every version has to be inspected and adjusted independently. I hope that such a disrupting change won’t become a common event, otherwise I might consider dropping support for all but the 2-3 latest Windows 10 versions, as it’s very time consuming to do all of these adjustments.
Hi, thank you for your quick response and fix. I confirm that 5.8.0.1 is working fine now on Win10 1709 with October updates.
I also hope that there will be no further disruptions from Redmond 😉
Thanks again!
Windows 10 smartscreen will not allow this app to be installed. Resaon: unsigned
You can click on “More info” and then “Run anyway”. The reason is not only the unsigned file, the message shows up mainly because the file is not common enough (a new version was just released). Usually the message stops appearing a couple of days after the version gets released.
Dropping. Open with
Drop and open only when one file.
Do not open 2 or more files.
Actually, it’s a feature of Windows. Without the tweaker, you have to hold Shift while dropping to make it work. The tweaker only does the Shift thing. For now I don’t plan to tweak it further.
I was wondering, if you change the options and not run it at the next start-up, will it not be saved or forever be saved?
It won’t be saved. The tweaker doesn’t change the system in any way, except for the running instance of explorer.exe, only in memory. That means that once the explorer.exe process terminates, all the changes that the tweaker made are gone.
Latest beta version v5.8.0.1 with Win10 1903 build 18362 works and hides taskbar icon of 7tt again. It became visible by some Windows patching. Tnx!
love how quick you are with the updates for the insider builds.
happy to have donated! 🙂
It would be nice to have window title change functionality either with right-click or in the TaskBar inspector. I use another small utility for this and would be nice to integrate here 😉
Is there a way to only group certain applications?? Like Right click on an app and say “Group this application only” so items like Sticky Notes are grouped, but chat windows are not grouped.
Yes, you can use Taskbar Inspector.
How? I dont see how. I want only certain apps groupable, the rest ungrouped. I want this saved and not just Pin / unpinned. any.
Did you click on the link? Did you see the screenshot? Just choose the Application ID you want to be (non)grouped, right click on it, and set the configuration you desire.
Hi Michael, amazing software and I use it every day, but I have an issue with reordering the taskbar items + switching desktop, the reordering is lost.
This is on Windows 10 and these are the steps:
– Create a new desktop (Win + Tab then click on “New Desktop”)
– Reorder your taskbar items
– Switch desktops (Win + Right/Left arrow)
– Switch to the desktop where the items were reordered
– The item order was reset on its own
Hi,
Look at the answer here. Note that the solution doesn’t work in all cases. One such case is when the same program has windows in more than one virtual desktop, and grouping is not disabled.
I’m using ‘Standard window menu’ on ‘Right click’. However since a few months this doesn’t work with the new Chrome browser. Sometime the right click menu doesn’t show and when I choose ‘Close’ nothing happens. Any fix for this?
Sounds like a Chrome issue. The standard menu menu itself is not a feature of the tweaker, it’s built into Windows. You can use it without the tweaker too, by holding the shift key while right-clicking. The tweaker merely makes explorer think that the shift button is being held.