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Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.

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Show or hide the taskbar

The taskbar is usually located at the bottom of your screen. It looks like this:

Picture of the taskbarTaskbar

You can hide the taskbar to create more space. If you don't see the taskbar anywhere on the screen, it might be hidden.

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To show the taskbar

  • If the taskbar is hidden, point to where you last saw it to show it again. If you can't remember where you last saw it, try pointing to the bottom of the screen first, and then to the side or top of the screen, if necessary. You might need to move the pointer almost off the screen to show the taskbar.

To hide the taskbar

  1. Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.

  2. Clear the Lock the taskbar check box.

  3. Select the Auto-hide the taskbar check box.

    The taskbar is hidden from view. You can see it again by pointing to the place where you last saw it.

To turn off auto-hide

  1. Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.

  2. Clear the Auto-hide the taskbar check box.

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