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I'd like to make the icons in the Windows 7 taskbar a little more narrow to fit more in. I can't find the setting anywhere. Is there a way to change it?

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John Sheehan
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1 Answers1

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You can decrease icon size altogether via small icons...

  • Right click a blank space on the Taskbar
  • Select Properties from the context menu
  • In the "Task Bar and Start Menu Properties" dialog, select the "Taskbar" tab
  • Check the "Use small icons" checkbox

or modify the registry to target the width only:

  • Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics\MinWidth
  • If it is not there, right click on an empty white space and select New -> String Value. Name this entry MinWidth.
  • If you want only the buttons to show then 38 will suffice if you're using "small buttons", else 52 for large buttons. If you set it below 38, the buttons won't work properly.
  • Log off or restart to see changes.
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    While that's technically correct, it's not exactly what I'm looking for. I more want to reduce the horizontal padding. Sorry my question wasn't clear on that. – John Sheehan Aug 19 '09 at 05:58
  • found some additional info, edited accordingly. –  Aug 19 '09 at 06:05
  • I tried editing this registry value and best I can tell, it didn't change anything. – John Sheehan Aug 25 '09 at 05:55
  • The value should be between 38 & 52, you also need to reboot –  Aug 25 '09 at 15:58
  • This setting only changes it if you don't have autocollapse=always – John Sheehan Oct 28 '09 at 05:48
  • Comment by @sro47: I edited the registry value (to 39) but saw no difference. There is still enough room between icons to fit another icon between them. Seems like there ought to be a MaxWidth setting, no??? – Ivo Flipse Jan 23 '11 at 23:38