- A new high-priority feature enabling Windows 11 taskbar repositioning is currently in testing
- Changes to resize and customize the Start menu will be tested soon
- These seem like well-thought-out and well-implemented features, but the most important item on my Windows 11 wish list will probably never be addressed.
Windows 11 finally gets some of the most sought-after features for its interface, namely the ability to move the position of the taskbar (and make it smaller), as well as the ability to resize and further adjust the Start menu.
Microsoft’s blog post on “Make the Taskbar and Start More Personal” explains that the taskbar changes are rolling out in the experimental channel for pre-release versions of Windows 11, and that the Start menu redesign will be arriving soon, in the “coming weeks.”
Users will be able to move the taskbar up or to either side of the desktop, which is one of the most sought-after features for Windows 11 since its arrival. (Windows 10 has this feature, and people were dismayed to see it left out of the successor operating system).
Microsoft also allows users to choose icon alignment (centered or not) for any taskbar position. Coders like those with ultra-wide screens who would prefer the taskbar to be located on the side of the screen will be very happy to see that this feature is now available.
Another addition is the ability to manually choose a small taskbar (with smaller buttons), which was previously an automatically selected mode (for small screens).
Another major complaint of late has been the fact that the Start menu has become too large – in some cases, covering a large portion of the desktop and effectively becoming a Start screen (as seen in Windows 8, if you remember).
To prevent this, Microsoft will give users control over the size of the Windows 11 Start menu, with small and large settings. Another change is clear and simple toggles to disable any section you don’t want to see, whether it’s Pinned, Recommended, or All (the full list of apps).
You can disable the Recommended panel now, but this also disables Jump Lists and Recent Files in File Explorer. So Microsoft is unbundling this, meaning you can keep these last few things in place while dropping the recommendations.
All of this is useful, and the bottom line is that if you want a compact Start menu that only shows your pinned apps and nothing else – a simple launcher for all your favorite apps – then you can have exactly that (as has already been rumored).
As noted, the Start Menu changes haven’t made it to testing yet, but they will be rolling out soon enough.
Analysis: a challenge to prove me wrong, Microsoft
It’s good to see this happening, as Microsoft promised, previously stating that changing the taskbar was a top priority. I’m also happy to see a thoughtful implementation of the Start menu changes, giving users plenty of options to significantly streamline this part of the interface.
Yes, that should have been the case from the start, but I can’t keep banging that particular drum – at least Microsoft realized its previous mistake of burying its head in the sand regarding complaints about the Windows 11 interface.
With Microsoft now listening more carefully to feedback from the Windows 11 user base and directly enlisting the help of testers to fix various facets of the desktop operating system, I have more hope for the future of the operating system than I have since, well, since its initial launch.
So what do I personally hope Microsoft fixes next? I’d like to see Microsoft bring back the ability to install the desktop OS with a local account, and not force the use of a Microsoft account when setting up Windows 11 (or make people work around it). The good news is that we’ve seen an indication that this change might be in the works, but it hasn’t been officially announced yet.
This would be a move that would please many, and while I use a Microsoft account myself – and I’m not looking to change that – I want to see this implemented as a broader sign that Microsoft is going to stop forcing people to adopt certain behaviors in Windows 11.
If this move were to happen, my real hope is that it could lead to Windows 11 being freer from the various promotional items you see for Microsoft’s services (whether it’s OneDrive, Edge, Bing, or even games like Declared). Again, this is something that Microsoft has already hinted at, but what I would love to no end would be the introduction of a system-wide switch to remove all those veiled promotions and ads in Windows 11. (Or a bank of options where you can leave certain recommendations enabled, if you want, but where it’s possible to turn them on. All off, and I mean the lot).
Despite all the good work Microsoft is doing right now and my renewed confidence in Windows 11, to a certain extent, I can’t believe for a moment that something like this could ever happen.
If it did, that would really be a sign that it’s a completely different Microsoft behind the wheel of the operating system.
So come on, Microsoft, prove me wrong. You listen to the comments – and surely you must have noticed the complaints that you shouldn’t receive ads or promotions in an operating system you paid for? Take action on this front, and you will completely regain my faith, and probably the trust of many people.
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