Windows 11 massively changed the way Windows looks and feels. The new aesthetic is a lot more modern and works well with touchscreen devices. That said, some of the customisation options Windows had were also taken away.

In this article, we’re talking about how you can make your taskbar transparent in Windows 11. There are three main ways of doing this depending on how exactly you want your taskbar to look. 

• Using Windows Settings.
• Using the Registry Editor.
• Using third-party apps.

We’ll be going over all three of these methods.

Also read: ISO files in Windows 11: Everything you need to know

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Using Windows settings

You can enable basic transparency effects for the taskbar using Windows settings. You can further control the transparency using accessibility settings.

Enabling transparent taskbar in Windows

For basic transparency settings, follow these steps. 

Step 1: Press Windows key + I to open Windows settings. Head over to the Personalisation tab.

Step 2: Select Colours.

Step 3: Enable the Transparency effects slider.

You’ll notice that your taskbar has gone transparent with a tint of your Windows accent colour. 

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Using accessibility settings

Using accessibility settings can further increase the default taskbar transparency on Windows. 

Step 1: Press Windows key + I to open Windows settings. Head over to the Accessibility tab.

Step 2: Head over to Visual effects.

Step 3: Enable the Transparency effects toggle. 

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Using the Windows Registry

If you’re not satisfied with the level of transparency you’re getting using Windows settings, you can change the Registry for a lot more control. 

Step 1: Press Windows key + R to open the Run prompt. Type regedit and hit enter.

Step 2: Navigate to the following directory. 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Step 3: On the right-side panel, right-click the white space and select DWORD (32-bit) Value. 

Step 4: Rename this newly made key to UseOLEDTaskbarTransparency and change the value to 1. You can do so by double-clicking the key. 

Step 5: Navigate to the following directory. 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

Step 6: Find the ForceEffectMode key and change its value to 1 as well. If you can’t locate the key, you can make it as we did in step 4. 

Now restart your PC and your taskbar will be more transparent than the one you got by changing the Windows settings. 

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Using third-party programs

Third-party programs essentially tweak things in your registry to get the taskbar looking exactly the way you want. We recommend checking out either TranslucentTB or Taskbar X for controlling your taskbar behaviour. Both these apps will give you far more flexibility and control over the way your taskbar looks and the way it’s placed. 

Also read: How to change icons in Windows 11?