Windows 11's taskbar may get a handy feature from Windows 10

Windows 11’s taskbar may get a handy feature from Windows 10

By Arif Bacchus February 9, 2022

If you’re a heavy multitasker in Windows 11, you might have noticed that your taskbar might be a little messy when you have too many apps open at once. Windows 10 had a handy overflow feature to help in that situation, and according to a noted Windows leaker on Twitter, it could soon make a comeback on Windows 11.

While Microsoft hasn’t confirmed anything about this just yet, @thebookisclosed is the one who has the specifics of the feature. With it, you should be able to see and access all of your open apps in a new overflow bin in the Windows 11 taskbar.

It’s a welcome change, as previously, there was no indicator to let Windows 11 users know of other open apps once the taskbar runs out of space to hold app icons. The return of the overflow area should add an ellipses icon, so you can better select from open apps and not just see one, as before.

Windows 11's app overflow area. — @thebookisclosed/ Twitter

This would just be one useful feature coming to Windows 11 soon. Previously, the same leaker also indicated that Microsoft is working on three big improvements for the new operating system. Those changes include an interesting stickers option for spicing up the look of the desktop wallpaper, the ability to hide the taskbar in tablet mode, and changes to notifications so that notification controls are more upfront.

And that’s just the start. A separate Twitter user recently showcased a fully redesigned Windows 11 Task Manager app. It has a new look based on Windows 11’s design and useful battery health and app health areas so you can better monitor the all-around performance of your PC.

All of these leaked features have been locked away and hidden in the code in recent Windows Insider Dev Channel releases. Microsoft has said these releases aren’t tied to a specific Windows version, so you should not count on seeing them soon.

Microsoft also previously indicated that it might be a possibility that these features will be discovered by more technical users of beta versions of Windows 11, but it doesn’t mean the features will be released. It says this is by design, and it will only communicate about features that we are purposefully enabling for people to try out.

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