Windows 11 will launch "Never Combine" taskbar icon feature in the fall

Image courtesy: Microsoft

The most controversial change in Windows 11 is its taskbar. Microsoft has redesigned the taskbar to lock it at the bottom of the screen. It still shows your pinned apps, running apps, open windows, and system. However, some Windows 11 taskbar functionality is limited. For example, it cannot be moved to any other screen edge.

Another limitation is that users cannot ungroup taskbar icons. This is one of the most criticized changes in the operating system. A Feedback Hub post titled "Update Windows 11 taskbar to support ungrouping app icons and showing labels" received more than 26,000 upvotes and 2,000 comments. One user explained that this is "the biggest annoyance with Windows 11."

"There's no point in having all this taskbar space when only a few inches of space are being used," they point out. Another user explained how they need to rely on third-party tools to use options that should be included in Windows 11.

"Without the never-group feature, the taskbar is no better than the MacOS dock for me," another user added. There are some other restrictions. For example, you can't add toolbars or third-party extensions to the taskbar or move them to any other screen edge.

The taskbar experience is a step backwards from previous versions of the operating system, including Windows 8. The official and technical explanation for the downgrade is that the taskbar was rebuilt from scratch, which means all functionality needs to be rebuilt.

Legacy features coming in the fall

Microsoft is working on bringing back the ability to ungroup taskbar icons/items or buttons, a feature called the "Never Group" taskbar that first shipped with Windows 7 was added to the operating system together. With this feature, you can restore the classic Windows 10 behavior where the same application is not grouped under one icon.

The feature will be rolled out in the fall, and Microsoft is also bringing back the ability to display app titles, which was removed in Windows 11 21H2. The never combine option exists in the public build, but it doesn't work now, and the code to make the feature work is missing.

On Patch Tuesday, Microsoft released the Windows 11 Moment 2 update (KB5023706), which restores switching between the tablet taskbar's two modes - expanded and collapsed. Last year, Microsoft also re-added the ability to drag and drop files between application icons on the taskbar.

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