The taskbar is one of the crucial components in the Windows operating system, as it provides access to the Start Menu, Cortana, pinned apps, quick settings, calendar, and notification center. The capabilities and importance of the taskbar is astonishing when you come to think of it.

Many of us have seen Windows evolving, from Windows 98 to Windows 10, and one thing which essentially remained the same throughout the journey was the taskbar. Symmetry was felt achieved with the Start Menu and icons on the left and all of the quick settings on the right.

However, with Windows 11’s centered taskbar, it seems Microsoft has taken some cues from the macOS. We are not complaining by any means, but that years of muscle memory will take some time to get used to it.

That being said, if you are the one who cannot get to terms with centered taskbar icons and move back to the way things were aligned before, follow along with the steps and you shall have your desired result.

Put Windows 11 Taskbar to Left (like Windows 10)

Left aligning the taskbar is a cakewalk in the Settings app on Windows 11, and you will be done before you know it.

First, press the Windows+I keyboard shortcut to open ‘Settings’ on Windows 11. Then, click on the ‘Personalization’ setting from the available options on the left panel.

On the Personalization settings page, scroll down and click on the ‘Taskbar’ settings option.

Alternatively, to skip the digging through the Windows Settings to reach Taskbar options, you can also right-click on the Taskbar itself and select the ‘Taskbar settings’ option from the context menu.

go to taskbar settings to Left Align Taskbar on Windows 11

Then, on the Personalization → Taskbar settings screen, click on the ‘Taskbar behaviors’ option near the bottom of the screen.

From Taskbar behavior options, click on the drop-down menu next to ‘Taskbar alignment’ and select ‘Left’ from the available options.

The changes will reflect right away, and you’ll see the Start button once again on the bottom left corner of the screen after setting Taskbar alignment to the left.


Well, now you know how to change the alignment of the taskbar. You can either have a Mac-like experience with the centered taskbar or you can continue usingthe good old left-aligned taskbar on Windows 11!