Never Combine
By Richard Rost
4 years ago
Never Combine Taskbar Icons in Windows 11
In this video, I'm going to show you how to set your Windows 11 Taskbar icons to never combine with the free ExplorerPatcher utility.
Update!
2023-11-22: As of the most recent Windows 11 release, the taskbar ONCE AGAIN supports never combining buttons! Yay! Microsoft actually listened to user feedback. See? You can make a difference.
You can find the setting by right-clicking on the Taskbar, select Taskbar Settings, go to the Taskbar behaviors group, and set both "Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels" options to Never.
Thanks to Rene Borst on YouTube for pointing this out to me today when he saw my File Explorer Regression video.
Links
My Complaint
- Dear Microsoft, I would like to add my voice to the hundreds of people who hate the fact that Microsoft downgraded the Windows 11 Taskbar and removed functionality that so many of us are used to from previous versions of Windows. The inability to ungroup icons on the task bar is counter-productive and makes it slower and more difficult to multitask.
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 Keywords
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Intro In this video, I will show you how to set your Windows 11 taskbar icons to never combine by using the free Explorer Patcher utility. You will learn how to download and safely install the tool from GitHub, adjust key taskbar settings to ungroup icons like in previous versions of Windows, and customize some additional taskbar options for multiple displays and icon sizes. I will also share some safety tips and a recommendation on supporting the software's creator.Transcript Welcome to another Fast Tips video brought to you by WindowsLearningZone.com. I am your instructor Richard Rost.
In today's video, I'm going to show you how to set your Windows 11 taskbar icons to never combine with the free Explorer Patcher utility.
Now, I have a travel laptop, and I upgraded it a little while ago to Windows 11 just to play around with it. I use it for email when I'm on the road and stuff like that, not for any serious work though. Recently, I decided to do some serious work on my travel laptop while I was away. As I got to using it, I discovered I really hate the fact that Microsoft made it so that the taskbar icons are always grouped.
I bounce around between different windows a lot, and most of the time I like to keep multiple copies of Chrome open and I like to see which one's which so I can just quickly come down here and click on it. But with Windows 11, you have to hover over this for a moment, look at all these, figure out which one you want, and then click on it. I hate that. I don't like that behavior at all.
This grouped taskbar takes up less space, but I think it's unproductive. It's very difficult to multitask this way. You have to hover over each icon, wait a second, and try to decide which one of those little windows you want. I want the ability to ungroup the icons on the taskbar, just like you could in Windows 10 and pretty much every previous version of Windows I can think of. I really, really hate the fact that Microsoft didn't include this feature in Windows 11.
Fortunately, there's a free utility called Explorer Patcher that you can download and install that fixes the problem. Here's the URL right there. I will include a link down below in the description under the video window that you can click and go there directly.
So here it is. It's on GitHub, which I'm sure Alex is just loving, since I'm finally getting something off GitHub for once. He's been bugging me to try it for a while.
Now, is everything you get from GitHub safe? No, but this has been around for a while and it's got 7.7 thousand people that have starred it, which basically means they liked it. So if there's a problem with something like this, someone will say something.
When I downloaded it, Windows Defender popped up and said it's an unknown publisher. You just have to click OK and let it install. Scroll down here a little bit to find the setup program. How do you download the latest version of the setup program? Click on that. That'll download to your downloads folder. I've already downloaded it once; that's why it says 1.exe. Then just click on it.
Windows protected your PC, just click on more info and then run anyway. Before you click on that, I will tell you that I take no responsibility for whatever might be on this page that you download. I've done it. It's safe. I think it's okay, but take your own risk of course. I would never recommend anything to you that is potentially dangerous.
You'll get the user control prompt that pops up, and you have to click OK to that too. Now, it may take a second. In fact, the first time I installed it, I installed it and then uninstalled it like three times now testing it on this machine. The first time I installed it, it took a second. It was almost like it froze, so wait maybe 10 or 15 seconds before you panic, and then all of a sudden it just came on. Now, the subsequent two times that I've installed it, once it was installed, it just worked right away.
So here it is, and you can see I've got my functionality back. A few settings you might want to change: find an empty spot on your taskbar, right-click, and you'll see this Properties right here. That's new. That's what this thing installs.
First thing you have to do, if it's not set already for you (it was when I downloaded it, but older versions didn't), if you drop this down you have to pick Windows 10 as the taskbar style. If you use Windows 11 style, it won't work with this.
There are a lot of things in here you can set in the normal taskbar properties. For example, location on the screen - top, bottom, left, right - that kind of stuff.
But what we're looking for is right down here: combine taskbar icons on primary taskbar. I go with never combined, that's the default, and on the secondary taskbars. If you have multiple monitors, even on my travel laptop, I've got an extra screen that I plug in. I can't work on one screen; I'm so spoiled. I've got four screens on my desktop in my office. Unless I'm just reading email, I can't.
I like the large icons. You can go small if you want to save a little more space. I don't have the best eyesight, so I go with the larger ones.
You may have to restart File Explorer, which is this guy down here, and it'll restart any File Explorer windows you've got. Once you apply these settings, for me I didn't have to, it just came right on, but if it doesn't work right away, click on the Restart File Explorer link.
There are a whole bunch of other settings in here that I haven't really even played with yet. I just wanted this for the taskbar stuff, but there's all kinds of cool stuff in here. I'm going to go through this a little bit later today and see what the other neat stuff is in there.
I'm going to close this. One other thing I like to do: I'm going to right-click and go to Taskbar Settings. This brings up the standard built-in Windows 11 taskbar settings. Scroll down. I like to go to taskbar behaviors. For me, if you've got multiple displays, I like this setting: you can show an icon on all the taskbars.
If you've got, let's say, Windows Explorer or Chrome open on one monitor, it'll show up on all the taskbars, the main taskbar and the taskbar where the window is open, so you'll always see it on your main taskbar, your main display, plus the window where it's open.
I like this one: just show it where it's open. If I've got Chrome open and it's on my right monitor, I don't need to see its icon in an open status on every monitor. I like that setting too.
Those are some of my favorite settings. Like I said, I gave it a good virus scan. Everything seems to be safe with me. It's got 7,000 likes. I've installed and uninstalled it a few times, and it seems to work just fine. It'll be in your Add/Remove Programs. The guy who built this really seems to know what he's doing.
If you use this and you like it, I want you to donate to the author. There's his information right there. You'll find it on that same page. Just scroll down a little further, and you'll find his donate link. I sent him a few bucks. If you're going to use this, contribute to authors that make free software. Please. I've written a few things. Speaking as someone who posts a lot of free videos, send the guy a donation. If you use this product, send him something. A couple bucks even. Buy him a cup of coffee.
What I'd also like you to do is complain to Microsoft. There are a whole ton of people that are very unhappy with this. The fact that when they released Windows 11, they didn't include this very important functionality. We shouldn't have to install a patch or another utility to give us back functionality we're used to from previous versions.
I had the same issue when they did the ribbon upgrade in Microsoft's Office when they took away the file, edit, view menu. Granted, years later, I'm happy with the ribbon. I've gotten used to it, but this is something that should still be in Windows.
There's a thread on their tech community page. Here's a link right there. It's a really long, big link. I made a short link on my website for it. Click on this. Give them your two cents. Tell them that you're not happy with this. The more people that complain, the more likely they'll be to add this feature back in. I gave them my two cents. If you want, just copy that if you want to. I don't care.
I'd like to give special thanks to Kevin Robertson on my website, Forum Moderator, for recommending Explorer Patcher to me. Even I need help once in a while. I've got a great group of guys helping to answer questions on my website - all types of questions. Mostly Microsoft Access, but also Excel, Word, Windows, and this kind of stuff too.
I posted this question in my own Windows forum on my website, and Kevin came to my rescue. Then, of course, Alex was all excited that there was GitHub. Then Dan came in with a bunch of funny memes. So, that's how we roll on my website. So stop by sometime, check it out, and have some fun with us.
This has been your Fast Tip for today. I hope you learned something, and I hope this utility makes you more productive like you used to be under Windows 10. Thanks again to user Valinet on GitHub for putting together this fantastic little utility. I hope you learned something today, and we'll see you next time.Quiz Q1. What problem does Explorer Patcher solve for Windows 11 users?
A. It allows users to set the taskbar icons to never combine.
B. It increases battery life.
C. It removes all advertisements from Windows 11.
D. It adds a dark mode option.
Q2. What is a key difference in the Windows 11 taskbar compared to previous versions, according to the video?
A. You can only position it on the left side of the screen.
B. Icons are always grouped and cannot be ungrouped natively.
C. There is no taskbar at all.
D. Only Microsoft apps appear on the taskbar.
Q3. Where can you download Explorer Patcher?
A. GitHub
B. Microsoft Store
C. Google Play Store
D. Mac App Store
Q4. What should you do if Windows Defender warns you about Explorer Patcher's publisher during installation?
A. Click OK to proceed if you are comfortable
B. Delete the file immediately
C. Run a disk cleanup
D. Only install it on a Mac
Q5. After installing Explorer Patcher, which taskbar style should be selected for the icon combining feature to work?
A. Windows 10
B. Windows 7
C. Windows XP
D. Windows 11
Q6. What should you do if the Explorer Patcher configuration changes do not immediately take effect?
A. Restart File Explorer
B. Restart the whole computer
C. Format your hard drive
D. Uninstall and reinstall Windows
Q7. Which of the following is a recommended way to support the creators of Explorer Patcher?
A. Donate to the author using the provided link
B. Contact your local government
C. Buy a Microsoft Office license
D. Join GitHub as a contributor
Q8. If you want to show an icon only on the taskbar where its window is open, which setting should you change?
A. Taskbar behaviors in Windows 11 Taskbar Settings
B. Monitor brightness
C. Power options
D. Windows Update
Q9. According to Richard, how safe did he feel installing Explorer Patcher from GitHub?
A. He felt safe after scanning it for viruses and seeing positive feedback
B. He thought it was full of spyware
C. He had to contact Microsoft support
D. He refused to install it
Q10. What does Richard encourage viewers to do regarding Microsoft and the taskbar icon grouping feature?
A. Complain to Microsoft to bring back the ability to never combine taskbar icons
B. Uninstall Windows 11 immediately
C. Never use the taskbar again
D. Only use Mac computers
Answers: 1-A; 2-B; 3-A; 4-A; 5-A; 6-A; 7-A; 8-A; 9-A; 10-A
DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.Summary Today's video from Windows Learning Zone focuses on customizing your Windows 11 experience by setting your taskbar icons to never combine, using a free tool called Explorer Patcher.
I recently upgraded my travel laptop to Windows 11, mainly so I could experiment with the new system while I was away from my main office. I use this laptop mostly for tasks like checking email, but during a recent trip, I needed to do some actual work on it. That is when I ran into a frustrating issue: Windows 11 forces taskbar icons to always group together, making multitasking awkward and inefficient.
Since I frequently switch between several open windows, I like to keep multiple instances of Chrome running and visually distinguish each one from the taskbar without having to hover and hunt for the right window. Windows 11's grouped icons make this cumbersome. Previous versions, like Windows 10, offered a simple setting to prevent icons from combining, so the change in Windows 11 feels like a step backward in productivity for me.
Luckily, I found a solution in a free utility named Explorer Patcher. You can download it directly from its GitHub page. The tool has been around for some time, has received thousands of positive ratings, and is actively maintained, which helps assure me of its reliability.
When installing Explorer Patcher, you might get a notification from Windows Defender warning about an unknown publisher. If you wish to proceed, you'll need to confirm a few prompts and potentially tell Windows to run the file anyway. As always, you should exercise standard caution when installing third party software, but based on my experience and feedback from thousands of users, I found Explorer Patcher trustworthy.
After installation, new options appear when you right-click an empty space on the taskbar and choose Properties. The crucial step here is to set your taskbar style to Windows 10, since Explorer Patcher restores the older style behavior. There are numerous settings available, but to keep icons from combining, choose "never combine" for both primary and secondary taskbars. This is especially helpful if you use more than one monitor, as I do. There are also options for icon size and taskbar positioning, so you can further tailor the taskbar to your liking. If your changes are not immediately visible, you may need to restart File Explorer using a button provided in the settings panel.
Windows 11's built-in taskbar settings are still available if you right-click and choose Taskbar Settings. I recommend checking out the taskbar behaviors section, especially if you use multiple displays. I prefer to show an icon only on the taskbar where the window is open, which keeps things organized if you have several screens connected.
I have downloaded, installed, and uninstalled Explorer Patcher a few times during my testing, and never had any issues with it. It is easy to uninstall using the standard Windows Add Remove Programs feature. If you find this utility as helpful as I do, please consider donating to its creator, whose details you will find on the same GitHub page. Supporting independent developers who distribute useful free software makes it possible for these kinds of tools to exist.
Beyond using this utility, I also encourage you to let Microsoft know that you miss this feature in Windows 11. There is a discussion thread on Microsoft's tech community where you can add your feedback. The more voices they hear, the more likely they will be to restore this much-requested function.
Special thanks go out to Kevin Robertson, moderator on my own website's forum, for recommending Explorer Patcher to me. My website boasts a vibrant community of experts and enthusiasts who are always ready to help out with questions about Windows, Access, Excel, Word, and more. If you ever need help or want to join the conversation, I invite you to visit us online.
That wraps up today's Fast Tip. I hope Explorer Patcher restores some much-needed productivity to your Windows 11 workflow, just like it did for mine. For a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here, visit my website at the link below.
Live long and prosper, my friends.Topic List Setting Windows 11 taskbar icons to never combine
Downloading Explorer Patcher from GitHub
Installing Explorer Patcher and handling security prompts
Selecting Windows 10 taskbar style in Explorer Patcher
Changing taskbar icon combine settings
Adjusting taskbar location and icon size
Restarting File Explorer to apply changes
Customizing taskbar display on multiple monitors
Configuring Windows 11 taskbar behaviors for multiple displays
Uninstalling Explorer Patcher via Add Remove Programs |
