The Windows 11 taskbar is missing several practical features that were previously available by default in earlier operating system versions. Among these is the option to display text labels and ungroup app buttons. As you may remember, Microsoft is already working on reviving these features. In November 2022, a hidden feature was found in Insider builds that allowed to ungroup app buttons in the taskbar. Since then, there has been some progress, and now app buttons can display text labels.
Like the original finding, the updated taskbar has been discovered by well-known Windows enthusiast Albacore.
Here's a demo of the current state of the feature.
Sadly, it's not possible to make it work on your computer. Even though the updated code was discovered, it has been force-disabled, and applications like ViVeTool are unable to enable it. Albacore had to manually patch the binaries to get it up and running.
It's important to note that many users who prefer the traditional approach to managing active applications on the taskbar have expressed a strong desire to have the ability to disable button grouping and view window titles. It's great to see that Microsoft is taking steps in this direction and is reintroducing features that were previously absent from Windows 11..
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Finally, I will be able to give Windows 11 a proper try. Now all we need is an ability to get rid of the recommended section and to resize the start menu. It’s too small.