If you want to save some precious taskbar space to pin your favorite programs, here is how you can easily remove the Cortana search bar and Task View icons from the Windows 10 taskbar.
Remove Cortana Search Bar
One way to remove or hide the Cortana search bar is to use the native Windows options. All you have to do is right-click on the taskbar, select the option “Cortana” and then “Hidden.”
This action will instantly hide the Cortana search bar from your Windows taskbar.
The other way is to edit the Windows Registry keys. To start, press “Win + R,” type regedit and press the Enter button to open the Windows Registry editor.
Once the Registry editor has been opened, navigate to the following key:
In this screen find the “SearchboxTaskbar” key on the right pane and double-click on it. Change the Value Data to “0” and click on the “Ok” button to save the changes.
You’ve successfully removed the Cortana search bar from the Windows 10 taskbar. If you want to revert back, simply change the value data back to “1.” But do pay mind to the fact that the Cortana functionality still exists, and you can easily activate Cortana by simply pressing the “Win + C” shortcut.
Remove Task View Icon
Just like the Cortana search bar, you can also easily hide the Task View icon by simply right-clicking on the taskbar and then unchecking the option “Show Task View button.”
Alternatively, you can also completely remove the Task View and the option to hide or unhide it from the taskbar. To do that, press “Win + R,” type regedit and press the Enter button.
Once the Registry editor has been opened, navigate to the following key:
Right-click on the Explorer key appearing on the left pane, then select “New” followed by “Key.”
This action will create a new empty key; name the key “MultiTaskingView.”
After that, we need to create another key. To do that, right-click on “MultiTaskingView,” and select “New” and then “Key.”
Name the key “AllUpView” and press the Enter button.
Right-click on the right pane, select the “New” option and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value.”
The above action will create a new DWORD value; name the value “Enabled” and press the Enter button.
Double-click on the newly created value, and change the Value Data to “0”. Once you’ve changed the value data, click on the “OK” button to save the changes.
Just restart your system, and you will longer have the Task View icon or the options related to it on your Windows 10 taskbar. If you want to revert back, simply change the value data back to “1.”
As you can see, it is pretty easy to hide or remove the Cortana search bar and the Task View icon in Windows 10. Do comment below sharing your thoughts and experiences about using the above methods to remove the Cortana search bar and Task View icons from the Windows 10 taskbar.
