Make Your Windows 10 Taskbar Search Box Smaller or Hide It Altogether

Hey there! Today I want to share with you a little trick that will help you customize your Windows 10 taskbar. I’m going to teach you how to make the search box on your taskbar smaller or even hide it completely. Isn’t that nifty?

Now, let’s dive right into it. Follow these simple steps, and you’ll have a personalized taskbar in no time.

First off, you need to right-click on your taskbar. See that? It’s the bar at the bottom of your screen where you have all your quick launch icons. Got it? Great!

After right-clicking, a menu will pop up. Look for the “Search” option in the menu. Click on it. Now, pay close attention because this is where the magic happens!

You’ll see a few options in this sub-menu. If you want to make the search box smaller, you need to click on “Show Cortana icon” or “Hidden.” Choose whichever one you prefer. By doing this, the search box will be reduced to just a neat little icon, giving you more space on your taskbar. Pretty cool, huh?

But hey, if you’re feeling adventurous and don’t want the search box at all, here’s what you should do. In the same sub-menu where you found the previous options, click on the “Hidden” option. Poof! The search box will vanish into thin air, giving your taskbar a sleek and minimalist look. How awesome is that?

Now, let me remind you that these changes are totally reversible. If you ever change your mind and want to bring back the search box, simply follow the same steps but choose the “Show Search Box” option instead of “Hidden” or “Show Cortana icon.”

So there you have it! You now possess the power to shrink or hide the search box on your Windows 10 taskbar. It’s your personal touch to make your computer truly yours. Have fun customizing!

In the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview, there’s a new search box in the taskbar that lets you search the web and Windows, and use the Cortana voice assistant. But the search box takes up a lot of space, especially on devices with smaller screens. Luckily, there’s a way to shrink the search box while still having access to all its features.

To do this, follow these steps while running at least Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9926:

1. Right-click on the Desktop taskbar and hover your cursor over the “Search” option.

2. You’ll see three settings that change how the search box appears and works.

3. The default setting is “Show search box,” which is a wide box between the Start button and your pinned taskbar items.

4. Another option is to select “Show search icon.” This minimizes the search box into a small icon that looks like either a circular icon for Cortana or a magnifying glass icon for non-Cortana devices.

5. With the “Show search icon” setting, you can still access the full search box by clicking on the search or Cortana icon. You can also access it by clicking on the Start button or pressing the Windows key on your keyboard.

6. If you don’t want the search box to take up any space on your taskbar, you can choose the “Disabled” option. This hides the search box icon but doesn’t disable Windows search or Cortana. You can still access the search box from the Start Menu, although Cortana might not work fully in this configuration yet.

7. Note that if you have your taskbar configured to use small icons, the full search box is not available. Instead, you’ll see a search or Cortana icon even if you have “Show search box” checked.

It seems that Microsoft chose to make the full search box the default option to make it easier for users to recognize and use the search features. However, it does take up a lot of space, so shrinking or hiding it may be a better option for those with smaller screens. As Microsoft continues to refine Windows 10, the functionality of Cortana and the search box will likely improve.