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How To: Reclaim Real Estate on the Windows 10 Taskbar by Modifying How Cortana Displays
Use this little tweak to get back some needed real estate on the Windows 10 taskbar.
Rod Trent
July 31, 2015
1 Min Read
By default, Windows 10 gives Cortana plenty of space on the taskbar by enabling a pretty large search box to show, with the words "Ask me anything." Cortana, of course, is the personal assistant introduced in Windows Phone 8.1 and carried over to the desktop in Windows 10.
But what if you don't want to use Cortana, or do want to use her but also get back some taskbar space for more pinned program icons. Windows 10 provides the ability to customize how Cortana is displayed.
To do this…
Right-click on an empty spot on the taskbar, shift focus to the Cortana menu item and the following pop-up menu displays.
If you choose Hidden, Cortana disappears completely from the taskbar, but she's still active in the background. You can still enact Cortana by using the Windows Key + S keyboard command.
If you choose Show Cortana icon, she's reduced to a small clickable circle.
If you choose Show search box, the entire search box is shown (again, this is the default).
Incidentally, no matter which option you choose, even if you decide to hide her completely, "Hey, Cortana" still works.
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