Vista Tutorial - Taskbar - Lock or Unlock

**Brink** · **METHOD ONE:**

How to Lock or Unlock the Taskbar in Vista

Information

This will show you how to lock or unlock the Taskbar to not allow (locked) or allow (unlocked) moving or resizing of the Taskbar.

NOTE

If the Taskbar is set to unlocked, then you can resize it's width and/or move it to the left, right, top, or bottom of the desktop.

To resize the taskbar, move the mouse pointer to the top of the taskbar until it turns into a double arrow. Click and hold, then drag the taskbar to the width you want. See: How to See the Date and Time on the Taskbar in Vista
To move the taskbar, click and hold on a empty area of the taskbar and drag it to the desktop border you want it at.

RELATED LINKS:

EXAMPLE: Taskbar Locked

EXAMPLE: Taskbar Unlocked
NOTE: Notice how the taskbar now has the three rows of dotted lines now. See the NOTE at the top of the tutorial for more on this.

METHOD ONE:
Through the Taskbar Context Menu

1. Right click on a empty space on the Taskbar.

2. To Unlock the Taskbar -
A) Click on Lock the Taskbar to uncheck it. (See screenshot below step 3)
NOTE: If Lock the Taskbar is grayed out, then see: How to Enable or Disable Lock the Taskbar in Vista

3. To Lock the Taskbar -
A) Click on Lock the Taskbar to check it. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If Lock the Taskbar is grayed out, then see: How to Enable or Disable Lock the Taskbar in Vista

METHOD TWO:
Through the Taskbar Properties

1. Right click on a empty space on the Taskbar.
2. Click on Properties. (See screenshot below)

3. To Unlock the Taskbar -
A) Click on Lock the Taskbar to uncheck it. (See screenshot below step 4)
NOTE: If Lock the Taskbar is grayed out, then see: How to Enable or Disable Lock the Taskbar in Vista

B) Go to step 5.

4. To Lock the Taskbar -
A) Click on Lock the Taskbar to check it. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If Lock the Taskbar is grayed out, then see: How to Enable or Disable Lock the Taskbar in Vista

5. Click on OK. (See screenshot above)

METHOD THREE:
Through the Registry

OPTION ONE:
Through a Download
1. To Lock the Taskbar -
A) Click on the download button below to download the Lock_Taskbar.reg file.

B) Go to step 3.

2. To Unlock the Taskbar -
A) Click on the download button below to download the Unlock_Taskbar.reg file.

3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the Desktop.
4. Right click on the .reg file (on Desktop) and click on Merge.
5. Click on the Run button in the Security Warning pop-up.
6. Click on Continue (UAC), Yes, and then OK when prompted.
7. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply changes.
8. When done, you can delete the .reg file on the desktop if you like.

OPTION TWO:
Manually Through the Registry
1. Open the Start Menu.
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.
3. Click the Continue button for the UAC prompt.
4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

5. To Unlock the Taskbar -
A) In the right pane, right click on TaskbarSizeMove and click on Modify. (See screenshot above)
B) Type in 1 and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

6. To Lock the Taskbar -
A) In the right pane, right click on TaskbarSizeMove and click on Modify. (See screenshot below step 4)
B) Type in 0 (number zero) and click on OK. (See screenshot below step 5B)

7. Close regedit.
8. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply changes.

That's it,
Shawn

cmanmohan · 08-14-2008

Very helpful!
Thanks,
Manmohan

**Brink** · 08-14-2008

Your welcome Manmohan.

Shawn