How To Pin Items To Taskbar In Windows 11

Most of you would be aware of how to pin application shortcuts to the Taskbar – simply open the list of All apps, locate and right-click on the application in the listing that you want to pin, then select More > Pin to taskbar:

However, did you know you can pin a shortcut to the Taskbar for other items as well? For example, you can pin shortcuts to Task Manager and/or Settings. The secret is to use an opened item’s right-click menu accessible from the icon displayed in the Taskbar. Let me explain. Whenever you open (say) Task Manager, its icon is displayed in the Taskbar. Right-click that icon and select Pin to taskbar:

Under normal circumstances, when you close Task Manager its icon will disappear from the Taskbar. However, using this method will create a permanent shortcut. The same method works for the Settings app and just about anything that’s open and displaying an icon in the Taskbar.

Bonus Tip: How To Resize Desktop Icons

To be honest, I’d forgotten all about this tip until our Editor, the illustrious Richard Pedersen, mentioned it in response to a question on the DCT Forum. Now, most of you will be aware of the icon sizing options available from the menu when you right-click on the desktop:

However, those fixed sizes often don’t suit and there is a way to achieve a far more granular result where you pretty much dictate the exact size of the icons to suit your own preferences. Here’s how:

1. First, left-click any blank space on the desktop (this is merely to let Windows know where you are working)
2. Now, hold down the CTRL key while scrolling the mouse wheel – scrolling up will increase the size of the desktop icons while scrolling down will decrease the size

Thanks to Richard for jogging the old memory on that one.

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