How to auto-hide taskbar when maximized in Windows 11

Want the taskbar hidden all the time? See How to hide the Windows 11 taskbar.

Find Windows' auto-hide setting

1. Open Windows Settings. Choose Personalization, then Taskbar.
2. Find Taskbar behaviors. Select Automatically hide the taskbar to turn on automatic hiding.
3. Point at the bottom edge. The hidden taskbar appears so you can use it.

This is the general auto-hide switch for Windows' taskbar.

Choose When covered

1. Install Glassline from the Microsoft Store. Open it to get the menu bar at the top and the dock at the bottom.
2. Open Glassline Settings. Right-click the menu bar and choose Glassline Settings.
3. Choose Dock. Find Automatically hide, which controls when the dock slides out of sight.
4. Select When covered. The dock stays visible until a window is maximized or reaches it. A smaller window with room above the dock leaves your app icons in view.

You are setting when Glassline's dock hides. For the rest of the setup, see how to get a dock on Windows 11 and how Glassline replaces the Windows taskbar.

Try it with a window

1. Start with a smaller window. Keep its bottom edge above the dock. Your app icons stay visible while you work in that window.
2. Maximize the window. Move your pointer away from the bottom edge. The dock slides out of sight.
3. Bring the dock back. Move your pointer to the bottom edge of the screen. The dock comes back so you can reach your apps.
4. Make the window smaller again. Leave space between it and the dock. The dock stays visible again.

When covered follows both maximized windows and windows that reach the dock. If a smaller window makes it disappear, move that window away from the dock to leave your icons visible.

Know the other choices

Automatically hide has four choices. Keep When covered for the behavior above. Over apps hides the dock while an app is in front and brings it back on the empty desktop. Always hides it even on the desktop.

Never keeps the dock visible, with maximized windows stopping above it. Full-screen apps still make it hide. You can return to Dock settings and change Automatically hide whenever you want a different behavior.

Hide the menu bar too

The menu bar at the top can hide by itself as well. In Glassline Settings, choose Menu Bar and find Automatically hide the menu bar.

• When maximized: the menu bar slides away while a window is maximized, and the window gets the whole screen.
• Always: it slides away even over the desktop.
• Never: it always stays, and maximized windows stop below it. It still hides for full-screen apps.

To bring a hidden menu bar back, point at the top edge of the screen. Set the dock to When covered and the menu bar to When maximized, and a maximized window has the screen to itself.