Microsoft has been improving the taskbar with every version of Windows as it’s one of the busiest areas of the Windows operating system. In Windows 10, Microsoft has added a couple of new features to the taskbar but the taskbar is not transparent with default settings.
Talking about new features on the taskbar, firstly, there is a large search box on the taskbar in Windows 10. The search box, which appears right to the Start button, is home to the newly introduced digital personal assistant Cortana.
Not only does the search box on the taskbar allows you to launch files and programs on your PC, but it also allows you to search the web using Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Those who prefer Google search can follow our workaround to enable Google to search in Windows 10 taskbar search box.
Secondly, the system tray area of the taskbar includes an icon to access the new action center. The all-new date and time flyout is also another nice addition to the taskbar, and more importantly, it goes very well with the new design language of Windows 10.
While Windows 10 supports transparency in the Start menu, taskbar and action center, it’s turned off by default. We have already shown how to make the Start menu transparent in Windows 10 with or without the help of third-party tools. In this guide, we are going to discuss how to make the taskbar transparent in Windows 10 with or without using third-party tools.
Method 1 of 2
Make the taskbar partially transparent in Windows 10
To make the taskbar fully transparent, refer to the directions in Method 2 (scroll down to see).
NOTE: Turning on transparency for the taskbar in the Settings app doesn’t make the taskbar fully transparent. You can only enable or disable transparency but can’t change the transparency level in Windows 10. For that, refer to the directions in Method 2 where we use a third-party utility to make the taskbar fully transparent.
Step 1: The first step is to open the Settings app as the Start menu and taskbar settings are available only in the Settings app.
To open the Settings app, open the Start menu, click the Settings icon. Alternatively, you can quickly open the Settings app using Windows + I keyboard shortcut.
Step 2: Once the Settings app is launched, click Personalization.
Step 3: Here, turn on Transparency effects toggle switch to the make the taskbar transparent.
Note: As you probably have observed, enabling transparency for the taskbar also makes the Start menu and action center transparent. For now, there is no option in the Windows 10 Settings app to enable transparency only for the taskbar in Windows 10. We will let us know with a new guide as well as update this guide if and when there is an option to do so. That said, one can use the software mentioned in Method 2 to apply transparency to the taskbar without affecting the Start menu and other areas.
Method 2 of 2
Make the taskbar fully transparent in Windows 10
There a few tools out there to help you adjust the transparency level on the taskbar in Windows 10. We are using the TranslucentTB app to make the taskbar 100% transparent. Additionally, this tool offers you the blur effect as well. One can also use this tool to configure how the taskbar looks like when you open the Start menu, Cortana, search, and TimeLine. You can even set a custom color to the taskbar by editing TranslucentTB’s configuration file. The program can also be used to enable or disable the Aero Peek button on the taskbar.
After installing the TranslucentTB, right-click on its icon in the system tray to access all its settings.
NOTE: To make the taskbar fully (100%) transparent using the famous Classic Shell, please refer to our how to make the Windows 10 taskbar fully transparent guide.
Download TranslucentTB
