Always show all taskbar icons

Settings›Customization›Windows Shell›Always show all icons on the taskbar

Recommendation

Situational

Enable it if you often have to open the overflow menu for the icons of antivirus, drivers or messengers.

Showing an icon does not launch a program, and hiding it does not stop its background operation.

Visible effect

All icons in the tray

Background programs

Not affected

FPS and memory

See the research

What changes

The “hidden icons” chevron arrow disappears from the notification area. All icons of background programs — antivirus, video card and sound drivers, messengers, synchronization — are permanently visible right on the taskbar, without opening the overflow menu. Notifications from these programs continue to arrive as usual.

Exceptions and differences

There can be many icons, and the panel fills up. The built-in Windows notification area setting lets you control icon visibility individually if you need a compromise. Remember that an icon is only an indicator: a background program is stopped through its own settings or Startup apps, not by hiding the icon. The action is the same in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

How to verify the result

Click where the overflow arrow used to be: the hidden icons menu no longer appears. The icon of any running background program, for example an antivirus, is visible in the notification area immediately, and its tooltip opens on hover.

How to change and revert

In BoosterX, open “Optimization” → “Customization” → “Windows Shell” → “Always show all icons on the taskbar” and turn on the toggle. Click “Apply” at the bottom of the page; with “Instant apply” enabled, the change is applied immediately. To revert, turn off the setting and click “Apply” — the arrow and the overflow menu will return.

Confirmation

• BoosterX shell research: the setting is classified as an active taskbar setting on Windows 11 25H2.

Last checked: 2026-09-19.