In Windows settings
In Windows 11 the path is Settings › Personalization › Taskbar › Taskbar behaviors. In Windows 10 the switch sits right in Settings › Personalization › Taskbar.
- Right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings.
- In Windows 11, expand Taskbar behaviors.
- Turn on Automatically hide the taskbar (in Windows 10: Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode). The taskbar slides down right away.
To bring the taskbar up, move the mouse to the bottom edge or press the Windows key. With several monitors the setting applies to every taskbar at once.
In Vealo, together with your desktop style
In Vealo it is one switch. Under the hood it is the same Windows setting, with a few conveniences.
- Open the Vealo panel, go to the Themes tab, the Windows card, and turn on Auto-hide the taskbar.
- Vealo remembers how you had it before and puts it back when you turn the switch off or close the app.
- When you shut down the PC with autostart on, the taskbar stays hidden, like the rest of your desktop look. If you change the setting in Windows, Vealo hides the taskbar again on its next start.
Combined with hiding the desktop icons you get a truly clean screen: just your wallpaper and widgets.
Why the taskbar won't hide
If the setting is on but the taskbar stays up, it is usually one of three things.
- An app wants attention. If a taskbar icon is flashing (a message, a download), Windows keeps the taskbar open until you open it.
- A menu is open. While Start, search or a pop-up from the taskbar is open, it won't slide away.
- The mouse is at the edge. Any touch of the bottom edge brings the taskbar out, for example a cursor left at the bottom of the screen.
- Puts things back. Close Vealo and Windows has your previous setting again.
- No flash at sign-in. With autostart the taskbar doesn't pop up at start and hide again.
- Matches your desktop. Next to it: a dark or light taskbar, and with Pro the taskbar in your theme colour, so it slides out already in your style.
- Free. Auto-hide the taskbar is part of the free version of Vealo.
How to clear the desktop of everything but the wallpaper: a clean desktop in Windows.
Questions
Will the Start button disappear?
No. Start opens with the Windows key or from the taskbar once it slides out. The taskbar only hides behind the edge, it is not removed.
Is it free in Vealo?
Yes, Auto-hide the taskbar is free. Only the taskbar in your theme colour is Pro.
Is the hidden taskbar saved in a setup?
No. Hiding the taskbar is your habit, not part of the picture, so a setup from the Workshop does not change it.
How do I bring the taskbar back?
Turn off the switch in Vealo or the setting in Windows. If you turned it on through Vealo, the taskbar comes back by itself when the app closes.
What else can Vealo do?
Quite a lot. It hides the desktop icons and opens everything from a panel, sets wallpapers and video wallpapers, adds widgets (clock, weather, calendar, notes, system load, player), desktop effects, lighting in the theme colour, cursors, and ready-made looks from the Steam Workshop. The full list is on the features page.
Your desktop, one click
Free on Steam. Pick a setup or build your own, Pro only when you want the rest.
Free€0 · Forever
- Hide, summon and search
- All ready-made themes, Mono and Glass
- Taskbar colour, light and dark system
- All 128 wallpapers and video wallpapers
- 6 widgets: clock, player, calendar, weather, system, notes
- Rain effect, 2 cursors and the Roulette
- Lighting: static and breathing
- 2 sections and 2 profiles
Pro€2.99 · One-time purchase
- Everything in Free
- Theme from your wallpaper and custom colours
- All effects, parallax and the sound visualizer
- All cursors plus your own, all widget styles
- All lighting effects
- Glass transparency and neon
- Unlimited sections and profiles
- Wallpaper on the lock screen