Windows 10 never needed a menu for moving the taskbar because users could unlock it and drag it to any edge with a mouse or touchpad. The process was even easier with a touchscreen. However, when Windows 11 launched, one of its greatest frustrations was the removal of the movable taskbar.

Fortunately, the feature is now available. If you dislike opening Settings every time you want to reposition the taskbar, you may be pleased to know that MS is testing a new taskbar right-click menu in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26340.9750. It includes dedicated buttons for moving the taskbar to the left, top, right, or bottom of the screen without opening Settings.

Windows Latest manually enabled and tested the hidden menu. It works quickly, but is it a genuine solution?

Windows 11’s Hidden Right-Click Menu Moves the Taskbar Without Opening Settings

The new menu displays Task Manager and Taskbar settings, followed by four buttons: Left, Top, Right, and Bottom. Build 26340.9750 rolled out to the Experimental channel last week, but the menu remains hidden and does not appear under Feature flags, the list of features Insiders can enable themselves. MS has not announced it either, so there is no indication of when—or whether—it will ship.

I tested the feature on an underpowered virtual machine, and switching positions was consistently quick. There were no visual jitters, and the minor lag shown in the testing video was caused by the slow VM.

I then opened an app and moved the taskbar around it to check for scaling issues, but found none. The movement was again as quick as expected, except when switching from Bottom to Left, which I hope was also caused by the VM.

Out of curiosity, I also tested each button while the Start menu was open. The taskbar handled the changes adequately, although a closer look at the final position reveals what appears to be a scaling issue with the Start menu.

The only feature I could not test was the new Windows Search because right-clicking the taskbar closes the Search interface.

Interestingly, we have seen this menu before. On April 1, Windows Latest published a video posted—and later deleted—by a MS engineer. It showed the movable taskbar running on an internal build, complete with the same menu and arrow icon. The date visible in the video is March 31.

At the time, we were told that the menu was used only internally to debug the movable taskbar and that users would need to reposition it through Windows Settings.

That proved accurate when we first tested the movable taskbar in Insider builds and later when the feature reached regular PCs.

However, six months later, the debug menu has appeared in a public Insider build. MS may simply be testing it more widely, or it could be leftover code, but I would welcome its release to all users.

Windows 10 Allowed Taskbar Dragging, but Windows 11 Still Requires Settings

Windows 11 lost the ability to move the taskbar when it launched in 2021. MS restored the feature for Experimental channel Insiders on May 15, while regular Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 PCs began receiving it through a gradual rollout with the September 2026 update. Currently, users must navigate to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors and select a position.

When I used Windows 10, I never needed a menu. While reading or writing articles, I dragged the taskbar to the side to gain more vertical space. For PowerPoint or other applications, I moved it to the top or bottom, depending on my preference. The process took no more than a second.

Windows 11 restored the alternative positions after five years, but not the ability to drag the taskbar, which was disappointing. MS’s May announcement stated that it is “evaluating additional features like different taskbar positions per monitor and drag and drop,” so the possibility has not been ruled out.

Curiously, MS once said that enabling taskbar movement required too much work. During an AMA held a few months after Windows 11 launched, then-product manager Tali Roth explained, “When you think about having the taskbar on the right or the left, all of a sudden the reflow and the work that all of the apps have to do to be able to have a wonderful experience in those environments is just huge,” as we explained in December.

What changed? I cannot help wondering whether AI accelerated the work, as MS design leader Diego Baca recently said that designers are using AI to contribute code fixes. MS has not stated that AI was used to develop the taskbar feature, so this remains purely my speculation.

Auto-Hide Still Does Not Work When the Taskbar Is at the Top or Sides

Unfortunately, when the taskbar is positioned anywhere other than the bottom, the “Automatically hide the taskbar” toggle is disabled. A note states, “This setting is only available when the taskbar is at the bottom.” MS warned about this limitation in May, saying, “Auto-hide and tablet-optimized taskbar are not yet supported in alternate positions.” Five months later, the limitation remains unchanged.

To be honest, I expected this capability to arrive before the option to move the taskbar without opening Settings.

For a vertical taskbar, auto-hide is a major benefit because it keeps the screen uncluttered until the taskbar is needed. Mikhail Parakhin, MS’s former head of Windows, once described a vertical taskbar with auto-hide as one of the best productivity setups. Unsurprisingly, he called the new taskbar “not usable yet” because auto-hide does not work and its size cannot be adjusted.

I also have one complaint about the new taskbar-position buttons. The menu provides Left, Right, and Bottom options, each with an icon depicting a panel along the corresponding edge. However, the Top option uses a plain upward arrow. The same inconsistency appeared in the March internal build, so I hope MS corrects it before the menu officially reaches Insiders.

This right-click menu is currently the fastest way to move the Windows 11 taskbar, and it worked well in my testing. However, if Windows can switch taskbar positions through buttons, adding drag-and-drop support should not be too difficult. Would you use the right-click menu, or are you waiting for drag and drop?

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