Maximising performance is particularly important for older or budget computers. One way to get a little extra performance out of your computer is to disable some minor graphical settings. One option you can disable is “Animations in the taskbar”.
This option is intended to cover taskbar animations. Some example animations are the loading bar when downloading a file in a browser and the slide effect when rearranging icons. Disabling these animations can potentially help resolve performance issues related to the taskbar. This guide will walk you through the process of disabling taskbar animations.
The taskbar animations can be disabled in Performance Options. You can open that by pressing the Windows key, typing “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows” and hitting enter. You can disable taskbar animations by unticking the checkbox for “Animations in the taskbar”, then clicking “Apply”.
Your mileage may vary with this setting, disabling it may increase your performance when dealing with the taskbar. It is supposed to disable taskbar animations, but very little appears to change in Windows 10.
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The article shows you how to turn on/off animations in taskbar by the following procedures.
Video guide on how to turn on or off animations in taskbar on Windows 10:
Steps to turn on/off animations in taskbar on Windows 10:
Step 1: Press Windows+Pause (or Pause Break) to open System.
Step 2: Choose Advanced system settings on the left.
Step 3: As the System Properties dialog appears, click Settings in Performance.
Step 4: Deselect or select Animations in the taskbar to turn it off or on, and then hit OK.
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How to Enable or Disable Animations in the Taskbar in Windows 10
By default, Windows 10 uses animations in the taskbar.
Some examples of taskbar animation are:
- Slide effect when dragging icons on taskbar.
- Fade and slide effect when opening taskbar thumbnail previews
- Progress bar below icon on taskbar when downloading (ex: Chrome) or transferring files (ex: File Explorer)
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable animations in the taskbar for your account in Windows 10.
CONTENTS:
- Option One: Enable or Disable Animations in the Taskbar in Visual Effects Performance Options
- Option Two: Enable or Disable Animations in the Taskbar using a REG file
OPTION ONE
Enable or Disable Animations in the Taskbar in Visual Effects Performance Options
1. Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe into Run, and click/tap on OK to directly open to the Visual Effects tab in Performance Options
2. Check (enable - default) or uncheck (disable) Animations in the taskbar for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
3. If you don't see an immediate change, then you can restart the explorer process or sign out and sign in to apply instead.
OPTION TWO
Enable or Disable Animations in the Taskbar using a REG file
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
TaskbarAnimations DWORD
0 = Remove
1 = Add
1. Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you would like to do.
2. To Enable Animations in the Taskbar
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 4 below.
Enable_animations_in_the_taskbar.reg
Download
3. To Disable Animations in the Taskbar
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 4 below.
Disable_animations_in_the_taskbar.reg
Download
4. Save the .reg file to your desktop.
5. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.
6. When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
7. Restart the explorer process or sign out and sign in to apply.
8. You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn
Related Tutorials
- How to Change Visual Effects Settings in Windows 10
- How to Enable or Disable Animate Controls and Elements Inside Windows
- How to Enable or Disable Animate Windows when Minimizing and Maximizing in Windows