How to Enable Vertical Taskbars in Windows 11
It's the tallest feature that you are missing.
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 by bdsams | Discussion: Start News
There has been a lot of chatter this past week about Windows 11 and vertical taskbars. Microsoft did not include this feature in Windows 11 and has not shipped the functionality in any of its many, many updates.
If you are needing this functionality as you migrate over from Windows 10, Start11 v2 already supports this scenario and you can get started today. And of course, it’s not just a vertical taskbar, you can also enhance it as well.
If you have Start11 v2 installed (if not, check out the app page here) open up the configuration menu, click on Taskbar and scroll down to Taskbar position option. In the dropdown, you can select if you want the taskbar to align left, right or the top.
And that’s it, unless you want to take things a step further. As you can see in the image in this post, if you want to round the taskbar, you can do that as well to create a floating vertical experience for your desktop too.
All these options are available in Start11 v2, today. No more waiting for Windows to enable your favorite features that Windows 11 removed and we have added many more that you will love too – such as pinning your downloads folder to the taskbar or you can apply icon tint to your Start menu for a clean layout.
If you haven’t tried Start11 v2, you can download a free trial on the app page and if you have any questions after you get started, join the community and learn how to get the most out of the app.
Reply #2 Wednesday, November 19, 2025 1:02 AM
pelaird, are you a vivaldi type of guy? I'm trying it out myself.
Reply #3 Wednesday, November 19, 2025 11:17 AM
In addition to what Brad says above, Start11v2 provides a tremendous number of options and configurations to make your Start menu truly unique. I use the Windows 10 style menu with many of the features customized to my liking. I like to keep my desktop clear, in order to display artistic backgrounds, so the Start11 menu is my jumping off point to everything on my system. Here is an image of my Start11 menu using groups, tabs, transparency, custom icons and colors, as well as, textures to create my unique start menu. Give Start11v2 a try and you'll agree, it's truly amazing.
This might be the most bespoke Start menu setup I have ever seen...love it.
Reply #4 Thursday, November 20, 2025 1:27 PM
Running V 2.56 on Windows 11. The only options I have for taskbar position in Start 11 in top and bottom. Am I missing something?
Reply #5 Thursday, November 20, 2025 6:47 PM
Running V 2.56 on Windows 11. The only options I have for taskbar position in Start 11 in top and bottom. Am I missing something?
Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Have you tried these other options?
Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.
Reply #7 Friday, November 21, 2025 10:03 AM
These are my only options.
Need to know your full Windows 11 version and OS Build number. Please use Winver.exe to get these number.
Winver will show something like screenshot below.
Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant
Reply #8 Monday, December 1, 2025 10:04 AM
My Windows build is 22H2 build 22621.4387
I only have these options:
Reply #10 Monday, December 1, 2025 1:50 PM
As basj indicates, you need 23h2 or later for that feature to work.
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Reply #1 Tuesday, November 18, 2025 10:59 PM
In addition to what Brad says above, Start11v2 provides a tremendous number of options and configurations to make your Start menu truly unique. I use the Windows 10 style menu with many of the features customized to my liking. I like to keep my desktop clear, in order to display artistic backgrounds, so the Start11 menu is my jumping off point to everything on my system. Here is an image of my Start11 menu using groups, tabs, transparency, custom icons and colors, as well as, textures to create my unique start menu. Give Start11v2 a try and you'll agree, it's truly amazing.