Is an opaque taskbar ruining your desktop appearance? If you’ve tried hiding the taskbar but it didn’t fit your preferences, there’s one more solution for you to try. Make the taskbar transparent.

We’ll show you how you can make the taskbar partially transparent via Windows Settings. If you want it to be fully transparent, you can edit the Registry or use a third-party app.

1. Tweak Windows Settings

You can customize the Windows 11 taskbar and add a transparency effect by changing your system settings. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Press Windows key + I to launch Windows Settings.
2. Head to Personalization > Colors.
3. Enable the toggle next to Transparency effects.

If your taskbar is still opaque, there’s one more change you need to do. In the Settings window, click Accessibility, and go to Visual effects. There, enable Transparency effects.

If you’re still not satisfied with the level of transparency, there are a couple more methods you can use.

2. Use a Registry Tweak

Another way to make the taskbar transparent in Windows 11 is to edit the Windows Registry. Before doing so, manually create a restore point in case something goes wrong, and you need to revert your system to a previous state.

Follow these steps to edit the Registry:

1. Launch Registry Editor with administrative rights.
2. In the Registry window, head to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Advanced.
3. In the right pane, right-click anywhere on the empty space and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value.
4. Name it UseOLEDTaskbarTransparency and set the Value data to 1.
5. Close the Registry and restart your computer.

3. Use Translucent TB

Changing your system settings might seem too much of a hassle, especially editing the Windows Registry. Fortunately, you can use Translucent TB to quickly change your taskbar appearance and make it transparent with just a few clicks.

We recommend downloading Translucent TB from Microsoft Store, so you don’t put your computer at risk by downloading the app from not-so-trustworthy websites.

To make your taskbar transparent, launch the app and click Start opened > Clear. Additionally, Translucent TB has more personalization options that you can use.

Once you made the wanted changes, check the Open at boot option, so you don’t have to manually launch the app every time to apply its effects.

Download: Translucent TB (Free)

A New, Improved Taskbar for Windows 11

Hopefully, one of the solutions above helped you improve your desktop design. Now that you made the taskbar transparent, you could use a new custom theme to personalize Windows 11.