Taskbar/system tray suddenly changed to 3 rows. How do I get my one row taskbar back in Windows 7?

Question

I have Windows 7. My task bar( system tray in lower right corner) is unlocked but it will not let me drag it back into one row.

The problem is the clock: the first row is suddenly time(2:30PM), second row is the day of the week(Friday) and third row is the date(11/3/2017). I do not need the day of the week or the time, just the date.

How can I get all my icons back into one row? That three line clock drives me crazy, it makes my screen so small.

How do I remove the 3-rows with day of the week from Windows 7 taskbar to get only one row taskbar back?

Solution

The system tray does only give more information (on the clock etc) because it has the space to do so. Please understand that the system tray is part of the taskbar and as such will resize to whatever size the taskbar is.

What you need to do is ensure that the taskbar is unlocked (right-click and make sure there is no checkbox in front of "lock the taskbar". If so, click it, to remove the checkbox.

Now, hover the mouse to the edge of the taskbar that is not touching the edge of the screen (the taskbar touches the edge of the screen on 3 sides, and the desktop on 1 side, you want to find this last edge.)

The mouse cursor will change to a resize icon. Now drag and hold the left mouse button and move the mouse as far to the edge of the screen as possible, making it smaller. It will move in intervals because the taskbar has fixed widths. Just move it as far as you can until the taskbar has the desired size.

For the best results, drag the taskbar in its center.

You may need to reorder certain taskbar elements. You can do this by dragging the | beam at the very left of each taskbar section (if applicable)

Once done, lock the task bar again by right-clicking the bar and select Lock the taskbar.

Comments

[G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica']

I don't understand your focus on the ‘‘system tray’’. Is the entire task bar double height? If so, do you want to change the entire task bar (back?) to being single height? A screen shot might help.

[El8dN8]

Have you tried: Right-click the taskbar and uncheck "Lock the taskbar". This will allow you to move your taskbar to increase or decrease in size. At the edge of the taskbar, a line symbol will show (with arrows). Drag the taskbar with the cursor, the mouse, in the direction of decreasing or increasing. Then if you want to, relock the taskbar.

[monikazuck]

Hi G-Man,I am a beginner- I should have simply said only "taskbar".Please forget the vsystem tray.

[monikazuck]

E18,I tried your suggestion but in Windows 7, there was no little symbol and I could not drag the six little icons into a single line even after I got rid of the clock,(time,day and date)Any ideas?Thank you very much.Also the left taskbar with larger icons is still on two lines/rows instead on one like before.

[monikazuck]

Chip.THANK YOU SO MUCH.Your advice helped me.You would make a great professor and all your students would love you.I especially appreciate your crystal clear step-by- step description.

[LPChip]

Glad I could help. Could you press the check mark on the answer so other people know you no longer need any help? :)

[LPChip]

In these cases, you can also just drag the customized toolbar so it is on the same row as the rest, and everything becomes one big row, then you can actually resize the taskbar properly.