How to left align Taskbar on Windows 11

To move the Taskbar to the left on Windows 11, open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors, and choose “Left” in the “Taskbar alignment” setting.
To change the Taskbar alignment from the Registry, open the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced” path, create a “TaskbarAl” DWORD, and set it to “0.”

UPDATED 10/25/2023: On Windows 11, you can move the Taskbar to the left to restore the original alignment as in previous versions, and in this guide, I’ll outline the steps to complete this configuration. Windows 11 includes an updated version of the Taskbar that aligns its elements to the center of the screen. While this makes it easier to reach the Start menu and applications (especially on large monitors), many users still prefer the Taskbar with items aligned to the left.

Fortunately, the new operating system has a setting to change the default configuration that lets you decide whether icons should align to the left or center.

In this guide, I will teach two ways to change the Taskbar alignment on Windows 11.

Warning: It’s crucial to note that modifying the Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and created a full backup of your system before proceeding.

Move the Taskbar to the left on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you have at least two ways to change the alignment of the Taskbar to move the icons to the left side of the screen, and here’s how:

1. From the Settings
2. From the Registry

1. From the Settings

To move the Taskbar to the left on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings on Windows 11.
Click on Personalization.
Click on Taskbar.
Click the Taskbar behaviors option.
Select the Left option to align icons to the left side in the “Taskbar alignment” setting.

Once you complete the steps, the Start button and other icons will align to the left side of the Taskbar, like on Windows 10.

If you want to restore the original configuration, you can use the same instructions, but on step 5, choose the “Center” option.

2. From the Registry

To change the alignment of the Taskbar to the left from the Registry, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry Editor.

Browse the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Right-click the Advanced key, choose New, and select the “DWORD (32-bit) Value” option.
Confirm the TaskbarAl for name and press Enter.
Double-click the newly created DWORD and set its value to 0.
Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the icons in the Taskbar should now appear on the left side of the screen on Windows 11. Since the default value of the DWORD is “0,” the Taskbar should change its alignment to the left immediately.

If you change your mind, you can revert the changes by using the same instructions, but on step 5, right-click the “TaskbarAl” DWORD and select the “Delete” option.