- The Taskbar on Windows 11 may get the drag and drop features back.
- Microsoft is testing the ability to drag and drop files and apps to the Taskbar.
- It’s unclear when these features will roll out.
Microsoft plans to bring back some highly requested features to the Taskbar on Windows 11. In the latest preview build available in the Dev Channel, the development team rolled out a slew of experimental features, including the return of drag and drop files and apps to the Taskbar.
In the original release of Windows 11, the company introduced a redesigned Taskbar that looked similar to the classic design but with a center alignment, new buttons, and features. However, the new Taskbar also removed many valuable features, including dragging a file over a running application button to bring the app and drop to open the file and dragging and dropping items from the Start menu to pin apps in Taskbar.
If you used these features on Windows 10, you would be happy to know that they are likely to return in future updates of Windows 11. And we say “likely,” because features available in the Dev Channel are not tied to any specific release of Windows 11, and the company can decide to scratch anything at any time.
According to build 22557, the file drag and drop feature in Taskbar works as before. You can drag a file to the running app in the Taskbar to open the app in the foreground, and dropping the file will open it with the app. Also, you can now attach files quickly to an Outlook email by dragging the file over the app and dropping it.
In addition, you can now drag and drop apps from the Start menu to the Taskbar to pin them. However, this is only possible from the “All apps” list. Currently, you cannot drag and drop an item from the Pinned or Recommended section.
This is not the only feature that Microsoft is bringing back. Recently, the company pushed an update to show the date and clock on all monitors, which was a feature in previous versions, but it was removed in the original release of Windows 11.
While these are welcome returns, the Taskbar is still missing many good features, including the option to change the icons size and the ability to place the Taskbar at the top or either side of the screen.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].