Table of Contents
If you want to prevent users in your organization from changing taskbar settings on a Windows 10 device, follow this blog post to enable a policy called Lock all taskbar settings (User) from the Intune admin center.
Please note that Lock all taskbar settings (User) setting is not supported on Windows 11 devices. If you are targeting Windows 11 devices then you can use Prevent changes to Taskbar and Start Menu Settings (User) setting in Settings Catalog.
For Windows 11 device
After you apply this policy, the Taskbar settings option will be greyed out for the targeted users. Along with that, other taskbar options will be disabled for the users. Users will not be able to make changes to the following:
- Lock the taskbar
- Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode
- Use small taskbar buttons
- Use Peek to preview the desktop when you move your mouse to the Show desktop button at the end of the taskbar
- Replace Command Prompt with Windows Powershell in the menu when I right-click the start button or press the Windows logo key + X
- Show badges on taskbar buttons
- Taskbar location on the screen
- Combine taskbar buttons
The following screenshot was captured after applying the Lock all taskbar settings (User) policy. Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar to verify and confirm the changes.
After you right-click on the taskbar, Taskbar settings, lock the taskbar, and other taskbar-related settings will also be greyed out.
Towards the end of the blog post, I’ve explained how to create a registry entry on a Windows 10 device that can be used to disable Taskbar settings.
Taskbar Settings registry Entry
STEP 1 – Create a Device Configuration Profile
To create a device configuration profile, follow the below steps:
- Sign in to the Intune admin center.
- Click on Devices > Configuration > Create > New Policy.
- Platform: Windows 10 and later
- Profile type: Settings Catalog
Basics
Provide a Name and Description of the profile. For Example:
- Name: Prevent taskbar settings change by users
- Description: This policy will prevent users from changing taskbar settings on Windows 10.
Configuration settings
- Click on + Add settings and search for Lock all taskbar settings in the settings picker. Under the Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar category, you will find Lock all taskbar settings (User). Select it to add it under Configuration settings.
- Toggle the switch for Lock all taskbar settings (User) to Enabled state.
Assignments
Click on Add group to add an Entra security group containing users or devices. You can also click on Add all users or Add all devices.
Review + Create
Review the deployment and click on Create to start the deployment process.
Sync Intune Policies
The device check-in process might not begin immediately. If you’re testing this policy on a test device, you can manually kickstart Intune sync from the device itself or remotely through the Intune admin center.
Alternatively, you can use PowerShell to force the Intune sync on Windows devices. Restarting the device is another way to trigger the Intune device check-in process.
STEP 2 – Monitoring Deployment Progress
To monitor the deployment progress of a Device configuration profile, follow the below steps:
- Sign in to the Intune admin center.
- Click on Devices and then select Configuration.
- Choose the Device Configuration profile you want to work with, and at the top of the page, you’ll see a quick view of the Success, Failure, Conflict, Not Applicable, and In Progress status.
- Click on View report to access more detailed information.
End-user Experience
To confirm this on the target devices, you have two options below:
- Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. The taskbar settings will be greyed out to verify that the profile has been applied successfully.
- Right-click the Taskbar, and you will find that the Taskbar settings are greyed out. This confirms that the deployment profile has been applied successfully.
FAQs
1. Disable Taskbar settings using Registry
You can use the registry editor if you’re looking for another way to disable taskbar settings on a Windows 10 device. I’ll guide you through disabling these settings by creating specific registry entries. It’s an alternative approach to achieve the same outcome.
To disable taskbar settings on a Windows 10 device, please follow the below steps:
- Press the Win + R keys together to open the Run dialog box.
- Type regedit and press Enter to open Registry Editor.
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and Create a DWORD (32-bit) registry entry called TaskbarLockAll and set its value to 1. This will disable taskbar settings on Windows 10 devices (As shown in the below screenshot).
- Restart your Windows 10 device so that this change can take effect.
- After rebooting the device, right-click on the taskbar and confirm whether the taskbar settings option is greyed out.
Conclusion
This blog post explored various methods to disable the taskbar settings option on Windows 10 devices. We focused on using Intune policies to achieve this across all organization devices. Additionally, we discussed creating a PowerShell script that targets the registry keys covered in the blog post, providing an alternative approach to disabling taskbar settings.
