Classic Shell Transparent Taskbar
The Windows 10 taskbar is, by default, slightly transparent and tinted to a color you choose. If you know where to look, and you can even increase its transparency with a registry hack. But you can’t make the taskbar completely transparent, so that only your icons show up against your wallpaper.
Unless, that is, you install TranslucentTB—a free, lightweight, and open source application that lets you quickly set your taskbar to be completely transparent. It’s also capable of blurring your taskbar, and even tinting it whatever color you want.
How to Install and Use TranslucentTB
To get started, download the latest release. TranslucentTB comes in a ZIP file, so unzip it and put the EXE wherever you like.
Steps to make Windows 10 taskbar fully transparent. And if you want to use Classic Shell’s Start menu, please select one of the available styles and then proceed to the next step. Click Windows 10 Settings tab, check the box labeled Customize taskbar if it is not checked already. Download one of the free utilities for making the white taskbar transparent, such as. So Until there was a way of improved those two classic shell, I decided to use this overall transparent method) Thanks for your comment. Dpcdpc11 Featured By Owner Sep 24, 2015 Professional Interface Designer. Had been using Classic Shell and just installed its replacement, Classic Start. Taskbar color went from 'transparent' to black. See screenshot of the former. What is the way to change it back? I'm not finding the way in Personalize Colors.
We recommend you store the application somewhere in your user directory, but the root directory in your C drive is also a decent choice. Wherever you put the application, go head and launch it. You’ll see the effects immediately, as the taskbar becomes blurred.
You’ll find an icon for the application in your system tray, which offers two main options: Blur or Clear.
The transparent (Clear) option is nice if you want to see your entire wallpaper. The blurred look is nice if you want the taskbar to be distinct, but also want to see colors consistent with what’s in the bottom of the image.
How to Start TranslucentTB at Boot
Like the look, but want it to start when you boot Windows? That’s easy. First, press the Windows key and R to launch the Run command.
Type shell:startup and hit Enter. A File Explorer window will open to the Startup folder. Drag your TranslucentTB executable to this folder with the right mouse button.
Classic Shell Transparent Taskbar Background
When you let go, you’ll be asked what you’d like to do. Select “Create shortcuts here.”
You’ve now created a shortcut to your executable in the startup folder, meaning the application will launch at boot.
Accessing a Few Additional Options
Taskbar Not Transparent Windows 10
If you want TranslucentTB to start transparent, instead of blurred, we need to learn about the command prompt options offered. They’re outlined nicely here, but here’s a quick summary.
--blurmakes the taskbar blurry, which is also the default offering.--opaquemakes the taskbar a single solid color (no transparency.) By default the color is black, but you can change it using--tint.--transparentmakes the taskbar transparent. With--tintyou can add a slight color highlight.--tintlets you select a color that works with the--opaqueortransparentoption (does not work with--blur.) You’ll need the hex code for the color you want; this site makes it easy to discover that number.
Simply pick the six-digit code for the color you want, removing the “#” from the front.
To test any settings, close TranslucentTB if it’s running already. Next, open the command prompt and head to the folder where you’re storing the application using cd. Then try running TranslucentTB.exe followed by the options you want. For example, if you want a transparent taskbar, this is the command:
Maybe you, like a friend of mine, really really like the color orange. If so, try this command:
You get the idea. If you used the steps above to make TranslucentTB start at boot, you can add the options we’ve discovered here to that shortcut. Simply right-click the shortcut, then click “Properties.”
Now, in the “target” box, we can add our options after the executable. Like this:
The program will now start at boot with your preferred options.
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The taskbar in Windows 10 is not transparent with default settings. While there is an option under the personalization section of Settings app to make the taskbar transparent, there is no way to make the taskbar 100% transparent or adjust the transparency level as you wish.
The Windows 10’s taskbar can be customized in a number of ways. While there are applications out there to make the Start menu and taskbar fully transparent, most of them are not compatible with Windows 10. That said, if you’re looking to adjust the transparency level of taskbar or make the taskbar 100% transparent, Classic Shell is the ideal software for the job.
And before you even start wondering, let us tell you don’t necessarily need to activate Classic Shell’s Start menu in order to adjust the transparency of the taskbar.
With Classic Shell, you can easily adjust the taskbar opacity and even add a glass effect to the taskbar to enhance its look. In order to adjust the taskbar transparency, simply follow the directions given below.
As said before, if you prefer to retain the original Start menu of Windows 10, you can do so by configuring the setup to install only Start menu and its settings.
Make taskbar 100% transparent or adjust transparency level
Step 1: Visit this page of Classic Shell, and download the latest available version.
Step 2: Launch the setup file, and when you see the following screen please uncheck all options except Start menu and Classic Shell update if your intent is to use the program just to adjust the taskbar transparency.
Step 3: Once the program is installed, you will be presented with the following screen. Click Controls tab and then select the options as shown in the picture below if you wish to continue using the original Start menu of Windows 10 without activating Classic Shell’s start menu.
And if you want to use Classic Shell’s Start menu, please select one of the available styles and then proceed to the next step.
Step 4: Click Windows 10 Settings tab, check the box labelled Customize taskbar if it’s not checked already, select Transparent as Taskbar look, and enter a value between 0 to 100 to adjust the opacity. If you prefer to add the blur effect, please select Glass option.
Click OK button to apply the change.
You might also want to read how to change the color of Windows 10 taskbar guide.