How to Disable Task View in Windows 10 Completely

A C.A. by profession and a tech enthusiast by passion, Gaurav loves tinkering with new tech and gadgets. He used to build WordPress websites but gave it all up to develop little iOS games instead. Finally, he dropped out of CA to pursue his love for tech. He has over 5 years of experience as a writer covering Android, iOS, and Windows platforms and writes how-to guides, comparisons, listicles, and explainers for B2B and B2C apps and services. He currently divides his time between Guiding Tech (writer) and Tech Wiser (editor).

TheTask View feature in Windows 10is a boon for power users. It allows you to create multiple virtual desktops and segregate work and personal life. But not everyone uses the Task View, and some are even irked by it. A couple of ways to enter the Task View include keyboard shortcuts that may result in an accidental change in view and affect the workflow. Fortunately, there are ways to disable the Task View in Windows for good.

If you are not using the Task View or have a different workflow, you may benefit from disabling it. We will discuss how to hide the Task View button in the Taskbar, disable it completely, and disallow other Windows users from enabling it in this guide.

Let’s begin.

1. Disable Keyboard Shortcut for Task View

Pressing the Windows key+Tab buttons also opens the Task View. One canuse the AutoHotKey appto customize and define custom keyboard shortcuts and alter how certain pre-defined shortcuts work easily though.

2. Hide Task View Button in Taskbar

The Task View button is visible in the Taskbar. It sits next to the Search or Cortana button. If you have disabled it, you won’t see it.

Right-click on the Taskbar and unselect ‘Show Task View button’ option to hide it in the Taskbar.

3. Disable Task View Gesture in Touchpad from Settings

You may have entered the Task View accidentally while scrolling or using gestures for those of you who are using a laptop. The reason is that Windows has a shortcut for entering Task View built into Touchpad. Swiping the Touchpad with three fingers towards the top will activate Task View.

Step 1:Press Windows key+I to open Settings. Search for Touchpad settings and open it.

Step 2:Scroll down a little, and you will notice gesture settings for three-finger swipes. Select Nothing from the drop-down menu.

Step 4:Scroll a little more and you shall notice similar settings for a four-finger swipe. Again, repeat the same steps.

4. Disable/Hide Task View from Registry Editor

For some unlucky Windows users, the option tohide the Task View button in the Task Bar was missing. Other users wanted to go one step further anddisable the Task View completelyrather than hide it. The Registry Editor trick is also useful for admins who want to restrict other users from accessing the Task View or virtual desktop.

However, we recommend taking abackup of the Registry Keysbefore moving ahead. These are system-level files and can mess up how Windows OS behaves permanently.

Step 1:Press Windows key+S to open the Windows Search and search for Registry Editor. Open it.

Step 2:Navigate to the folder structure below.

Step 3:In the right window-pane, double-click on theShowTaskViewButtonand set the Value as 0 (zero). Save all settings and reboot your computer once.

Step 4:If you simply want to hide the Task View button in the Taskbar rather than disable it completely, navigate to the below folder structure instead in the Registry Editor.

Step 5:In the right window-pane, double-click to open Enabled and set the Value as 0.

You can create new keys and files if they are missing in the Registry Editor. Just follow the guide above which also covers how to take a backup of Registry Editor.

5. Disable Task View Keyboard Shortcut from GPE

We saw how it is easy to change the keyboard shortcut for launching the Task View using AutoHotKey. However, that works for individual profiles only and not at the admin level. This is where Group Policy Editor (GPE) comes in to enforce rules at a system level for all users.

It is worth noting that GPE is available for Windows Pro and Enterprise users only and not Home users.

Step 1:Open Windows Search again (Windows key+S) and search for and open Group Policy Editor.

Step 2:Navigate to the folder structure below in the left window-pane.

Step 3:In the right window-pane, double-click onAllow edge swipeto open it and select the Disabled option. Save all settings and reboot your computer once to execute changes.

Change Your Point of View

The Task View also allows users to access the Timeline feature andvirtual desktops. Did you know that all of this data is also synced to other Windows computer that’s using the same ID? That means all your history and virtual desktops can be accessed on a different computer.

But not everyone needs or uses the Task View and there are a few ways to disable it on your computer. Whether you want to remove it from the Taskbar or disable it completely, there is a way.

Next up:Did you check the lock the taskbar option? Find out what happens after enabling lock the taskbar on Windows 10.

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Last updated on 13 July, 2021

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