How to Fix Taskbar Showing In Fullscreen

Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers of all time. Its browser experience has revolutionized the internet industry. Some different websites and applications use different frameworks and technologies. When these interact with Chrome, a lot of issues surface.

One of the issues users face that the taskbar shows while playing a Youtube video in full-screen mode. Originally when you use a full screen on your browser, the video takes up the whole of your screen. The taskbar isn’t supposed to be there at all.

Method 1: Restarting Explorer.exe

File explorer (also called Explorer.exe) is a file manager application included in the releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It is a GUI app that helps you in accessing your file system. It is the main medium of navigating in any Windows machine and without it, your whole computing experience might change.

Many users reported that restarting File Explorer fixed their issue. It may be related to a bug whereupon the restart gets fixed.

1. Press Windows + R to bring up the Run application. Type “taskmgr” in the dialogue box to bring up your computer’s task manager.
2. Click the “Processes” tab located on the top of the window.

3. Now locate the task of Windows Explorer in the list of processes. Click on it and press the “Restart” button present at the bottom left side of the window.

Check if your issue got resolved.

Solution 2: Overriding high DPI scaling behavior in Chrome

We can try overriding the High DPI scaling behavior in Chrome. Many users reported that this resulted in a quick fix to their problem.

1. Right-click on Chrome on your taskbar, then right-click it again. Select Properties from the list of options that come forth.

2. Once in the properties, navigate to the Compatibility tab present at the top of the screen.
3. In the Settings tab, check the line which says “Override high DPI scaling behavior”.
4. Click Apply to save changes and exit.

Restart Chrome and check if your problem got solved.

Solution 3: Turning Visual Effects off

It is not a new development that Windows visual effects can conflict with any application and force it to act in bizarre ways. We saw how the fullscreen option in YouTube was still showing your Windows taskbar.

We can try disabling your computer’s visual effects and check if the problem gets fixed. If it doesn’t, you can always turn them back on.

1. Press Windows + R to launch the Run Type “control panel” in the dialogue box to launch your computer’s Control Panel.
2. Once in the Control Panel, click on the option of “System and Security”. This should be the first entry in your Control Panel.

3. Once in the menu, select the subheading of “System”.

4. Now click on “Advanced system settings” present on the left side of the screen. A new window will pop up. Navigate to the tab of “Advanced”.
5. Once in the Advanced tab, click on “Settings” present in the category of Performance.

6. Check the option which says “Adjust for performance”. Save changes and exit.

This will disable all your graphic details including the Aero theme from your PC. Restart chrome and check if your problem got solved.

Note: In many cases, each of the solutions listed requires your computer to reboot. If there is no effect and your problem is the same, reboot your PC and try running Google Chrome as an administrator.

Solution 4: Disabling Locked Taskbar

Another feature that Windows came up with recently was the ‘lock taskbar’. Here, Windows allows you to lock the taskbar into place and it doesn’t disappear or move even if you enable fullscreen. If the taskbar is locked, it will still be visible even if you switch to full-screen. What we can do here is change this setting using Taskbar settings and see if this makes a difference.

1. Right-click on your taskbar and select Taskbar settings.

   

2. Now, toggle the option of Lock the taskbar.
3. Restart your computer and check if this makes any difference.

Solution 5: Changing Task Bar’s Position

Many users reported that changing the position of the Taskbar instantly fixed this issue for them. Follow these steps to change the position of your Taskbar, also if this does fix your issue. You can simply revert the Position once you are done playing games or using Chrome.

1. Right-click on the Taskbar and click “Taskbar Settings”.

   

2. Once Taskbar settings are opened change the option “Taskbar location on screen” from bottom to left.
3. Also, make sure that the option named “Lock the taskbar” is turned off.

   

Solution 6: Updating Windows

If none of the above methods work, we can try updating Windows to the latest version and see if this makes a difference. Windows releases periodic updates to patch known bugs or roll out new features. It is possible that the taskbar module is in a bugged state and requires an update.

1. Press Windows + S, type “update” in the dialogue box, and open the Update settings.
2. Now, click the button of Check for updates.

   

3. After installing the updates (if any), restart your computer completely and check if the issue is resolved for good.

If none of these methods above fixed the issue for you, you can try to update your Google Chrome as some people reported updating their Google Chrome fixed this issue for them. However, if you are having this issue while playing a game it’s possible that you aren’t playing on actual fullscreen. You might be playing on Borderless fullscreen, this can cause your taskbar to show while playing games as well. Just go into your game settings and try to change the screen resolution or change the fullscreen mode from “Borderless Fullscreen” to “Fullscreen”. If you don’t have any of those options you can try to press and hold the “Shift” button then press the “Enter” key this should give you an exclusive fullscreen for some game titles.