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Windows 11 Start Menu Styler
Customize the start menu with themes contributed by others or create your own
Details
377,999 users
Windows 11 Taskbar Styler
Customize the taskbar with themes contributed by others or create your own
Details
355,543 users
Windows 11 Notification Center Styler
Customize the Notification Center and Action Center with themes contributed by others or create your own
Details
210,625 users
Taskbar height and icon size
Control the taskbar height and icon size, improve icon quality (Windows 11 only)
Details
170,936 users
Better file sizes in Explorer details
Optional improvements: show folder sizes, use MB/GB for large files (by default, all sizes are shown in KBs), use IEC terms (such as KiB instead of KB)
Details
100,167 users
Taskbar Volume Control
Control the system volume by scrolling over the taskbar
Details
76,013 users
Taskbar Clock Customization
Custom date/time format, news feed, weather, performance metrics (upload/download speed, CPU, RAM), custom fonts and colors, and more
Details
56,501 users
Windows 11 File Explorer Styler
Customize the File Explorer with themes contributed by others or create your own
Details
62,762 users
Taskbar tray system icon tweaks
Allows hiding system icons: volume, network, battery, microphone, location/GPS, Studio Effects, language bar, bell (always or when there are no new notifications), and the "Show desktop" button (hide or set width)
Details
37,016 users
Slick Window Arrangement
Make window arrangement more slick and pleasant with a sliding animation and snapping
Details
35,551 users
Translucent Windows
Enables native translucent effects in Windows 11
Details
39,248 users
Middle click to close on the taskbar
Close programs with a middle click on the taskbar instead of creating a new instance
Details
28,091 users
Dark mode context menus
Enables dark mode for all win32 menus.
Details
26,590 users
Taskbar Labels for Windows 11
Customize text labels and combining for running programs on the taskbar (Windows 11 only)
Details
25,579 users
Classic context menu on Windows 11
Always show the classic context menu without having to select "Show More Options" or hold Shift
Details
23,741 users
Modernize Folder Picker Dialog
Replaces the classic "Browse For Folder" dialog
Details
23,157 users
Resource Redirect
Define alternative files for loading various resources (e.g. icons in imageres.dll) for simple theming without having to modify system files
Details
21,225 users
Taskbar auto-hide when maximized
Makes the taskbar auto-hide only when a window is maximized or intersects the taskbar
Details
23,357 users
Disable grouping on the taskbar
Causes a separate button to be created on the taskbar for each new window
Details
18,396 users
Taskbar tray icon spacing and grid
Reduce or increase the spacing between tray icons on the taskbar, optionally have a grid of tray icons (Windows 11 only)
Details
17,644 users
Taskbar on top for Windows 11
Moves the Windows 11 taskbar to the top of the screen
Details
17,200 users
Taskbar auto-hide speed
Customize the taskbar auto-hide speed and frame rate to make it feel less sluggish and janky
Details
15,351 users
Chrome/Edge scroll tabs with mouse wheel
Use the mouse wheel while hovering over the tab bar to switch between tabs
Details
14,566 users
Taskbar Thumbnail Reorder
Reorder taskbar thumbnails with the left mouse button
Details
14,381 users
Vertical Taskbar for Windows 11
Finally, the missing vertical taskbar option for Windows 11! Move the taskbar to the left or right side of the screen.
Details
15,109 users
Dark Mode for Notepad
The missing dark mode theme for Notepad
Details
12,644 users
Alt+Tab per monitor
Pressing Alt+Tab shows all open windows on the primary display. This mod shows only the windows on the monitor where the cursor is.
Details
9,549 users
No Focus Rectangle
Removes the focus rectangle
Details
9,000 users
Turn off change file extension warning
When a file is renamed and its extension is changed, a confirmation warning appears, this mod turns it off
Details
8,686 users
Start button always on the left
Forces the start button to be on the left of the taskbar, even when taskbar icons are centered (Windows 11 only)
Details
8,620 users
Prevent Edge from lagging your Taskbar process
edge-window-tab-manager-block
1.0
Roland Pihlakas
msedge.exe
Blocks Edge window Alt-Tab manager
Get Windhawk to install this mod

Prevent Edge from lagging your Taskbar process

This mod is for tab hoarders using Edge browser.

When you set Alt-Tab to show open windows only (and not individual tabs), it should turn off a problematic feature in the Taskbar process. However, in reality, when you have many tabs open in Edge, the existence of this "Alt-Tab showing browser tabs" feature in Windows still causes issues - the Taskbar will lag and start to consume lot of CPU. This regardless whether the browser tabs are shown in Alt-Tab. There was an experimental Edge flag #edge-window-tab-manager that you could set to "off" in order to disable the problematic feature. However, the flag has been removed. This mod solves the issue in a different way.

Installation

The mod takes effect next time you launch Edge. In order for the mod to take effect immediately, ensure that no Edge processes remain in memory when first installing this mod. Alternatively, restart your computer after installing the mod.

Troubleshooting

If the above installation procedure does not help, look in Edge's system settings at the following url:
edge://settings/system
Ensure that the following options are disabled:

  • "Startup boost"
  • "Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed"

How it works

It operates by blocking the problematic Edge window Alt-Tab manager functionality, which in turn would affect the Taskbar operation. For time being, only Edge needs this mod, other Chromium-based browsers do not need it.

What would be the alternatives to using Edge altogether?

As a problem-free alternative, I recommend Brave browser. It has same vertical tabs functionality as Edge does, so they are quite similar. Brave does not hog the Taskbar process.

More info

See also the following Reddit post: Having too many (1,000+) Microsoft Edge tabs open can break File Explorer in Windows 10.

This mod is built as a variation of the code of a loader program developed by gexgd0419: EdgeWindowTabManagerBlock: A program that blocks the WindowTabManager feature of Microsoft Edge.

The benefit of this small mod is that you can conveniently install or uninstall the fix directly via Windhawk UI with fewer steps and less attention to technical details.