Click on empty taskbar space

This mod lets you assign an action to a mouse click on Windows taskbar. Single, double and triple clicks are supported - both mouse and touchscreen clicks. You can also assign a keyboard modifier to the action. For example, you can set up a double click on the taskbar to open Task Manager while holding down the Ctrl key. The mod is designed to be as flexible as possible. You can assign any action to any mouse click or touch screen tap. You can also assign multiple actions to the same trigger. This mod reacts when empty space of the taskbar is clicked. Buttons, menus or other function of the taskbar are not affected. Click events are normally forwarded to the system, so you can still use the taskbar as usual. Both primary and secondary taskbars are supported.

Supported actions:

1. Show desktop - Toggle show/hide desktop
2. Ctrl+Alt+Tab - Opens Ctrl+Alt+Tab dialog
3. Task Manager - Opens Windows default task manager
4. Mute system volume - Toggle mute of system volume (all sound)
5. Taskbar auto-hide - Toggle Windows taskbar auto-hide feature
6. Win+Tab - Opens Win+Tab dialog
7. Hide desktop icons - Toggle show/hide of all desktop icons
8. Combine Taskbar buttons - Toggle combining of Taskbar buttons between two states set in the Settings menu (not available on older Windows 11 versions)
9. Open Start menu - Sends Win key press to open Start menu
10. Virtual key press - Sends virtual keypress (keyboard shortcut) to the system
11. Start application - Starts arbitrary application or runs a command

Example

Following animation shows how to setup taskbar auto-hide feature toggle on midle mouse button click and toggle volume mute on Ctrl + double-click.

Once set, simple middle-click on empty taskbar space will toggle auto-hide feature:

Supported triggers:

• Keyboard - Optional. Keyboard keypress modifiers. If None is selected or added, the modifier gets ignored.
  • Left Ctrl - Left Ctrl key
  • Left Shift - Left Shift key
  • Left Alt - Left Alt key
  • Win - Windows key
  • Right Ctrl - Right Ctrl key
  • Right Shift - Right Shift key
  • Right Alt - Right Alt key
• Mouse - Required. Mouse click or touchscreen tap trigger. If None is selected, the whole trigger+action gets ignored.
  • Left - Mouse left button click
  • Left Double - Mouse left button double click
  • Left Triple - Mouse left button triple click
  • Middle - Mouse middle button click
  • Middle Double - Mouse middle button double click
  • Middle Triple - Mouse middle button triple click
  • Right - Mouse right button click
  • Right Double - Mouse right button double click
  • Right Triple - Mouse right button triple click
  • Tap - Touchscreen single tap
  • Tap Double - Touchscreen double tap
  • Tap Triple - Touchscreen triple tap

Additional arguments:

Some actions support or require additional arguments. You can set them in the Settings menu. Arguments are separated by semicolon. For example: arg1;arg2.

1. Show desktop - no additional arguments supported
2. Ctrl+Alt+Tab - no additional arguments supported
3. Task Manager - no additional arguments supported
4. Mute system volume - no additional arguments supported
5. Taskbar auto-hide - no additional arguments supported
6. Win+Tab - no additional arguments supported
7. Hide desktop icons - no additional arguments supported
8. Combine Taskbar buttons - priTaskBarBtnState1;priTaskBarBtnState2;secTaskBarBtnState1;secTaskBarBtnState2
   • priTaskBarBtnState1: COMBINE_ALWAYS, COMBINE_WHEN_FULL, COMBINE_NEVER
   • priTaskBarBtnState2: COMBINE_ALWAYS, COMBINE_WHEN_FULL, COMBINE_NEVER
   • secTaskBarBtnState1: COMBINE_ALWAYS, COMBINE_WHEN_FULL, COMBINE_NEVER
   • secTaskBarBtnState2: COMBINE_ALWAYS, COMBINE_WHEN_FULL, COMBINE_NEVER
   • Example: COMBINE_ALWAYS;COMBINE_WHEN_FULL;COMBINE_ALWAYS;COMBINE_NEVER
9. Open Start menu - no additional arguments supported
10. Virtual key press - virtualKey1;virtualKey2;...;virtualKeyN
    • Example: 0x5B;0x45
    • Each following text field correspond to one virtual key press. Fill hexa-decimal key codes of keys you want to press. Key codes are defined in win32 inputdev docs. Use only hexa-decimal (0x) or decimal format of a key code! Example: (0x5B and 0x45) corresponds to (Win + E) shortcut that opens Explorer window. If your key combination has no effect, check out log for more information. Please note, that some special keyboard shortcuts like Win+L or Ctrl+Alt+Delete cannot be sent via inputdev interface.
11. Start application - applicationPath arg1 arg2 ... argN
    • Example: C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe C:\Users\username\Desktop\test.txt
    • Example: python.exe D:\MyScripts\my_python_script.py arg1 "arg 2 with space" arg3
    • Example: cmd.exe /c echo Hello & pause
    • Takes and executes the whole applicationPath string as a new process. No semicolons are parsed! Only leading and trailing white characters are removed. You can use full path to the application or just the executable name if it is in PATH. In case you want to execute shell command, use cmd.exe with corresponding flag.

Caveats and limitations:

Click/tap gesture evaluation

By default, after every click or tap on the taskbar, the mod waits for the Windows double-click time (GetDoubleClickTime, usually 500 ms) before running any action.

This short delay is needed so the mod can correctly decide whether you did a:

• single click/tap
• double click/tap
• triple click/tap

This is what allows you, for example, to double-click the taskbar without triggering the single-click action first.

If you don’t like this delay, you can turn on the Eager trigger evaluation option in the mod’s settings.

With Eager trigger evaluation enabled:

The action runs immediately when a matching trigger is detected (no waiting). However, double or triple clicks/taps can still trigger the single-click/tap action, as long as you haven’t configured a separate double or triple click/tap action for that same trigger. In other words, this option is a trade-off:

• Off – slight delay, but more accurate recognition of single vs. double vs. triple gestures
• On – no delay, but less precise gesture detection

Right-click behavior:

When you configure any right-click trigger (single, double, or triple), the mod needs to temporarily delay the taskbar's context menu to detect your intended action.

Here's how it works:

• When you right-click the taskbar, the mod checks if you're using the keyboard modifier associated with your configured trigger
• If the keyboard modifier matches your trigger setup, the context menu is blocked and your custom action runs instead
• If the keyboard modifier doesn't match (or you don't complete the trigger), the context menu appears normally

What this means for you:

If you set up a right-click trigger without keyboard modifiers (for example, a right double-click), you'll notice a brief delay before the context menu appears after a single right-click. This happens because the mod waits to see if you're going to complete a double or triple click. The delay is short but noticeable—it's the trade-off for having custom right-click actions.

Tip: To avoid this delay, consider using keyboard modifiers with your right-click triggers (like Ctrl + right double-click). This way, the mod can instantly show the context menu when you right-click without holding the modifier key.

Supported Windows versions are:

• Windows 10 22H2 (prior versions are not tested, but should work as well)
• Windows 11 24H2 - latest major (prior versions are not tested, but should work as well)

I will not supporting Insider preview or other minor versions of Windows. However, feel free to report any issues related to those versions. I'll appreciate the heads-up in advance.

⚠️ Caution! Avoid using option "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" in Windows Update. Microsoft releases symbols for new Windows versions with a delay. This can render Windhawk mods unusable until the symbols are released (usually few days).

Classic taskbar on Windows 11

In case you are using old Windows 10 taskbar on Windows 11 (ExplorerPatcher or a similar tool), enable corresponding option on Settings menu. This options will be tested only with the latest major version of Windows 11 (e.g. 24H2).

Troubleshooting

I just installed/updated the mod, but no actions are triggered.

The mod uses Windhawk's ArrayOfNestedOptions widget type that enables you to create multiple trigger+action configurations. However, if you have just installed or updated the mod, there are no configurations set up yet. It might happen that Windhawk spawns a default empty configuration with all keyboard modifiers selected and no mouse trigger or action selected. Users then overlook the modifiers and only set up the mouse trigger and action. The mod will never trigger any action since it is impossible to press all keyboard modifiers at once on most keyboards. If that's the case, open the mod's Settings and either remove the empty configuration or set up your desired trigger+action configuration (including keyboard modifiers). For more information, please see the gif animation on the mod's Description tab.

I have set my trigger correctly, but the action is not executed.

Please see the previous section about empty configuration. If that is not the issue, check the mod's log for any error messages or other clues:

1. Disable the mod
2. Go to the Advanced tab
3. Under Debug logging, select Mod logs
4. Click on the Show log output button
5. You can clear the console first using the buttons in the upper right corner
6. Re-enable the mod and try to trigger your action again
7. Check the log for any error messages or other clues

Make sure the action trigger parsed from settings corresponds to your expectation. Make sure the mod reports a taskbar version that corresponds to your Windows taskbar. If you are using ExplorerPatcher with the Windows 10 taskbar, check that the mod is using Windows 10 taskbar mode. If you are using the Windows 11 taskbar with ExplorerPatcher, make sure the mod is using Windows 11 taskbar mode.

If you can't find anything useful, try enabling DEBUG logging:

1. Disable the mod
2. Fork the mod and click on the Edit button
3. Find // #define ENABLE_LOG_DEBUG and remove the leading // characters to uncomment the line
4. In the toolbar on the left, enable logging and click on Compile Mod
5. Enable your forked mod
6. Now much more information will be logged
7. Try to trigger your action again and check the log for any error messages or other clues

I have tried everything, but the mod is still not working as expected.

Please open an Issue on the GitHub page describing your problem. Please always include the following information:

• Your Windows version including the exact build number (e.g., Windows 10 25H2 build 26200.7171) - use the winver command to get this information
• Whether you are using the classic taskbar on Windows 11 (ExplorerPatcher or a similar tool)
• Windhawk version
• Mod version
• Mod settings you are using - a screenshot of the mod's Settings tab, or ideally the entire settings JSON record from the Advanced tab
• Mod log output, ideally with DEBUG logging enabled (see the previous section for instructions on how to enable it)

I can't click on empty space when the taskbar gets full.

If your taskbar becomes fully occupied by open windows and pinned icons, there is no empty space left to click on. To reserve a minimal empty space on the taskbar (the Reserve empty space feature from 7+ Taskbar Tweaker), you can use the Windows 11 Taskbar Styler mod with this example configuration.

Suggestions and new features

If you have request for new functions, suggestions or you are experiencing some issues, please post an Issue on Github page. Please, be as specific as possible and provide as much information as you can. Please consider using AI chatbot if you are struggling with putting all together in English.