Tablet mode is a wonderful feature available in Windows 10 to quickly make the user interface touch-friendly and intuitive to use on devices that support touch input. The tablet mode also comes in handy on 2-in-1 devices or hybrids like Microsoft Surface.
When the tablet mode is turned on, Start menu and apps open in full screen, and File Explorer and taskbar buttons are nicely spaced out so that users can easily tap on them. Checkboxes appear next to files and folders in File Explorer so that you can easily select files and folders that you want to.
On top of that, the desktop is unavailable, but you can follow this workaround to access desktop files and icons in tablet mode in Windows 10.
Auto-hide the taskbar while on tablet mode in Windows 10
Before this, it was not possible to auto-hide the taskbar when on tablet mode. If the taskbar auto-hide feature was enabled in desktop mode, the functionality would be turned off as soon as the tablet mode is enabled.
Many users who prefer to auto-hide the taskbar to get full real estate of the touch screen on small devices have been looking for workarounds to enable auto-hide taskbar feature while using the tablet mode feature.
The good news is that users can now auto-hide the taskbar when on tablet mode in Windows 10 without using any workarounds or third-party programs. In Windows 10 build 14328 or above, you can turn on the taskbar auto-hide feature while using tablet mode in a jiffy.
Method 1 of 2
Enable taskbar auto-hide in tablet mode in Windows 10
NOTE: This feature was first added in Windows 10 build 14328. So make sure that you’re running Windows 10 build 14328 or above build by following our how to check Windows 10 build number guide before proceeding further.
Step 1: While using Windows 10 in tablet mode, touch and hold (right-click) the empty area of the taskbar and check the option labeled Automatically hide the taskbar to enable the taskbar auto-hide feature. That’s it!
Note that the taskbar auto-hide option that you enabled while using tablet mode will not be applied to the desktop mode. In short, if you want to auto-hide the taskbar when in desktop mode, you need to right-click on the taskbar, click Settings, and then turn on the option labeled Automatically hide the taskbar option.
Method 2 of 2
Auto-hide the taskbar via the Settings app
Step 1: Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar page.
Step 2: Turn on Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode option.
Don’t forget to check out our 13 ways to customize the taskbar in Windows 10 guide.
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