How to change Windows 7 taskbar transparency [Tip]

The Windows 7 taskbar doesn’t have a huge amount of transparency, even with the Windows Aero themes. Yet we can still enhance the transparency of the taskbar with Taskbar Transparency. That’s a portable application with which you can adjust the level of taskbar transparency.

You can add Taskbar Transparency to Windows 7 from this page. There click on the Free Download option, and then run through the setup wizard. Once you’ve launched the app, you will find a Taskbar Transparency option in the system tray as in the shot below.

taskbar transparency

Then you should right-click on the Taskbar Transparency icon to open the small window below. First, enter a hotkey that when pressed will adjust the transparency level of the taskbar. For example, the hotkey could be Ctrl + Alt + T.

taskbar transparency2

Next enter a transparency level number. Lower numbers increase the transparency level of the taskbar. You cannot enter a value higher than the default 255. Enter 0, click the Okay button and then press the designated shortcut key. The taskbar then vanishes completely as below! Press the shortcut key again to bring it back.

taskbar transparency3

In the shot below the taskbar transparency level is 150. Note that even the pinned icons on the taskbar become transparent. In addition, minimized windows are also more translucent as well.

taskbar transparency4

Overall, the software greatly enhances the taskbar transparency. As such, now you can tweak the taskbar’s transparency to add underlying wallpaper backgrounds to the taskbar.

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