It is a remnant of Windows 7/8/10 era customization that has not aged well. It is frustrating to manage and visually unappealing.
Once unlocked, you can click and drag the vertical divider line next to "Links" to expand or contract the space it takes up. If you right-click on the "Links" text itself, you can also toggle off "Show Text" or "Show Title." Turning these off will leave you with just the icons, creating a clean, minimalist look that saves a lot of space. Managing Your Links
Once you have added the Links toolbar to the taskbar, you can customize it to suit your needs. Here's how: add the links toolbar to the taskbar
Group Policy or registry disabling classic toolbars. Solution:
| Feature | Legacy "Links" Toolbar | Modern Pinned Sites (Apps) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Poor / Broken | Excellent | | Setup Difficulty | High (Hidden folders) | Low (Browser menu) | | Visuals | Text-heavy, ugly icons | Clean, standalone icons | | Performance | Slower (Opens browser tab) | Faster (Standalone window) | It is a remnant of Windows 7/8/10 era
Adding the Links toolbar to the taskbar is a straightforward process. Follow these steps:
| Method | Speed | Customization | Resource Use | Persistent Visibility | |--------|-------|---------------|--------------|------------------------| | | Very fast | High (folders, drag‑drop) | Minimal | Yes (if expanded) | | Pinned taskbar icons | Fast | Medium (per‑app only) | Minimal | Yes | | Start Menu tiles (Win10) | Medium | Medium | Low | No (requires click) | | Desktop shortcuts | Slow (windows covered) | High | Minimal | No | | Third‑party launchers (e.g., RocketDock, Keypirinha) | Very fast | Very high | Moderate to high | Yes | If you right-click on the "Links" text itself,
Hover your mouse over the Toolbars option at the top of the context menu. From the side menu that appears, click on Links.