Windows 10: Show Date in Taskbar with Small Taskbar Buttons
Well, this is kinda stupid, but it still took me too much time to figure it out.
I installed Windows 10 and activated the “use small taskbar buttons” checkbox in the TaskBar properties. Then I changed the taskbar location to be left, going from the top left corner of my screen to the bottom left corner.
My problem was that the clock only showed the time but not the date:
Some research (in the wrong places) revealed that it had to do with the “use small taskbar buttons” setting. The problem is that I want small taskbar buttons AND see time & date.
And here comes the stupid part:
As soon as you switch to small taskbar buttons, the taskbar is no longer wide enough to show the date and therefore just omits it. The solution is really simple:
- Right-click the TaskBar and make sure that “Lock all taskbars” is UNchecked
- Drag the right edge of the taskbar just to make it slightly wider
- *PLOP* the date shows up.
- (Right-click the TaskBar and activate “Lock all taskbars”)
I hope someone in the world wide web can benefit from this post and save some minutes, hours, days or at least some nerves. 🙂
Sir, you are a genius. Thank you so much for pointing me to that unlocking the task bar tip to enlarge and to accommodate the date with the time on my Win 10. So many of my other ‘ Googles’ to seek help on this proved utterly fruitless.
You’re a star and my hero forever (or something like that).
Malcolm
*blush* Love to help!
I spent entirely too much time trying to figure this out, zero help from any Microsoft resource.
May the coming year bring you many happy surprises.
thanks dear
Manuel, It did not work. I have been trying on and off for the last couple of years to get the date and time to appear in the notification area to no avail. It works great on my work windows 10 laptop. but for the life of me i can’t get it to appear on my personal windows 10 laptop.
R, David
Just a note, same issue here. It works if you have the taskbar on the right. But it does not work if you want it on the bottom of the screen. It reverts back to time only :(.
Echt stark! Danke! Das haette mich sonst wahnsinning gemacht.
Thank you!Thank you!Thank you!Thank you!
Thank you so much Manuel for gifting us the fruits of your tech efforts! But wonder if you happen to know how I can make the font of the Date and Time in my Taskbar much larger? It’s now SO minute that I need my glasses AND a magnifying glass to see. I’m just a kind of newbie but I did try and try different things and found no solution.
Most grateful to you and anyone else in this thread for any ideas. :o) Adela
Yes, your instruction is helpful. I wonder if I can make all date and time in one straight line.
You are correct! If you have the icon task bar at the bottom right, you can’t expand the right edge of the taskbar to make it slightly wider. It has been driving me crazy too!!!
I do not see any line or ways to stretch the time to show the date….ideas?
Well, I found a fix….my taskbar in on the lower right, so I moved the line UP, not to the left. Maybe that is what you meant! It isn’t pretty but I am going to keep looking as I have lost some “real estate”!
Here we are 5 years later and it still helping people! Thank you VERY MUCH!!!
Hi Adela, I would not know of any way to do this. Except for changing your display to a lower resolution which will make everything bigger.
I think it is crazy that this little shitty blog post is probably the most read on my blog…lol…
thank you…… much appreciated
and time and nerves saved
I addition to above manuel’s post, and suggestions by comments, as of today, you can right click on in an icon-free region of taskbar, select “Taskbar settings”, followed by disabling “Use small taskbar buttons.” Basically, the date is hidden in small taskbar, and is visible when it is enlarged. 🙂
For those with the taskbar on the bottom. Right-click the taskbar and click on “Taskbar Settings” and turn off “Use Small Taskbar Buttons.” That’s what worked for me.
Thank you. It’s simple, but it solved my problem.
Lovely….thank you…BTW my tasbar is at the bottom of my screen. I pulled it down and it worked!!!
Thank you!
Well Thank You VERY MUCH Manuel for answering the age old question regarding keeping the Date AND Time on WITH the small icon still switched on. Everywhere on the web, the answer’s the same. Just switch it back to large icons and you’ll see the Date And Time. The web didn’t really answer that question now, did it. I WANT to keep it small icons with all the toppings and frills that come with it, Gosh Darn It!!!
Anyway, it took me all day to finally find your site, someone with the answer – Thank You, Manuel, for figuring this little snafu out.
Now onto how to get rid of day of the week that’s stuck in-between Time & Date, SMH.
MS needs to add the ability to expand the clock /date view when small icons task bar is at the bottom of the screen. It works when on right side, but not on the bottom.
I find myself looking at phone, calendar for the current date. Crazy!
super! thanks!
thank you!
It’s September 2020 and your blog post from 2015 has helped me!
A note for when the taskbar is at the bottom – same deal – you need to unlock the taskbar and drag it UP and *PLOP* the date shows up! (that was my favourite part of the article)
It’s ugly and you lose screen real estate but it works.
Thank you sir!
Totally helped me – and remember once you make the change to lock the taskbar so it stays that way when you log in again. 🙂
Yes! thank you 🙂
Thank you so much
This someone on the web benefitted!! Thank you! I was so annoyed at always looking for the date and having to click and click and click…. thank you!
You can also so something else.
Right click clock in the task bar. Select adjust time and date.
Under related settings click Date, time, regional formatting. Then Change data format.
Under short date Select one that looks like 4/7/20 or 04/07/20 instead of the default 04/07/2020. You should be able to see the date now in the task bar having the option to have a less wide bar.
Thank you!
HAAAA! Thank you I’ve been messing around with this for days. My date just “randomly” disappeared and I didn’t know why. Oh that was so simple…
must be many differernt versions, Like most this isnt working for me
Thank you so much sir…
Thank you so much, from someone who has almost frazzled his brain on this one. Well done you, not only for figuring it out, but also for sharing it.
Awesome, thanks!
Very useful, thank you very much!
thanks you so much for sharing this. that think was making me crazy.
This page is so much helpful. I looked and checked the time settings as well as adjusting the time and date. I didn’t noticed to unlock and drag it. It definitely answered my problem. Thanks a lot
Still helping. Thanks!
For those with a bottom task bar, first make sure you have no windows resting right at the edge of the top of the bar. Minimize them. Then after unlocking the task bar, pull the top of the bar up. The date appears.