Taskbar how-to
The taskbar on all monitors
With two or more screens you can have a taskbar on each. Windows 11 has a setting for its own taskbar; RetroBar has its own, off by default, with a choice of which windows appear on which taskbar.
On this page 4 sections
Short answer
How do I show the taskbar on all monitors?
For Windows' own taskbar: Settings › Personalization › Taskbar › Taskbar behaviors › Show my taskbar on all displays. For RetroBar: right-click its taskbar › Properties › Advanced › Show on multiple displays.
Windows 11's own setting
Expand Taskbar behaviors and tick Show my taskbar on all displays, as Microsoft's taskbar help describes. Beneath it, Windows lets you choose which taskbar shows a window's button.
RetroBar on several monitors
RetroBar shows one taskbar, on the main screen, until you turn this on. All the options are in Properties › Advanced › Multiple displays:
| Option | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show on multiple displays | Puts a RetroBar taskbar on every screen | Off |
| Show Start button on all taskbars | Gives each taskbar its own Start button (Windows 10 and 11 only; since RetroBar 1.18) | Off |
| Show tasks on | All taskbars: every window on every taskbar. Same taskbar as window: each window only on the screen it is on. Same taskbar as window and primary taskbar: on its own screen and on the main one | All taskbars |
Our test machines have a single screen, so we have no screenshot of two taskbars; the options are from RetroBar's Properties window and source code.
If a second screen flickers or shows the Windows taskbar
Turn off Windows' own Show my taskbar on all displays while you use RetroBar. Otherwise Windows keeps trying to show its taskbar on the other screen and RetroBar keeps hiding it. That was the confirmed fix in RetroBar's tracker (#1423), suggested by its maintainer; RetroBar's own multi-display option did not affect it.
Questions
Can each monitor have a different RetroBar theme?
No. All RetroBar taskbars use the same theme and settings.
RetroBar is only on my main screen. Why?
“Show on multiple displays” is off by default. Turn it on in Properties › Advanced.
Keep going
Found something out of date or wrong? Tell us at hello@retrobar.dev and we will fix it.