How to add/remove widgets on Windows 11
Widgets are a component that seem to come and go on both desktop and mobile operating systems. iOS has widgets, Android has widgets, macOS has widgets, and now, Windows 11 has widgets.
Widgets on Windows 11
When an OS adds widgets, it has to make them easy to access but still keep them out of the way of everything else. A widget is useful because it can be used/accessed quickly but users are rarely willing to sacrifice easy access areas on the screen for widgets.
Access widgets on Windows 11
Widgets on Windows 11 have their own panel. The panel can be accessed by clicking the widget button on the taskbar.
Clicking the button will open the panel and you can scroll through your widgets. When you click outside this panel, it will close automatically.
Add widgets on Windows 11
Windows 11 comes with widgets out of the box. Once it’s released to the stable channel, there will be third-party widgets available (via apps in the Microsoft Store).
- Click the widgets button on the taskbar.
- Scroll down to the end of the widgets and click Add widgets.
- Click the plus button next to a widget to add it.
- Click the close button at the top right to return to the widgets panel.
Remove widgets on Windows 11
A widget can be removed from the widget panel any time. You can remove stock widgets in much the same way as you can third-party widgets.
- Click the Widgets button on the taskbar to open the Widgets panel.
- Click the more options button at the top right of the widget you want to remove.
- Click Remove widget in the menu.
- The widget will be removed.
Note: Widgets are tied to apps installed on Windows 11. Removing a widget will not uninstall it. If you want to uninstall a widget, find out which app added it, and uninstall the app. If you do not want to uninstall the app, you’re going to have to keep the widget as well.
Drag & drop widgets
When a widget is added to the widgets panel, it is added to the bottom. Unfortunately, it seems the order cannot be changed unless you’re willing to remove and add them all again.
Change widget size
Much like the Start Menu tiles on Windows 10, the size of widgets on Windows 11 can be changed.
- Click the widgets icon on the taskbar to open the widgets panel.
- Click the more options button at the top right of the widget you want to resize.
- Select a size from the menu.
Note: Widgets can be small, medium, or large however not all widgets support all three sizes.
Conclusion
Windows 11 isn’t the first Windows version to have widgets. In fact, Windows users have been adding little tools to their desktop for ages with Rainmeter. Windows 7 had something similar called gadgets. For Microsoft, this is a revisit of an old, discarded feature.
Vista had gadgets, not 7,