Can I auto-hide the taskbar in just one application?

March 25, 2015 11:23 PM

I have Windows 8.1. There's one program I use that enforces a window height that is the exact height of my screen. If the taskbar is visible, the bottom part of the window is obscured behind it. If I auto-hide the taskbar, the window fits perfectly. Problem is, I like keeping the taskbar visible. Is there any way to hide it only when this program is running?

I realize I could manually toggle taskbar visibility whenever I launch the application. That's a pain! I am looking to automate here. I'm happy to install a utility since I'm pretty sure Windows doesn't allow for this out-of-the box... I just can't seem to find anything that does what I'm looking for. Any suggestions?

posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

I had this on a few apps I used regularly, and started docking the taskbar on the right edge of the screen. Typically the space it takes up is negligible and it solves the problem with no fiddly hacks. At this point I generally keep it there no matter what I'm doing.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 12:03 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Does the program have a 'full-screen' mode? It's often just one key-press (F11) and hides the taskbar.
posted by quinndexter at 12:37 AM on March 26, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately it doesn't have a full-screen mode. I tried F11 but it didn't do anything. I'm considering switching the taskbar position to the side of the screen but horizontal real estate is precious on this 13" laptop screen. So that's more in the "last resort" category for me.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 6:31 AM on March 26, 2015

Some Googling indicates that AutoHotKey can hide the taskbar, but it will be more than a little clunky to set up.

You could probably set up a trigger based on activating that application, but in my experience such things are fragile. You'll be better off triggering the AutoHotKey script based on a hotkey or putting it in the Start menu.
posted by grouse at 8:25 AM on March 26, 2015