7 Sidebar Windows 11 -
Perfect for multitaskers who want to treat their screen as a dashboard of side panels—e.g., email on left, browser center-right, Teams right sidebar. 5. Taskbar Overflow Menu (Right-Side Mini Sidebar) With Windows 11’s centered taskbar, many users complained about limited icon space. Microsoft reintroduced the Taskbar Overflow panel (similar to Windows 10’s system tray expansion). When your taskbar icons exceed available space, a chevron ( >> ) appears on the right side of the taskbar, which opens a compact vertical sidebar.
Users can add, remove, resize, and customize widgets from a built-in gallery. Widgets connect to Microsoft Start, Outlook, Calendar, To Do, and third-party apps (e.g., Spotify, Phone Link). The board adapts to user interests, showing personalized news headlines alongside interactive data like stock tickers or local traffic incidents. 7 sidebar windows 11
Both panels auto-dismiss when clicking outside. You can open them via touch swipe from the right screen edge (on touchscreens). The Quick Settings sidebar can be edited: add/remove buttons, reorder them, and control advanced network settings directly. Perfect for multitaskers who want to treat their
It doesn’t dock to screen edges natively, but you can manually place it at the side of your monitor. Third-party tools like Ditto or CopyQ offer more advanced persistent sidebars. 7. Microsoft Teams Chat Flyout (Taskbar Sidebar) Microsoft deeply integrated Teams (Chat) into Windows 11. Click the Teams chat icon on the taskbar (or press Win + C ) to open the Chat flyout , which slides out from the right edge of the screen—directly overlapping the Quick Settings/Notification Center area. Widgets connect to Microsoft Start, Outlook, Calendar, To
Together, these function as the primary right-side control center—essentially two sidebars in one gesture zone. Ideal for quickly adjusting system settings, responding to messages, and checking the date. 3. Search Flyout (Center-Lower Sidebar) While not strictly a sidebar (it drops down from the taskbar), the Search panel in Windows 11 behaves like a floating sidebar with side-anchored behavior. Click the magnifying glass on the taskbar or press Win + S to open it.
It behaves exactly like a secondary taskbar section. You can click any icon to launch or switch to that app, drag icons from the overflow into the main taskbar and vice versa, and even see progress bars (e.g., file downloads) on the icons within the overflow. It supports right-click context menus too.
It cannot be pinned open, and it doesn’t support grouping or folders like some third-party docks. Still, it’s a functional and elegant solution. 6. Emoji Panel / Clipboard History (Floating Sidebar Utility) Opened by pressing Win + . (period) or Win + ; (semicolon), the Emoji Panel is technically a floating dialog, but its persistent nature and category-based layout make it feel like a compact sidebar for text input. It has evolved in Windows 11 to include emojis, GIFs, Kaomoji, symbols, and Clipboard History .