Can we disable the charms bar in Windows 8?

Anonymous
2013-01-22T14:37:05+00:00

Old Title: when I move the mouse around the right hand side bar keeps appearing, when I don't want it to.

I recently bought a new computer with Windows 8 and have managed to work with it OK.  The thing is that when I move the mouse around, the right hand sidebar with the Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings buttons (and the date and time, bottom left),  keeps appearing.  It is so frustrating as I keep having to click to get rid of it. Ironically, when I am ready to close the computer down, I have to fiddle around with the mouse trying to get the damn bar to appear so that I can get the settings button to shut it down. Are there any solutions for this?

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Anonymous
2013-06-05T09:31:15+00:00

"I am sorry to inform you that we do not have any option to disable the Charms Bar in Windows 8."

OMG, when I pay hundreds of my hard-earned dollars, especially in this economy, I expect to customize my product after purchasing. Did Microsoft have regular people try Win 8 for awhile before releasing it?

Got it!!! Its simple, go to control panel, synaptics touchpad and disable side swipe function, simples. it was really beginning to annoy me.

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Anonymous
2013-01-23T10:24:36+00:00

Hi Deborah,

Thank you for choosing Windows 8 and posting your query on Microsoft Community Forums.

It seems that you are not happy with the “Charms Bar” in Windows 8 as it always appears when you move the mouse pointer to the right hand side of your computer screen and would like to know if we can disable it.

I am sorry to inform you that we do not have any option to disable the Charms Bar in Windows 8. I can definitely forward your suggestions to the concerned department.

Microsoft has designed it for making things faster and easier. The charms bar help you do the things you do most often, like search, share links and photos, connect devices, and change settings without any difficulties.

For more information, please check this link:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/charms#1TC=t1

Hope this information is helpful.

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Anonymous
2013-07-31T18:02:19+00:00

"I am sorry to inform you that we do not have any option to disable the Charms Bar in Windows 8."

OMG, when I pay hundreds of my hard-earned dollars, especially in this economy, I expect to customize my product after purchasing. Did Microsoft have regular people try Win 8 for awhile before releasing it?

Got it!!! Its simple, go to control panel, synaptics touchpad and disable side swipe function, simples. it was really beginning to annoy me.

This issue was driving me crazy with my new week old inspiron 7720 windows 8.  I even spent time on the phone with tech support who suggested using an external mouse. I followed your suggestion to disable side swipe function and it worked perfectly.  Thank you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-02-17T17:35:00+00:00

    Hello Paul Barnard

    It is totally astonishing that MS simply ignore what must now be thousands of complaints about this OS.

    As well as contributing often in these pages, I have also written to the Consumer Depts in London and Reading - result - complete silence.

    I did try a couple of suggestions offered by MS staff without success. There was also a solution which required messing about in my computers registry but after talking to Lenovo I decided against this. They said that efforts to get rid of the non required features could damage other parts of the OS and may even disqualify warranties.

    The only suggestion I can pass on from a MS engineer is forget the touch pad and use a normal mouse. I do this and the terrible features are greatly reduced making the computer usable instead of being a worthless piece of junk

    Regards  M. Cutlan

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-19T16:54:48+00:00

    Yes you can disable this. Mine was disabled by default in the 8.1 shell, but came on by mistake but there is a way to disable it. Search "Navigation" either in the Metro panels (by simply typing the word) or simply type it in the start menu. You should get something called "Navigation Properties", click it. The first check box in the list is "When I point to the upper right corner, show the charms." Deselect this check box, click "Apply" then press "OK". Now you should not have the charms pop up.

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