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?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Email and communications

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

20+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

10+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

737 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2013-05-19T19:15:49+00:00

    There are 3 different issues here, and there are solutions to two of them. One is edge swipe on the trackpad, easy to disable on most machines but may require getting newer or older drivers. The second is the charms bar hint any time you leave your cursor near the right edge. The registry edit in the thread worked for that for me, and most others. Do those two things and you will take away 3/4 of the times that you want to put your fist through the screen. The third one, which apparently cannot be fixed, is the charms bar coming up whenever you put the cursor in the top right corner and come down. Like any time you close a window or try to scroll down just a little carelessly.

    I have a touch screen laptop but do most of my work on the trackpad. EVERY single time I want the charms bar I use the touch screen. There is no way under any circumstances at any time for any reason ever (and so on) that I would use the cursor to open the charms bar. All every single person on here wants is an option to never ever ever ever again have the charms bar open based on something the mouse or trackpad does.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2013-05-19T20:15:48+00:00

    third one, which apparently cannot be fixed, is the charms bar coming up whenever you put the cursor in the top right corner and come down. Like any time you close a window or try to scroll down just a little carelessly.

    I don't see that as a problem.   More than "just a little carelessly" it takes deliberate action before the ghost bar changes into the real thing.   Also, I was just testing with an IE window.   I always use Fullscreen for that.   I can't even get the ghost bar to show up when I hover over the Close button then or anywhere higher.   But I never do anyway.   Always use Alt-F4.   <eg>

    Also, it looks like in order to convert the ghost into the real thing the pointer must be moved outside the screen, not just down from the top or up from the bottom.   Synaptics have an option for bouncing off windows edges so perhaps activating that option would prevent you from ever seeing the real thing--it simply could not be shown (accidentally) by using your pointer?  Again, I will have to reinstall 16.3.15.1 and reconfigure my system to test this idea.

    Robert


    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments