Make the Windows 11 Widgets board useful by pinning only the cards you need, arranging them in a practical order, choosing an appropriate size, and changing each widget’s own settings. Treat Discover separately: it is a personalized news dashboard, not another widget card. You can also stop the board opening on hover, control badges and notifications, hide the taskbar button, and still open Widgets with Windows key+W.
The labels below follow Microsoft’s current support guidance. Microsoft does not publish a revision date for the referenced pages, so a slightly different label on your Windows installation may reflect an update rather than an error. See Microsoft’s Widgets support page and its Taskbar customization guide for the official paths.
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Understand what you are customizing
Windows 11 presents two related but separate experiences:
- The Widgets board is the dashboard containing widget cards. Cards can be added, removed, moved, resized, and configured, subject to the controls offered by each widget.
- Discover is a personalized news stream. Its topics, publishers, story feedback, and notifications are managed independently from the pinned widget area.
This distinction matters when troubleshooting. Removing a widget does not block a news publisher in Discover, and blocking a Discover topic does not remove a card from the board. Use the board controls for cards and Discover controls for news recommendations.
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Know which setting owns the behavior
Three sets of controls are easy to confuse. The widget’s more-options menu controls that individual card’s size, content and removal. Widgets settings control board behavior, the Discover dashboard and several indicators. Windows Taskbar settings control whether the Widgets button is visible. Discover’s account menu controls following, blocking, story feedback and news-specific notifications. Changing one group does not automatically change the others.
There is no extra monitor, accessory, subscription, repair tool or physical media required for this setup. The documented actions are Windows software settings. The picker and the choices shown in each menu depend on what your Windows installation makes available.
Open Widgets even when the taskbar button is hidden
Select the Widgets area on the taskbar or press Windows key+W. Microsoft also documents opening the board by swiping from the side of the screen, where the device and taskbar configuration support that gesture. The keyboard shortcut remains available if you later turn off the taskbar button.
If pressing Windows key+W does nothing, first confirm that you are using Windows 11 and that the keyboard’s Windows key is not locked by a hardware or gaming-mode setting. On a touch device, try the documented edge swipe. These access methods do not require an additional physical product.
Before changing the layout, open the board once and identify the pinned area, the plus button, the navigation bar and the account button used by Discover. Knowing which area you are viewing prevents you from trying to use news controls on a widget card or card controls on a story.
Add and arrange widget cards
Add a widget
- Open Widgets with the taskbar button or Windows key+W.
- Select the + button to open the widget picker.
- Review the widgets installed and available on that device.
- Select a widget to add its card to the pinned section.
The picker shows what is available in your Windows installation; the exact selection can therefore differ between devices. If a card you want is not listed, the documented picker has no control for creating a custom card from scratch. Adding a card places it in the pinned section, where you can then move and resize it if that widget exposes those controls.
Put important cards first
- Open the board and locate the pinned section.
- Select the widget’s header.
- Drag the card to the position you want.
- Release it when the insertion point appears.
Arrange the board around how you check information. For example, put a time-sensitive card near the top, followed by cards you consult less often. Moving a card changes its location; it does not change that widget’s underlying settings or its Discover recommendations.
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Use the order as a practical priority list rather than trying to make every card equal. A compact group of cards you actually read is easier to scan than a long board containing defaults you never open. If you later add another card, drag it into the place where you expect to look for it instead of leaving it at the end by default.
Resize, configure, or remove a widget
Each card exposes its actions through its more-options menu. The available sizes and settings are widget-specific, so do not assume every card supports every choice.
Change the card size
- Open the widget’s more-options menu.
- Choose Small, Medium, or Large.
Some widgets offer only one or two of those sizes. Use a larger option when the card’s content benefits from more room, and a smaller option when keeping several cards visible is more important. If a size is absent from the menu, that is a limitation of that widget rather than a board-wide setting.
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Size is a layout decision, not a content filter. Making a card Large gives it more board space but does not add a new category of updates. Conversely, choosing Small does not turn off the card’s underlying service; it only gives the card less room in the dashboard.
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Change information shown by the card
- Open the widget’s more-options menu.
- Select Customize widget.
- Change the settings offered by that widget and save or close the panel as prompted.
Examples in Microsoft’s guidance include selecting the city shown by a weather widget or changing the watchlist shown by a stocks widget. Other widgets may expose different choices, and some may offer no customization beyond their fixed display.
Check the card’s own menu before assuming a setting is missing from Windows. A city selector belongs to the weather card, while a watchlist belongs to the stocks card; there is no single board-wide location or list setting. If the menu contains no Customize widget command, that card does not expose an additional documented configuration panel.
Remove a card
- Open the card’s more-options menu.
- Select Remove widget.
Removal takes the card off the board; it does not uninstall Windows or necessarily remove the underlying service. If you later want the card back, use the + picker and add it again when it is available. Removing a card is therefore reversible at the dashboard level, while Discover topic and publisher choices remain a separate matter.
Make Discover news more relevant
Discover has its own personalization system. Changes can take time to appear because the feed updates when new stories match your selections and learns from your feedback over time.
Follow topics or publishers
- Open the Discover dashboard.
- In its navigation bar, open the account button.
- Use the Discover tab to find topics or publishers you want to follow.
- Select the follow control for each item you want included.
Following tells Discover what subjects or sources to prioritize; it does not pin a widget card to the board. You can follow topics, publishers, or both, depending on what the account menu offers.
Review or unfollow items
- Open Discover’s account menu.
- Select Following.
- Review the topics and publishers listed there.
- Use the unfollow control for anything you no longer want influencing the feed.
Review this list when your interests change. Unfollowing changes future personalization; it does not remove a widget card and does not guarantee that every related story disappears from the current view immediately.
Block and unblock topics or publishers
- Open the account menu in Discover.
- Select Blocked to review blocked items.
- Use the available block or unblock controls for topics and publishers.
On an individual story, open its more-options menu to hide the story or use the controls for more like this, fewer like this, and publisher-related feedback. A single response may not change the visible feed immediately; Microsoft says the service applies new content when stories meet the updated personalization settings.
Use blocking for a topic or publisher you consistently do not want, and story-level feedback when one item is unhelpful but the broader subject may still matter. This keeps your Discover choices more precise than removing an unrelated widget from the board.
Use one Microsoft account across devices
Signing in to Discover with the same Microsoft account helps make its personalization available across devices. You can review related account personalization data through Microsoft’s privacy dashboard. This account synchronization applies to Discover preferences; it does not make an unavailable widget appear in another device’s picker.
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Device layouts can still differ. A card available on one installation may not be listed on another, and moving or resizing cards on one board does not change the set of controls offered by a different device. Treat account-based Discover preferences and device-specific board layout as separate layers.
Control hover behavior, dashboards, and notifications
Widgets settings govern board behavior, while the taskbar settings govern whether the button appears. Discover also has a separate notification area.
Stop the board opening when you hover
- Open Widgets.
- Open Widgets settings from the navigation bar.
- Find Open Widgets board on hover.
- Turn the setting off.
This changes the trigger caused by pointer hover. It does not disable the Windows key+W shortcut or remove the board itself. If the board still opens when you deliberately select the taskbar area, that is expected: the hover switch affects hover behavior, not every way of opening Widgets.
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- Open Widgets settings.
- Under Dashboards, locate Discover.
- Turn the Discover dashboard off.
Disabling the dashboard removes that view from the Widgets experience; it does not remove your pinned cards. If you later want news back, return to the same Dashboards setting and enable Discover again. Hiding Discover also differs from blocking a publisher: the former hides the dashboard view, while the latter changes recommendations within Discover.
Manage board badges and dashboard notifications
- Open Widgets settings.
- Select More settings.
- Open Notifications.
- Adjust taskbar badges, navigation badges, and dashboard notifications to your preference.
The available controls cover the board’s taskbar and navigation indicators as well as dashboard notifications. If you want to change news-specific alerts, use Discover’s account button and its own notification preferences instead of the board’s general notification page. Turning off a badge reduces the indicator; it does not remove the related card or erase Discover preferences.
Hide the Widgets button without disabling Widgets
- Right-click an empty area of the taskbar.
- Select Taskbar settings.
- Under Taskbar items, turn Widgets off.
Microsoft states that hiding the taskbar button does not remove other access methods. You can still press Windows key+W or use the supported side-of-screen swipe. If you later want the button back, return to the same Taskbar items setting and turn Widgets on.
Hide the button only after testing the shortcut or swipe you intend to use. The Taskbar items switch is about visibility, not about deleting cards, disabling Discover personalization or uninstalling a component.
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There is no single best layout. Use the following decision guide to match the controls to your purpose without confusing board cards and Discover news.
| Goal | Use these controls | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| See a few key updates quickly | Add only the needed cards, move them to the top, and choose Small or Medium where offered | The pinned board is shorter and easier to scan |
| Read more detail inside a card | Choose Large where the widget offers it | The card receives more board space; other cards move lower |
| Change a location or list | More-options menu > Customize widget | The card displays the city, watchlist, or other setting that the widget supports |
| Reduce unwanted news | Discover account menu, then Following or Blocked; give story-level feedback | Future Discover recommendations are influenced by your choices, with changes appearing over time |
| Avoid accidental opening | Widgets settings > turn off Open Widgets board on hover | Hover no longer opens the board; manual access remains |
| Keep Widgets available but reduce taskbar clutter | Taskbar settings > Taskbar items > Widgets off | The button is hidden while keyboard and supported swipe access remain |
| Remove news from the Widgets experience | Widgets settings > Dashboards > Discover off | The Discover dashboard is hidden while pinned cards remain |
Compare the choice you want with the control that owns it. A Large card is appropriate when detail matters; Small or Medium is better when several updates must remain visible. Follow or block in Discover when the problem is news relevance, not when a card is in the wrong position. Turn off hover when opening is accidental, and hide the taskbar button only when an alternate access method suits your routine.
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A card cannot be resized
Open the card’s more-options menu and check the listed sizes. Microsoft notes that widget sizes vary; a card with only one listed size cannot be expanded through a board-wide setting.
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The card shows the wrong city or list
Use that card’s more-options menu and choose Customize widget. Select the city, watchlist, or other available value. If the desired field is not offered, the widget does not expose it through its documented customization controls.
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Open the story’s more-options menu and choose hide, fewer like this, or the relevant publisher control. Then allow time for new stories to be selected under the updated settings; feedback is not guaranteed to alter the current feed instantly.
Following choices do not appear on another device
Check that Discover is signed in with the same Microsoft account on both devices. Microsoft identifies that sign-in as the way to make personalization available across devices. Device-specific widget availability and card layouts can still differ.
The taskbar button is gone
Press Windows key+W. To restore the button, right-click the taskbar, open Taskbar settings, and turn Widgets on under Taskbar items.
Hover keeps opening the board
Open Widgets settings and turn off Open Widgets board on hover. Do not use the Taskbar items switch for this problem: that switch controls visibility of the taskbar button, not hover behavior.
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Microsoft does not provide a publication or revision date for the support pages used for these paths. If a label or location differs slightly, look for the equivalent Widgets, Dashboards, More settings, Notifications or Taskbar items control in your Windows installation. The underlying distinction remains the same: card menus configure cards, Widgets settings configure board behavior, and Taskbar settings control button visibility.
A practical setup sequence
If you are starting from the default arrangement, use this order so each change has a clear effect:
- Open Widgets and remove cards you do not consult.
- Add the cards you actually need from the + picker.
- Drag the most important card to the top of the pinned section.
- Resize cards according to whether quick scanning or detail matters more.
- Open Customize widget on cards that support a city, watchlist, or similar setting.
- Decide whether Discover belongs in your workflow; turn its dashboard off if you do not want that news view.
- In Discover, follow useful topics or publishers, block unwanted ones, and give feedback on stories that miss the mark.
- Turn off hover opening or taskbar badges if they interrupt your work.
- Hide the taskbar button only after confirming that Windows key+W is a comfortable replacement.
Because widget controls are card-specific and Discover learns over time, revisit the arrangement after you have used it for a while rather than assuming the first layout will remain ideal. A useful review checks three things: whether the top cards are still the ones you read, whether each card shows the intended city or list, and whether Discover’s Following, Blocked and notification choices still match your interests.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I customize the Windows 11 Widgets board?
Open Widgets with the taskbar button or Windows key+W. Use the plus button to add cards, drag a card header to move it, and use each card’s more-options menu to resize, customize or remove it. Use Widgets settings for hover, dashboards and badges.
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How do I add or remove widgets?
Select the plus button to open the widget picker, then select a widget to add it. To remove one, open its more-options menu and choose Remove widget. You can add it again later if it remains available in the picker.
How do I change the size of a widget?
Open the widget’s more-options menu and choose Small, Medium or Large. The choices vary by widget, so a missing size cannot be enabled through a board-wide setting.
How do I change a weather city or stocks watchlist?
Open that card’s more-options menu, choose Customize widget, and select the city, watchlist or other option the card offers. Different widgets expose different settings.
How do I stop Widgets opening on hover?
Open Widgets settings from the navigation bar and turn off Open Widgets board on hover. This does not disable Windows key+W or other supported ways to open the board.
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Can I hide Widgets from the taskbar?
Yes. Right-click the taskbar, choose Taskbar settings, and turn Widgets off under Taskbar items. Windows key+W and a supported side-of-screen swipe can still open the board.
Can I remove Discover but keep my widgets?
Yes. In Widgets settings, turn Discover off under Dashboards. Your pinned widget cards remain. This is different from blocking a topic or publisher inside Discover.
Why has Discover not changed after I gave feedback?
Microsoft says Discover learns over time and updates when new stories meet your personalization settings. Hide the story or use more like this, fewer like this or publisher controls, then allow time for later stories to reflect the change.
Will Discover preferences follow me to another device?
Signing in to Discover with the same Microsoft account helps make personalization available across devices. Widget availability and card layout can still differ by device.
Do I need any extra hardware to customize Widgets?
No. Microsoft documents these as Windows controls; no additional physical product is needed.
The Bottom Line
Build the board around the updates you actually check: add only useful cards, move priorities up, choose each card’s available size and customize its city or list. Manage news in Discover separately, then disable hover, badges, Discover or the taskbar button according to how you work. Windows key+W keeps Widgets accessible even when the taskbar button is hidden.
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