If you use Windows 8, you have probably become familiar with the thing called the Charms Bar.  Or at least you know what it is and where it resides (the right side of your screen).  When you put your cursor in the top right corner of the screen, the Charms Bar slides out from the right side with its “charms”.  Really they’re just icons, but Microsoft must have figured since they were changing everything else about Windows they might as well come up with some cutesy names for stuff we already know as something else.

(NOTE: For the record, I am highly recommending that you stick with Windows 7 for as long as possible, which could be through the year 2020 if you want (Microsoft will support it until at least that year).  But, I know that some of you already have Windows 8 computers so from time to time I will put up a tip that pertains specifically to that version of Windows.)

Not everyone likes the Windows 8 charms bar.  If you happen to inadvertently move your cursor to the top right corner, the charms bar is going to slide right out whether you want it to or not.  And not just that – at the same time there will be a big block in the lower left corner displaying the date and time, covering up whatever is on your desktop in that spot.

That’s what prompted my friend John to send me this email this past week:

Hi Scott – Is there a way to eliminate the charms bar in Windows 8.1 when you point the mouse to corner of the screen?  I still want it to work when I press Win + C on the keyboard.  I am not afraid to change values in the registry.  Thanks, John

Thanks John.  The good news is you don’t have to go into the registry to make this change.  For the average user, editing the registry can be a little scary because just one small mistake can really screw up the computer.

Instead, Microsoft has conveniently included a setting that allows you to turn that option on and off based on your preference.

Here’s how to disable the charms bar:

1. Do a right click on the taskbar (bottom of the screen) and choose Properties

2. Click on the “Navigation” tab and uncheck the first option in the “Corner navigation” section

3. Click OK

Now just check it by moving the cursor to the upper right corner.  You should be pleased to see no charms bar.

As John mentioned in his email, you can still make the charms bar pop up by holding down the Windows key and tapping the letter “c”.  This will work even after you disable the screen corner option.