Do you have Start11 Enhance task bar turn on or off? If it is off, try turning it on and see if that make any different. Also, while it is on, check you enhance taskbar setting, especially the taskbar button combining setting. Check those and report back.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

basj and Neil: Thank you for your ideas and questions!

"Let Start11 Enhance the Taskbar" is set to on. Within the enhanced taskbar configurations, taskbar button combining is set to "always combine". 

Windows taskbar without Start11 is set to combine items always.

Problem goes away when:

• "Let Start11 Enhance the Taskbar" is disabled
• "Let Start11 Enhance the Taskbar" is enabled, and taskbar combining to "never combine"

That leads me to believe that the problem is within Start11 enhanced taskbar button stacking management.

That seems to be a miracle cure for Outlook only.

However, other apps icons are now replicated (i.e., unstacked...just without text). Sure, I can pick which document (e.g., with Word below), and random apps no longer launch, but I really want my taskbar buttons stacked.

Curious...given what I reported above, are you now able to recreate the problem?

it happens with any app that has multiple occurrences (e.g. a browser).

We need few more information.

1. Windows Display scale factors 100%, 150%, 200% etc?
2. Could you create a backup of your setting and share it, so we can look into it.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Perfect, thank you, please wait for respond by Support or Dev team.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I was able to recreate the problem immediately with these steps:

1. Install Start11 latest version on a fresh Sandbox
2. Configure Start11 as follows
   • Taskbar
     • Let Start11 enhance the taskbar (set ON)
     • Configure enhanced taskbar
       • Taskbar button combining: (set to "Always combine the taskbar buttons")
     • Restart explorer
3. Arrange taskbar as follows, left to right
   
   • Microsoft Edge at left-most position (we are using Edge to open two stacked windows)
   • File Explorer
   • Settings
4. Open two separate instances of Microsoft Edge, such that there are two stacked windows. It should look like this:
5. 
6. Click in open desktop area (purpose: take focus off current instance of Microsoft Edge)
7. Click on Microsoft Edge icon in the taskbar
8. Result: File Explorer opens up

I did not make any other configuration changes. I did not load/restore any saved configuration file. The configuration I did is exclusively what is outlined above.

Let me know if you need a video of the entire sequence, from installation of Start11 on a blank sandbox to error condition.

This happens every single time these conditions exist:

1. An app running with multiple instances. In this case, we were using Edge because it was convenient in the sandbox environment.
2. That app has other apps (1, 2, or more) positioned to the right of it. For example, IF Edge was positioned on the far right of the taskbar, the error condition would NOT occur.
3. Start11 has enhanced taskbar on
4. Enhanced taskbar settings have "always stacked" icons

Here is a video of the complete recreation in sandbox.

I don't know how to attach a file in this conversation, but here is a link that should work -- ErrorConditionSettings.S11Backup

Hello again,

This is now addressed in the latest beta release for the software. 

For details on downloading the beta, listed changes, and feedback, please see:

https://forums.stardock.com/541012/start11-27-beta-feedback

Thanks again and best regards,

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Support Specialist