You may be struggling with the recent switch to Ubuntu 14.04 or simple Unity is not what you expected it to be. Not having a taskbar to put minimized windows is what I missed the most when I made the switch. And, I know I am not the only one. So, here we will go through steps for how to install a taskbar in Ubuntu 14.04.

Tint2 is the tool we will be installing which brings back a feel of taskbar to Ubuntu 14.04. After installing, we will add it in “startup applications” so that you don’t have to start it by yourself everytime you boot.

Launch your terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or whichever way you like. Type in following command and hit “Enter”.

  sudo apt-get install tint2

Enter your password when prompted.

After displaying installation progress, you will be prompted “Do you want to continue? [Y/n] ” press “y” and hit “Enter”.

You have successfully installed tint2. Now we need to add it to startup applications.

Click “Search” button, first one on Unity bar OR hit “Super” key (the one with Windows sign on a Windows machine).

Start typing “Startup app” in search area, items matching the search query will display below the search area. When “Startup Applications” tool is there, click to open it.

On “Startup Applications Preferences” window click “Add” to add our application (here tint2) to startup applications.

In “Add Startup Dialog” enter name of application of your choice (here “Taskbar”), enter command precisely “tint2” and enter comment of your choice (here “My Taskbar”). Click “Add”.

Now you can close the “Startup Applications Preferences” window.

Please Logout and Login again for changes to take effect. Restart is not required.