I know it's not really related, but you can use a 3rd party launcher like SideSlide to launch multiple apps at once. Source: over 1 year ago

SideSlide is quite useful for that, but might be too complex if you are a novice user. Source: over 1 year ago

You can use SideSlide to achieve something similar. It's kinda like an extra desktop hidden from sight that contains all of my shortcuts and more. You can place shortcuts and notes and so on in containers on the workspace or even outside the workspace. Source: about 2 years ago

Using a 3rd party launcher, especially useful now under Windows 11 when you can't move the taskbar, so it's gonna stick! Source: over 2 years ago

Used this extensively before switching to linux/kde/plasma. Also look at - Notepad3 - HeidiSQL - https://ramensoftware.com/7-taskbar-tweaker - https://goffconcepts.com/products/filesearchex/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago

I think 7+ Taskbar Tweaker can change the general icon spacing on the taskbar. But I’m not sure if it affects the tray icons as well. Source: about 1 year ago

Download 7+ Taskbar Tweaker. Don't forget to set it to run on startup when installing. Source: about 1 year ago

7+ Taskbar Tweaker is a tool for configuring various aspects of the Windows taskbar, including many that can’t be adjusted through the taskbar properties or the registry. For Windows 7, 8 and 10. Kindly recommended by DisturbedUnit. Source: over 1 year ago

I don't think it's achievable natively however a third-party app may be able to help you: https://ramensoftware.com/7-taskbar-tweaker. Source: over 1 year ago