How to toggle the auto-hide status of the Windows taskbar
Here is an AutoHotKey script to resolve the problem:
VarSetCapacity(APPBARDATA, A_PtrSize=4 ? 36:48)
Space::
NumPut(DllCall("Shell32\SHAppBarMessage", "UInt", 4 ; ABM_GETSTATE
, "Ptr", &APPBARDATA
, "Int")
? 2:1, APPBARDATA, A_PtrSize=4 ? 32:40) ; 2 - ABS_ALWAYSONTOP, 1 - ABS_AUTOHIDE
, DllCall("Shell32\SHAppBarMessage", "UInt", 10 ; ABM_SETSTATE
, "Ptr", &APPBARDATA)
KeyWait, % A_ThisHotkey
Return
I found a program called "Taskbar Control" thats lets you set a Taskbar Autohide toggle key.
http://www.thefreewindows.com/3252/hide-completely-the-windows-taskbar-using-a-hotkey-and-unhide-it-with-taskbar-control/
Note: Make sure you download "Taskbar AutoHide Control" version if you want your current window to auto-fill the space.
Try this little program that I found a while ago. 'Tis amazing. It toggles the taskbar shown or hidden with Alt-T, and you can set it to start up with windows as well.
http://www.aviassin.com/taskbareliminator
It's called Taskbar Eliminator and it works for both Win7 and Win 8