Notification Area Icons - Hide or Show System Icons and Notifications

How to Hide or Show System Icons and Notifications in Windows 7 and Windows 8​

   Information

The notification area is a part of the taskbar that provides a temporary source for notifications and status. It can also be used to display icons for system and program features that are not on the desktop. The notification area was known historically as the system tray or status area.

By default, the only icons that will be visible in this area are some system icons. However, you can select which icons appear on the taskbar, and which icons hide in the overflow section.

This will show you how to hide or show your choice of the system icons and their notifications on the taskbar in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

   Note

Each system icon will have the choice to Only show notifications, Show icon and notifications, Hide icon and notifications, or Always show all icons on the taskbar with notifications.

   Tip

Microsoft has made available a hotfix that will resolve a problem where the taskbar customizations are lost and reset to defaults when automatic logon is enabled in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. More details are available at:

FIX: The Taskbar is reset to the default settings when you use the "Automatically Log On" feature in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2.

EXAMPLE: Show All System Icons and Hide System Icons on the Taskbar
NOTE: To view icons that are hidden, click on the arrow in the notification area on the taskbar. (Right screenshot below)

OPTION ONE

Through Notification Area Icons Settings

1. Do step 2, 3, or 4 below for what you would like to do.

2. Click on the arrow in the notification area on the taskbar, and click on Customize, and go to step 5 below. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You will not see this arrow unless you already have hidden system icons.

3. Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Notification Area Icons icon, and go to step 5 below.

4. Right click or press and hold on the taskbar, and click/tap on Properties.
A) Click/tap on the Customize button to the right of "Notification area". (see screenshot below)

B) Click on Cancel to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, and go to step 5 below.

5. To Always Show All System Icons and Notifications
A) Check the Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar box, and go to step 11 below. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: This will only gray out all of the Behaviors for the Icons. It will not change how the Behaviors are set if you wanted to uncheck this box later.

6. To Show a System Icon and its Notifications
A) Uncheck the Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar box. (See screenshot above)
WARNING: Unchecking this box will also have all of the other listed system icons act as they are set in their Behaviors options.

B) Click/tap on the Behaviors drop down arrow menu to the right of the icon you want this behavior for. (See screenshot below step 11)

C) Click/tap on Show icon and notifications to select it.
7. To Hide a System Icon and its Notifications
A) Uncheck the Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar box. (See screenshot below step 5A)
WARNING: Unchecking this box will also have all of the other listed system icons act as they are set in their Behaviors options.

B) Click/tap on the Behaviors drop down arrow menu to the right of the icon you want this behavior for. (See screenshot below step 11)

C) Click/tap on Hide icon and notifications to select it.
8. To Only Show a System Icon's Notifications
A) Uncheck the Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar box. (See screenshot below step 2)
WARNING: Unchecking this box will also have all of the other listed system icons act as they are set in their Behaviors options.

B) Click/tap on the Behaviors drop down arrow menu to the right of the icon you want this behavior for. (See screenshot below step 10)

C) Click/tap on Only show notifications to select it.
9. Repeat steps 6 to 8 until you have set the system icon Behaviors to how you want them for each icon.

10. To Restore the Default System Icon's Behaviors
A) Uncheck the Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar box. (See screenshot below step 2)
WARNING: Unchecking this box will also have all of the other listed system icons act as they are set in their Behaviors options.

B) Click/tap on the Restore default icon behaviors link. (See screenshot below)
11. When done, click/tap on OK. (See screenshot below)

12. Click/tap on OK. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You will not see this unless you had opened the System Icons window from the Control Panel above.

OPTION TWO

Using a REG File Download

NOTE: This will only turn on or off Always show icons and notifications on the taskbar.
1. To Turn On Always show all taskbar icons and notifcations
A) Click/tap on the download button below to download the file below.
Turn_On_Always_show_all_taskbar_icons_and_notifcations.reg


Download


B) Go to step 3.
2. To Turn Off Always show all taskbar icons and notifcations
A) Click/tap on the download button below to download the file below.
Turn_Off_Always_show_all_taskbar_icons_and_notifcations.reg

Download


3. Save the .reg file to the desktop.

4. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg to merge it.

6. Click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK when prompted.

7. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.

8. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

OPTION THREE

Manually in Registry Editor

NOTE: This will only turn on or off Always show icons and notifications on the taskbar.
1. Press the Windows+R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (See screenshot below step 3)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
3. In the right pane, double click/tap on EnableAutoTray to modify it. (See screenshot above)

4. To Turn On "Always show all taskbar icons and notifcations"
A) Type in 0 (zero) and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

B) Go to step 6.
5. To Turn Off "Always show all taskbar icons and notifcations"
A) Type in 1 and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot above)
6. Close Regedit.

7. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• Add or Remove OneDrive Notification Area Icon in Windows 8.1
• How to Turn System Icons On or Off in Windows 7 and Windows 8
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• How to Enable or Disable Windows 7 Balloon Notifications
• How to Enable or Disable "Found New Hardware" Balloons During Device Installation
• How to Reset and Clean Out Old Windows 7 Notification Area Icons
• How to Enable or Disable System Icons in Windows 8 and Windows 8
• How to Add or Remove the Notification Area from the Taskbar in Windows 7
• How to Create a "Notification Area Icons" Shortcut in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Customize the Notification Area Icons in Windows 7
• How to Create a Taskbar Properties Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Enable or Disable Changing "Notification Area Icons" Settings in Windows 7
• How to Create a "Volume Mixer" Shortcut in Windows 7 and Vista
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• How to Add or Remove NVIDIA Taskbar Notification Area Icon in Windows
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• How to Lock or Unlock Taskbar Settings in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Turn On or Off Bluetooth Notification Area Icon in Windows
• How to Hide or Show Intel Rapid Storage Technology Notification Area Icon in Windows
• Enable or Disable Automatic Promotion of Notification Area Icons to Taskbar in Windows 7 and 8

 

[Brink]

Ah, I thought you were referring to the tutorial on the first page here instead.

The reset notification area icons .bat from the tutorial below may work without restarting, but not always. I just opted to have it restart to fully work.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/13102-notification-area-icons-reset.html

 

[MilesAhead]

One way that often works to force settings save without killing Explorer or rebooting is to log off. Of course once you log off there's no convenient way to log in under script or batch control. But I guess it could be presented as an option to the user. Like "log off instead of reboot? (you may have to log back in manually)"

or some such.

 

[Brink]

Yeah, that would work as well, but just thought that a restart would be easier.

 

[MilesAhead]

Yeah, that would work as well, but just thought that a restart would be easier.

I was just thinking out loud, so to speak.

 

[Brink]

 

[MourningStar]

What is it with this OS that so many little mods/fixes require a restart? Unlike a normal brat that learns with a stern reprimand, this OS seems to behave like the proverbial stubborn red-headed stepchild that requires a firm slap up the side of his head.

 

[Brink]

Not sure, but it would be nice if a simple restart of explorer would be enough.

 

[MourningStar]

Not sure, but it would be nice if a simple restart of explorer would be enough.

amen.

 

[ander]

(1.) It'd be great if Windows at least had an option to show icons and notifications by default, rather than hiding them by default. Average non-technical users are more likely not to know how to show hidden system-tray icons—so wouldn't it be a better idea to show them by default, until the user hides them? Otherwise, most users never see them until their apps need their attention. It's tedious having to manually change this setting for every app we install that uses the system tray. I'm not sure what Microsoft was thinking on that one. Windows 8 also has a habit of "forgetting" some of these settings, and I find myself having to re-set some of them every week or so.

(2.) Guys, you should learn the difference between its and it's. It's—with an apostrophe—means "it is". If you don't mean "it is", use its. Otherwise, when you say something like this:

> To Hide a System Icon and it's Notifications

...you're actually saying:

> To Hide a System Icon and it is Notifications

...which doesn't make much sense.

 

[merlin666]

When restart is complete the Network and Volume icons are displayed and I always have to go in and redo the settings. Anybody else have this issue? Can fix?

The problem of this notification/icon reset on re-boot has been reported by at least two other people in this thread and has now also affected me for the last four or five starts. I usually leave the computer running for days and only turn it off if I won't use it for a longer time or windows update is asking for it. Have outlook and live mail icons enabled to show which disappear and are replaced by network and volume. This is annoying and seems to creep up occasionally. As there is a registry approach explained I wonder if it should be possible to export the registry and then just have the key run in autoexec to fix the notifications/icons. This may be a work around, but a real solution would be much better to prevent this from happening in the first place.

 

[Brink]

Hello Merlin,

Does turning those two system icons off remove it from the notification area for you?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/292-system-icons-turn-off.html