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Possible to Actually Hide Tray Icons?
January 9, 2011
8:01 PM
8:01 PM
Casey
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Is there a setting in Windows Vista that will allow me to actually hide programs from the system tray (by the clock)? I know I can "customize the notification area" to "hide when inactive" or to "hide" them, but can I disable their icon completely, so even when I hit the arrow button to show more, their icon does not show? I have ~15 programs that have icons in the tray, and each one does not have the option for them to hide their tray icon. I would each program to run in the background, and neither display in the taskbar nor the tray, if its possible. Thanks.
January 9, 2011
10:36 PM
10:36 PM
Locutus
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Sure, upgrade to Windows 7 *cackles*
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-hide-system-tray-icons-in-windows-xp/
Oh, the site that was :(
January 10, 2011
6:34 AM
6:34 AM
Tanmay
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I guessed that it must be same or at least similar for vista, and this site tells me I am right: http://www.vistarevisited.com/…..-in-vista/
January 10, 2011
12:21 PM
12:21 PM
Casey
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@above posts
I know that technique. It is not what I am looking for. When I click the expand arrow, I still see the icons. I would like to not see them at all. I don't think it is possible, but I thought it would be worth a try to ask.
January 10, 2011
2:12 PM
2:12 PM
Troll
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Hello Casey.
Perhaps this is something that will work:
Hope this will help. If not, there probably is some other regedit that will work. 
January 10, 2011
3:34 PM
3:34 PM
Locutus
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Casey said:
@above posts
I know that technique. It is not what I am looking for. When I click the expand arrow, I still see the icons. I would like to not see them at all. I don't think it is possible, but I thought it would be worth a try to ask.
You missed my post, it's very clearly labeled /sarcasm.
But really, the thing I linked to was what you're looking for:
Now you can scroll through the list of programs and choose from three options: Hide when inactive, Always show, or Always hide.
Oh, the site that was :(
January 10, 2011
6:49 PM
6:49 PM
Casey
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@Troll
It looks like I want a regedit hack now. That does the trick, but if only it didn't get rid of all the icons.
@Locutus
Unfortunately, that article is for XP, and by the time Vista came around, they have changed the options to "Show" "Hide" and "Hide when inactive". Hide just means you can see it if expand the arrow.
Anyway, this isn't overly important, its basically for just my need for a nice clean taskbar.
January 11, 2011
1:04 AM
1:04 AM
Tanmay
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@Casey: There are a few freewares which can help you to delete tray icons. One of them is: http://www.all-freeware.com/details/57268/system-tray-cleaner.html
But I have not used any such program and hence cannot comment on its worth. I just got that from Google.
See if it is good enough for you.
January 12, 2011
12:52 PM
12:52 PM
Casey
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@Tanmay
It doesn't work correctly. I think they are having difficulties with their website. I know you haven't tried it, but here's what happens anyway:
Server Error
Wrong Submision
Sorry, there was a server error. Please come back later. The website administrator has been automatically notified about this and we'll do our best to solve this problem as soon as possible.
Thank you for your understanding.
Thanks for the link anyway. So, I guess tray icons can't be hidden permanently. 
Oh well.
January 13, 2011
1:42 AM
1:42 AM
Tanmay
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Casey, I tried downloading and installing the software. I didn't get any errors doing it, but it turns out that this isn't what you are looking for. This software just analyses and tells you about the different icons present in your system tray. To delete any icon, it will stop the program and remove it from the system startup list, sort of like what Winpatrol does.
Maybe what you can do is, use the "Hide when Inactive" etc settings discussed above. Set the icons which you will be using, to "always show" and set all others to "always hide". That way you will never need to hit the arrow button, and hence never see the unnecessary icons.
January 13, 2011
4:27 AM
4:27 AM
Troll
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Casey,
I am not sure if this program called PS Tray Factory http://www.pssoftlab.com/ will do the trick (I have not tested it myself). It is not freeware but free to try for a while. Hope this helps.
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