Hiding the System Date and Time

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 11, 2018)

Your computer uses an internal clock which keeps track of both the date and current time. Windows relies upon this clock and works closely with it. For instance, when Windows saves a file, the current date and time are saved with the file. Windows makes this time available to you as a clock, visible at the right side of the Taskbar, in the Notifications area.

If you find the date and time distracting, you can turn off their display in the Notifications area. Just follow these steps if you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8:

  1. Right-click the clock, in the Notifications area. Windows displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Properties from the Context menu. Windows displays the Systems Icons window. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Systems Icons window.

  3. Click the drop-down in the Behaviors column, to the right of the Clock system icon, and choose Off. The date and time immediately disappear from the Notifications area.
  4. Click OK.

Follow these steps if you are using Windows 10:

  1. Right-click the clock, in the Notifications area. Windows displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Taskbar Settings from the Context menu. Windows displays the Taskbar window in Settings. (See Figure 2.)

    3. Figure 2. The Taskbar window.

  3. Scroll down, if needed, to the Notification area on the right side of the Taskbar window and click on Turn System Icons On or Off. Windows displays the Turn System Icons On or Off window. (See Figure 3.)

    4. Figure 3. Turn System Icons On or Off.

  4. Turn on or off the system icons you want (in this case, Clock).
  5. When finished, close Settings.

You should note that these steps don't disable the system clock—it is still there, in the background, doing the important work it needs to do. The only thing these steps do is to turn off the display of the data and time in the Notifications area of the Taskbar.

 This tip (10800) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Removing Dashes from ISBN Numbers

ISBN numbers are used to denote a unique identifier for a published book. If you remove the dashes included in an ISBN, ...

Discover More

Making Bookmarks Bold

Do you want an easy way to see all the bookmarks in your document? Word provides a way to make them visible, or you can ...

Discover More

Using Early Dates

Excel is brilliant at handling dates—as long as they aren't dates earlier than the base date used by the program. ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Changing Your System Date and Time

Need to change the date and time maintained by Windows? It's easy to do using the steps in this tip.

Discover More

Creating Additional Clocks

Want to keep track of what time it is in various areas of the world? Windows makes it easy by allowing you to display ...

Discover More

Deleting Additional Clocks

Windows can display up to three separate clocks so you can keep track of what time it is in various time zones. If you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 3 + 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.