Controlling the Display of System Icons in the Notification Area

by Barry Dysert
(last updated July 11, 2016)

Windows has various system icons that can be displayed in the notification area (otherwise known as the systray). If you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8, the available system icons are Clock, Volume, Network, Power, and Action Center. Windows 8 added a sixth possible system icon (Input Indicator) and Windows 10 added a seventh (Location). You can easily control which (if any) of these system icons are displayed.

  1. Right-click the date and time display at the very right of the systray. Windows displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose the Customize Notification Icons option. Windows displays the Notifications Area Icons portion of the Control Panel (Windows 7 and Windows 8) or the Notifications & Actions portion of the Settings (Windows 10).
  3. Click the Turn System Icons On or Off link. Windows displays controls for the available system icons. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. Changing the behavior of the system icons.

For each of the available system icons (there are up to seven of them, depending on your version of Windows) you can click the drop-down list in the "Behaviors" column to indicate whether that icon will be displayed (turned "On") or not (turned "Off"). After you've set the behaviors to what you want, click OK and close the Control Panel if it is open. The new behaviors go into effect immediately.

 This tip (11882) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 30 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer.  He is currently a senior software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Using Sticky Keys

Sticky Keys is an accessibility feature designed for people who have trouble holding down two or more keys simultaneously. ...

Discover More

Displaying the Command Prompt Window

You may have the need to perform repetitive operations or group several commands together to run as a batch. In such cases, ...

Discover More

Making the Mouse Pointer More Visible

Windows has a lot of features designed to make your computing experience easy on the eyes. Some of these features have to do ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Understanding the Start Menu

When you want to start using Windows for real, you'll typically need to go through the Start menu to do it. This tip ...

Discover More

Choosing an Icon Size for the Taskbar

Choosing an icon size for the taskbar is a quick and simple process. This tip explains how it's done.

Discover More

Moving the Taskbar to a Different Edge of the Screen

The Taskbar is normally displayed along the bottom edge of the screen. Windows gives you the flexibility to decide where the ...

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 7 - 0?

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 © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.