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 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Using Maps

Offline maps is a useful app if you want to look someplace up or get directions. This tip explains how to use these maps.

Discover More

Setting a Restore Point

Restore Points let you go "back in time" to a point before you made system changes that could prove harmful to your ...

Discover More

Editing a Media Player Playlist

Windows Media Player lets you create, edit, and delete playlists over time. This tip explains how to add and delete items ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Getting Rid of Notification Area Icons

Getting notified of events can be useful, but if the notification icons get too numerous you may wish to turn some off. ...

Discover More

How to Remove Cortana's Search Box

If you want to free up some space on the taskbar, consider eliminating Cortana's search box. This tip tells you how.

Discover More

Changing How Tasks Appear on the Taskbar

The Windows Taskbar is much more robust than it was in previous versions of the operating system. One of its many ...

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 three minus 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 © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.