T 'n' T: Tray Cool Take Back the Taskbar Gregg Keizer
Mon 7/29/02 -- Some parts and pieces of Windows are easily overlooked -- like the system tray, the small section of the Taskbar where the clock normally sits. You boot your PC, and suddenly see a slew of icons at the bottom right of your screen. Why? What good are they?
Windows' repository for software automatically loaded at startup, the system tray is both a convenience and a burden -- and as much the latter as the former from where I sit. When too many icons crowd the tray, it means I have a tougher time using the memory-resident programs that really matter. And it can mean my PC's performing below par, clogged with unwanted junk.
That's why I'm sending this week's tips 'n' tricks on a mission to the system tray. Overlooked? Maybe. But not ignored.
Hide the idlers. Windows XP's gone the extra mile to help you wrestle the system tray into shape. Right-click on the system tray and select Properties; check the "Hide inactive icons" box; and click OK. Your system tray will now display only icons representing programs currently active, giving the tray a cleaner look.
Hide 'em and show 'em. Even finer system-tray control is available in Windows XP. Right-click anywhere on the taskbar, pick Properties, then click the Customize button near the bottom right. The Customize Notifications dialog appears. Choose any item from the list on the left, then select one of the three options from the drop-down list: "Hide when inactive," "Always hide," or "Always show." I use "Always hide" for those items I want to load into memory, but never want to see in the Taskbar.
To view all icons in the system tray, even hidden ones, just click the small arrow or chevron at the left side of the tray. The tray temporarily expands to show its full contents.
Clean out the tray for faster startup. Although the system tray is a convenient way to access small programs automatically loaded at boot time, too many can result in a sluggish, resource- or memory-starved PC (not to mention one that takes longer to start each morning). To do a permanent cleanup of the tray, you should double-check which programs are loading themselves and disable the ones you don't need.
For Windows 98, Me, and XP, here's how: From the Start menu, select Run, type MSCONFIG, and press Enter. Click on the Startup tab, and you can review the items listed and clear the checkmarks for those you don't want loaded at startup. Click OK, then reboot your PC.
Warning: Generally, you'll want to err on the side of caution here; unchecking some items may cause problems with Windows or the applications installed on your machine, or disable your antivirus or firewall protection. That said, the likes of RealPlayer, AOL, and Microsoft itself (Win XP's Windows Messenger, Microsoft Office File Find) are infamous for giving auto-load priority to unnecessary doodads; MSCONFIG can be your best defense.
Windows 95, NT, and 2000 don't have MSCONFIG, but you can download a substitute, such as Mike Lin's freeware Startup Control Panel, to do the trick.
Is this tray icon really necessary? One way to combat clutter in the system tray is to keep programs from installing icons there in the first place. But because that's often impossible -- some programs, like AOL Instant Messenger, drop icons there without so much as a by-your-leave -- download Mike Lin's tiny (60K) StartupMonitor. This freeware utility crouches in the background (without a tray icon), then pops up to alert you whenever a program wants to add itself to the system tray. You get to say yea or nay.
Lock down the tray -- permanently. Don't want anyone mucking around with your system tray? No problem. With a bit of Registry tweaking, you can remove all the icons normally found in the tray, thus preventing anyone from accessing programs from there. A side benefit is that the system tray is clean as a whistle; nothing shows but the clock.
From the Start menu, pick Run, type REGEDIT, and press Enter. Look for the following key:
(You may need to create this key; if so, right-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies and choose New/Key. Name it Explorer.)
Right-click this key and choose New/DWORD Value. Enter
NoTrayItemsDisplay
as the name. Double-click this new DWORD and enter 1 as the value. Click OK. After exiting the Registry Editor, you may need to restart the PC or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.
