Notification Area - Hide All System Icons

INFO: This will show you how to hide or show all System Tray icons in the Notification area of the taskbar next to the clock. By default, Vista has all System Tray icons set to show.

NOTE: If you just want to hide or show individual System Tray icons, then see: How to Hide or Show a Notification Icon in Vista

RELATED LINKS:
1. How to Change How Long a Notification Dialog Box Will Stay Open in Vista

2. How to Reset and Clean the Notification Icons List in Vista

3. How to Enable or Disable the Notification Area System Icons in Vista

4. How to Add or Remove a Toolbar on the Taskbar in Vista

5. How to Hide or Show a Notification Icon in Vista

6. How to Turn Group Similar Taskbar Buttons On or Off in Vista

7. How to See the Date and Time on the Taskbar in Vista

8. How to Lock or Unlock the Taskbar in Vista

9. How to Enable or Disable Taskbar Toolbars in Vista


EXAMPLE: System Tray Icons Before and After

System_Tray_Before.jpgSystem_Tray_After.jpg

EXAMPLE: Notification Area Properties Before and After
NOTE: If the top Icons section is not grayed out, but one or more of the System icons are, then see How to Enable or Disable the Notification Area System Icons in Vista instead of this tutorial.

Properties_Before.jpgProperties_After.jpg


METHOD ONE:
Through the Local Group Policy Editor:
NOTE: This method is only available for the Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions. See Method TWO below for the Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions.

1. Open the Start Menu.
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
3. Click Continue for the UAC prompt.
4. In the left pane, click on User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Start Menu and Taskbar. (See screenshot below)
5. In the right pane, right click on Hide the notification area and click Properties.

Group_Policy.jpg

6. To Hide All System Tray Icons -
A) Dot Enabled and click OK. (See screenshot below step 7)
B) Go to step 8.

7. To Show All System Tray Icons -
A) Dot Disabled or Not Configured and click OK. (See screenshot below)

Properties.jpg

8. Close the Group Policy window.
9. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply the changes.


METHOD TWO:
Through the Registry :
NOTE: This method will work for all Vista editions.
Through a Download:

1. To Hide All System Tray Icons -
A) Hide_Tray_Icons.reg < CLICK TO DOWNLOAD
B) Go to step 3.

2. To Show All System Tray Icons -
A) Show_Tray_Icons.reg < CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the Desktop.
4. Right click the .reg (On Desktop) file and click Merge.
5. Click on the Run button for Security Warning pop-up.
6. Click on Continue (UAC), Yes, and then OK when prompted.
7. When done, you can delete the .reg file (On Desktop).
8. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply the changes.


The Manual Way:
1. Open the Start Menu.
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.
3. Click the Continue button for the UAC prompt.
4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
NOTE: If Explorer is not there, then right click on Policies in the left pane and click New -> Key and type Explorer and press Enter.

Reg1.jpg

5. To Hide All System Tray Icons -
A) In the right pane of the Explorer key, right click on a empty area and click New and click DWORD (32 bit) Value. (See screenshot above)
B) Type NoTrayItemsDisplay and press Enter. (See screenshot below)
C) Right click on NoTrayItemsDisplay and click Modify.

Reg2.jpg

D) Type 1 and click OK. (See screenshot below)

Modify.jpg

E) The registry will now look like this. (See screenshot below)
F) Go to step 7.

Reg3.jpg

6. To Show All System Tray Icons -
A) In the right pane, right click on NoTrayItemsDisplay and click Delete. (See screenshot above)
B) Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
C) In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
D) In the right pane, if NoTrayItemsDisplay is here to, then right click on it and click Delete. (See screenshot below)
E) Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

HKLM_Reg.jpg

7. Close regedit.
8. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply the changes.


That's it,
Shawn