Minimize Outlook Email to the System Tray for Efficiency

Try this quick trick to keep Outlook available and out of sight

What to Know

• Open Outlook, right-click the Outlook icon in the Windows system tray, select Hide When Minimized, then minimize Outlook.
• If you still see the Outlook icon in the Windows taskbar, right-click it and select Unpin from taskbar.
• If you can’t find the Outlook icon, select the Show hidden iconsarrow in the system tray.

This article explains how to minimize Outlook to the system tray in Windows 10. Instructions apply to Microsoft Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2010, and Outlook for Microsoft 365.

Minimize Outlook to the System Tray

If your Windows taskbar is getting crowded, but you prefer to keep Microsoft Outlook open all the time, you can add an Outlook icon to the system tray.

Go to the Windows system tray and right-click the Outlook icon.

Select Hide When Minimized. A check mark before Hide When Minimized indicates that Outlook is set up to minimize to the system tray.

In Outlook, select Minimize. Outlook disappears from the taskbar and reappears on the system tray.

Use the Registry to Minimize Outlook

If you prefer to make the change using the Windows Registry, first create a system restore point and then follow these steps:

Open the Registry Editor. Go to the Windows taskbar and, in the Search box, enter regedit. Select regedit Run command from the search results.

In the Registry Editor window, go to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Preferences folder.

Select MinToTray to open the Edit DWORD dialog box.

In the Value Data field, enter 1 to minimize Outlook to the system tray. Enter 0 to minimize Outlook to the taskbar.

Select OK.

Close the Registry Editor.

What to Do If Outlook Still Shows in the Task Bar

If you can still see the Outlook icon in the Windows taskbar, it may be pinned to it.

To remove a closed or minimized Outlook from the taskbar:

In the taskbar, right-click Outlook.

Select Unpin from taskbar if it appears in the menu.

Restore Outlook After It Has Been Minimized to the System Tray

To open Outlook again after it has been hidden on the system tray and disappeared from the taskbar, double-click the Outlook system tray icon. Or, right-click the Outlook system tray icon and select Open Outlook.

Make Sure the Outlook System Tray Icon Is Visible

To unhide and make visible the Outlook icon in the main system tray:

Select the Show hidden icons arrowhead in the system tray.

Drag the Microsoft Outlook icon from the expanded tray to the main system tray area.

To hide the Outlook icon, drag it to the Show hidden icons arrowhead.

How to Hide Win­dows Live Mail to Sys­tem Tray on Win­dows 7

Sandeep Agarwal

08 Sep 2012

If you have a desktop email client like MS Outlook or Windows Live Mail (WLM) always open, the program ends up eating some space on the Windows taskbar. Is it always true? No, it happens when the respective interfaces are maximized. When minimized, you can always hide them to the system tray and save the taskbar space.

However, it seems that Windows Live Mail shows such an option in Vista and lacks the same when using on Windows 7. Worry not, we will tell you how to get it back. And we will do so by making the program believe that it is running on Vista.

Before we begin let us check out the taskbar jumplist options (image below) and have a glance at the system tray context menu items (image next) so that we can be sure of all available choices and also confirm that the Hide window when minimized option is unavailable.

Cool Tip: Use KMPlayer? Here’s how you can minimize it to the system tray or taskbar as per your choice.

Steps to Hide Windows Live Mail to System Tray when Minimized

Step 1: If WLM is open right-click on its taskbar icon, then right-click on Windows Live Mail and choose to launch the Properties window.

If it is closed you can search for Windows Live Mail from the start menu, right-click on it and click on Properties.

Step 2: On the Windows Live Mail Properties dialog box switch the highlight to Compatibility tab.

Step 3: Under the section for Compatibility mode, check the box reading Run this program in compatibility mode for and then select Windows Vista from the drop down menu. Click on Apply and Ok.

Step 4: If WLM is open at this stage you will need to close it completely and restart the application.

Step 5: Now, navigate to its systemtray icon and right-click to bring up its context menu. You will see the option to Hide window when minimized. Make sure that the option is ticked.

That’s it. Next time you minimize the application it will not appear on the taskbar. It will solely reside on the system tray. Do not believe? Minimize it and get the confirmation.

In any case if you would like to switch back to the original settings, follow Steps 1 to 3 with the difference that you would need to uncheck the box that you had checked earlier. 🙂

Conclusion

While this is one of the most important things that a desktop email client should support, Microsoft missed it on Windows 7. I mean something which is always running should always go to the system tray. Imagine your antivirus, SkyDrive, Dropbox and things of similar nature showing on the taskbar always. Too much of clutter, right?

Last updated on 8 Feb, 2018
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

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Windows Live Mail — Minimize to Tray

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I filter my mail with MailWasher Pro. Works great and then I only have to run Windows Live Mail once in awhile. But MW Pro isn’t free and it’s really not a solution — just an alternative. I agree with Travis — it used to be that the great thing about Windows, vs Mac, was the flexibility to configure things just the way you like — but that is slowly disappearing. Pretty soon, we’ll all be running Tablet OS’s anyway.

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Yeah, right! «Hide and Seek» — then what does it doing in taskbar?
Smart a..es say that we need to have program both in tray and taskbar, what next — they’ll force us to have em on desktop as well?

THEY SHOULD be listening what folk want to customize and those who don’t want to play their «Hide and Seek» didn’t use that feature anyways, but there is bunch of those who does want.

Otherwise take it away from the tray — I don’t want program hanging all over my screen!

So it is all bullsh. — their official word.
WE WANT feature BACK.

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