Notifications and the Notification Area

The notification area is a portion of the taskbar that provides a temporary source for notifications and status. It can also be used to display icons for system and program features that have no presence on the desktop, such as battery level, volume control, and network status. The notification area has been known historically as the system tray or status area.

This topic contains the following sections:

Notification and Notification Area Guidelines

See the Notifications and Notification Area sections of the Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines for best practices in the use of notifications and the notification area. The goal is to provide user benefit through appropriate use of notifications, without being annoying or distracting.

The notification area is not for critical information that must be acted on immediately. It is also not intended for quick program or command access. As of WindowsВ 7, much of that functionality is best accomplished through an application’s taskbar button.

WindowsВ 7 allows a user to suppress all notifications from an application if they choose, so thoughtful notification design and use will incline the user to allow your application to continue to display them. Notifications are an interruption; ensure that they are worth it.

WindowsВ 7 introduces the concept of «quiet time». Quiet time is defined as the first hour after a new user logs into his or her account either for the first time or for the first time after an operating system upgrade or clean installation. This time is set aside to allow the user to explore and familiarize themselves with the new environment without the distraction of notifications. During this time, most notifications should not be sent or shown. Exceptions include feedback that the user would expect to see in response to a user action, such as when he or she plugs in a USB device or prints a document. API specifics of regarding quiet time are discussed later in this topic.

Creating and Displaying a Notification

The remaining sections in this topic outline the basic procedure to follow to display a notification from your application to the user.

Add a Notification Icon

To display a notification, you must have an icon in the notification area. In certain cases, such as Microsoft Communicator or battery level, that icon will already be present. In many other cases, however, you will add an icon to the notification area only as long as is needed to show the notification. In either case, this is accomplished using the Shell_NotifyIcon function. Shell_NotifyIcon allows you to add, modify, or delete an icon in the notification area.

When an icon is added to the notification area on WindowsВ 7, it is added to the overflow section of the notification area by default. This area contains notification area icons that are active, but not visible in the notification area. Only the user can promote an icon from the overflow to the notification area, although in certain circumstances the system can temporarily promote an icon into the notification area as a short preview (under one minute).

The user should have the final say on which icons they want to see in their notification area. Before installing a non-transient icon in the notification area, the user should be asked for permission. They should also be given the option (normally though its shortcut menu) to remove the icon from the notification area.

The NOTIFYICONDATA structure sent in the call to Shell_NotifyIcon contains information that specifies both the notification area icon and the notification itself. The following are those items specific to the notification area icon itself that can be set through NOTIFYICONDATA.

• The resource from which the icon is taken.
• A unique identifier for the icon.
• The style of the icon’s tooltip.
• The icon’s state (hidden, shared, or both) in the notification area.
• The handle of an application window associated with the icon.
• A callback message identifier that allows the icon to communicate events that occur within the icon’s bounding rectangle and balloon notification with the associated application window. The icon’s bounding rectangle can be retrieved through Shell_NotifyIconGetRect.

Each icon in the notification area can be identified in two ways:

• The GUID with which the icon is declared in the registry. This is the preferred method on WindowsВ 7 and later.
• The handle of a window associated with the notification area icon, plus an application-defined icon identifier. This method is used on WindowsВ Vista and earlier.

Icons in the notification area can have a tooltip. The tooltip can be either a standard tooltip (preferred) or an application-drawn, pop-up UI. While a tooltip is not required, it is recommended.

Notification area icons should be high-DPI aware. An application should provide both a 16×16 pixel icon and a 32×32 icon in its resource file, and then use LoadIconMetric to ensure that the correct icon is loaded and scaled appropriately.

The application responsible for the notification area icon should handle a mouse click for that icon. When a user right-clicks the icon, it should bring up a normal shortcut menu. However, the result of a single click with the left mouse button will vary with the function of the icon. It should display what the user would expect to see in the form best suited to that content—a popup window, a dialog box or the program window itself. For instance, it could show status text for a status icon, or a slider for the volume control.

The placement of a popup window or dialog box that results from the click should be placed near the coordinate of the click in the notification area. Use the CalculatePopupWindowPosition to determine its location.

The icon can be added to the notification area without displaying a notification by defining only the icon-specific members of NOTIFYICONDATA (discussed above) and calling Shell_NotifyIcon as shown here:

You can also add the icon to the notification area and display a notification all in one call to Shell_NotifyIcon. To do so, continue with the instructions in this topic.

Define the NOTIFYICONDATA Version

As Windows has progressed, the NOTIFYICONDATA structure has expanded to include more members to define more functionality. Constants are used to declare which version of NOTIFYICONDATA to use with your notification area icon, to allow for backward compatibility. Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, it is strongly recommended that you use the NOTIFYICON_VERSION_4 version, introduced in WindowsВ Vista. This version provides the full available functionality, including the preferred ability to identify the notification area icon though a registered GUID, a superior callback mechanism, and better accessibility.

Set the version through the following calls:

Note that this call to Shell_NotifyIcon does not display a notification.

Define the Notification Look and Contents

A notification is a special type of balloon tooltip control. It contains a title, body text, and an icon. Like a window, it has a Close button in its upper right corner. It also contains a Options button that opens the Notification Area Icons item in the Control Panel, which allows the user to show or hide the icon or show only notifications without an icon.

The NOTIFYICONDATA structure sent in the call to Shell_NotifyIcon contains information that specifies both the notification area icon and the notification balloon itself. The following are those items specific to the notification that can be set through NOTIFYICONDATA.

• An icon to display in the notification balloon, which is specified by the notification type. The size of the icon can be specified, as well as custom icons.
• A notification title. This title should be a maximum of 48 characters long in English (to accommodate localization). The title is the first line of the notification, and set apart through the use of font size, color, and weight.
• Text for use in the body of the notification. This text should be a maximum of 200 characters in English (to accommodate localization).
• Whether the notification should be discarded if it cannot be displayed immediately.
• A timeout for the notification. This setting is ignored in WindowsВ Vista and later systems in favor of a system-wide accessibility timeout setting.
• Whether the notification should respect quiet time, set through the NIIF_RESPECT_QUIET_TIME flag.

The IUserNotification and IUserNotification2 interfaces are Component Object Model (COM) wrappers for Shell_NotifyIcon. However, at this time, they do not provide the full NOTIFYICON_VERSION_4 functionality available through Shell_NotifyIcon directly, including the use of a GUID to identify the notification area icon.

Check the User Status

The system uses the SHQueryUserNotificationState function is used to check whether the user is in quiet time, away from the computer, or in an uninterruptable state such as Presentation mode. Whether the system displays your notification depends on this state.

If your application is using a custom notification method that does not use Shell_NotifyIcon, IUserNotification, or IUserNotification2, it should always explicitly call SHQueryUserNotificationState to determine whether it should display notification UI at that time.

Notifications sent when the user is away are queued for display, but because you cannot know when the user will return or whether the notification will still be valid at that time, you might consider resending the notification later.

Notifications sent during quiet time are discarded unshown. Design guidelines ask that all notifications be ignorable. They should not require immediate user action. Therefore, no notification is so important that it should override quiet time.

Display the Notification

Once you have set the NOTIFYICONDATA version and defined the notification in a NOTIFYICONDATA structure, call Shell_NotifyIcon to display the icon.

If the notification area icon is not present, call Shell_NotifyIcon to add the icon. Do this for both transient and non-transient icons.

If the notification area icon is already present, call Shell_NotifyIcon to modify the icon.

The following code shows an example of setting NOTIFYICONDATA data and sending it through Shell_NotifyIcon. Note that this example identifies the notification icon through a GUID (preferred in WindowsВ 7).

Removing an Icon

To remove an icon—for instance, when you have only added the icon temporarily to broadcast a notification—call Shell_NotifyIconas shown here. Only a minimal NOTIFYICONDATA structure that identifies the icon is needed in this call.

When an application is uninstalled, its notification area icon can still appear to the user as an option in the Notification Area Icons page in the Control Panel for up to seven days. However, any changes made there will have no effect.

SDK Sample

See the NotificationIcon Sample sample in the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for a full example of the use of Shell_NotifyIcon.

Guided Help: Customize the notification area in Windows 7

INTRODUCTION

The notification area is a part of the taskbar that provides a temporary source for notifications and status. It can also be used to display icons for system and program features that are not on the desktop. The notification area was known historically as the system tray or status area.

By default, the only icons that will be visible in this area are some system icons. However, you can select which icons appear on the taskbar, and which icons hide in the overflow section.

CUSTOMIZE THE NOTIFICATION AREA

Method 1: Manage icons by drag-and-drop

Hide an icon: Drag the icon in the notification area, and then drop it anywhere outside the taskbar.

Show an icon: Click the arrow to show the overflow section, drag the icon that you want to the notification area on the right side of the taskbar.

Drag-and-drop actions cannot how notifications appear. If you want to customize the way the notification behaves, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Manage notifications and icons by Control Panel settings

1. Click the arrow next to the notification area, and then click Customize. If you do not see an arrow, click here.

Select an option for each icon.

2. Click Turn system icons on or off. For each system icon, select On to show the icon in the notification area, or click Off to remove the icon from the notification area.

Note You can also select «Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar» and «Restore default icon behaviors.»

After the Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar option is selected, you will not see the arrow. In this case, follow these steps to open the Customize menu.

a. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar, and then click Properties.

b. On the Taskbar tab, click Customize.

How to choose which items show in the notification area

The notification area (also referred to as the system tray) contains icons that provide information to users about various aspects of their operating system. Examples include the date and time, Internet connection status, and background programs that are currently running. To customize the information and icons displayed in the notification area, choose your version of Windows below and follow the instructions.

Change notification area items in Windows 10

1. Press the Windows key , type «taskbar settings«, then press Enter .
   Or, right-click the taskbar, and choose Taskbar settings.
2. In the window that appears, scroll down to the Notification area section.
3. From here, you can choose Select which icons appear on the taskbar or Turn system icons on or off.

1. Enter either of these menus and set the toggle switches to the Onor Offposition, depending on your preferences.

Change notification area items in Windows 8

1. Press the Windows key , type «taskbar settings«, then press Enter .
2. In the search results list, click the Show or hide the notification area on the taskbar entry.
3. In the Notification Area Icons window that opens, you may choose the icons to show in the Windows notification area using the drop-down menu located next to each item ( 1 ). You may also enable and disable system icons by clicking the Turn system icons on or off link ( 2 ).

To show all icons, check Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar option at the bottom of the Notification Area Icons window.

1. When you are finished making your changes, click the OK button.

Change notification area items in Windows 7 and Vista

1. From the Windows desktop, right-click the taskbar and select Properties.
2. In the Taskbar Properties window, next to the Notification area, click the Customize button.
3. In the Notification Area Icons window that opens, you may choose the icons to show in the Windows notification area using the drop-down menu located next to each item ( 1 ). You may also enable and disable system icons by clicking the Turn system icons on or off link ( 2 ).

To show every icon, check Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar option at the bottom of the Notification Area Icons window.

1. When you are finished making your changes, click the OK button.

Change notification area items in Windows XP

1. Right-click the taskbar and select Properties from the drop-down menu that appears.
2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, click the Customize button in the lower-right corner of the window.
3. In the new window, click the down arrow next to each item and select Hide when inactive, Always hide or Always show.
4. When you’re done, click Apply, then click OK.

Change notification area items in Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, and 2000

Users who are running these older versions of Microsoft Windows do not have an option to customize the systray icons. If your notification area is becoming cluttered, we suggest you disable the systray icon for one or more of your programs.

You can disable the systray icon in many programs by doing the following.

1. Right-click the icon in the systray.
2. Select Properties or Preferences from the drop-down menu.
3. Uncheck any systray icon option. Unfortunately, each program is different, so you may have to do a little hunting for this option, if available at all.

Alternatively, you can disable the program from even starting up each time the computer boots.

How do I view hidden Windows notification (systray) icons?

Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10

In Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10, hidden icons can be viewed by clicking the small up arrow on the left side of the notification area. The picture is an example.

Windows XP

1. Right-click the taskbar and select Properties from the drop-down menu that appears.
2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, click the Customize button in the lower-right corner of the window.
3. In the window that opens, check the box next to Hide inactive icons.
4. Once this feature is enabled in Microsoft Windows XP, two chevrons on the far left side of the systray (shown below) can be clicked to display all hidden systray icons. If they are not visible, there are no hidden icons.

Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, and 2000

If you’re running Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, or Windows 2000 and the systray section is not visible, it’s likely you’re encountering one of the situations below.

• The program is not open. Unless the program or a portion of the program is loaded, it is not visible in the systray.
• The program is opened, but not minimized. To help manage your systray, some programs remove their associated icon in the systray when opened.
• The program is open but the systray icon feature is disabled.
• The program does not have a Windows Notification icon.