Customize, Manage Icons in the Notification Area of Windows 7

The notification area in Windows 7, also known as the system tray (or the systray), is the set of small icons of running programs, displayed by default on the right of taskbar, which would be the bottom right corner of your desktop.

Apart from displaying the time and date, it shows certain icons that help you quickly see the status of a running program. It also shows important notifications in the form of small text bubbles that pop up in case your action is required immediately.

The notification area in Windows 7 underwent a major overhaul in terms of design and usability. The user was given more freedom to choose the icons, as well as the notifications, that get displayed in that area.

In this article, we’ll see how we can customize this area to display fewer (or more) icons, and turn notifications on or off.

Here are the steps.

1. Click on the small arrow pointing upward on the left of the notification area. You’ll see a box popping up instantly, showing more icons, and a Customize link. Click on that link.

2. Clicking on Customize will take you to a new window which will have a list of icons that are meant to be displayed in the notification area. You can scroll down and see the various programs that have their icons shown and notifications turned on.

3. For each program, you can select to show or hide icon and notifications, or only show notifications.

4. There’s also a Turn system icons on or off link at the bottom, which when clicked takes you to another window where you can remove the icon completely from the notification area.

5. Once you are done customizing, click OK and you should be all set.

That was how you customized the Windows 7 notification area. If you know about any other tips or tricks related to this topic, do share them in the comments.