There are also two Group Policies and related registry setting related to
this. If you have XP Pro you can use Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) to
check the policies. Gpedit.msc does not exist on XP Home. If you have XP
Home or Pro you can check the related registry settings if they exist.
To open the Group Policy Editor...
Start | Run | Type: gpedit.msc |Click OK
Make sure that both policies are set to Not Configured or Disabled.
Not Configured places no entry in the registry and the policy is not
Enabled.
Disabled creates the corresponding Value and sets it to Disabled in the
registry.
Turn off notification area cleanup Group Policy
-----------------------------------------------------
This setting effects the notification area, also called the "system tray."
The notification area is located in the task bar, generally at the bottom
of the screen, and it includes the clock and current notifications. This
setting determines whether the items are always expanded or always
collapsed. By default, notifications are collapsed. The notification
cleanup << icon can be referred to as the "notification chevron."
If you enable this setting, the system notification area expands to show
all of the notifications that use this area.
If you disable this setting, the system notification area will always
collapse notifications.
If you do not configure it, the user can choose if they want notifications
collapsed.
Local Computer Policy\User Configuration\Administrative Templates\
Start Menu and Taskbar\
Turn off notification area cleanup
NoAutoTrayNotify
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
and/or
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
The above policy is what grays out (makes unavailable) the Hide inactive
icons on Taskbar Properties.
Hide the notification area Group Policy
-------------------------------------------
This setting affects the notification area (previously called the “system
tray”) on the taskbar.
Description: The notification area is located at the far right end of the
task bar and includes the icons for current notifications and the system
clock.
If this setting is enabled, the user’s entire notification area, including
the notification icons, is hidden. The taskbar displays only the Start
button, taskbar buttons, custom toolbars (if any), and the system clock.
If this setting is disabled or is not configured, the notification area is
shown in the user's taskbar.
Note: Enabling this setting overrides the "Turn off notification area
cleanup" setting, because if the notification area is hidden, there is no
need to clean up the icons.
Local Computer Policy\User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start
Menu and Taskbar\
Hide the notification area
NoTrayItemsDisplay
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
and/or
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
If NoAutoTrayNotify or NoTrayItemsDisplay do not exist in the registry,
it's the same as the policy being set to Not Configured.
The above policy also grays out (makes unavailable) the Hide inactive
icons on Taskbar Properties and also hides the entire notification area
including the clock.
--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
In
Brandy Alexandre said:
I do not understand what your problem is.
I just reread your original post.
problem, especially if the icons you want hidden or shown are in
the
right order grouped together.
Notification Icons are never grouped together.
Only taskbar buttons may be grouped together.
taskbar button
[[A button that appears on the taskbar and corresponds to a
running application.]]
Only Notification icons can be set to Always show, Always hide or
Hide when inactive.
notification area
[[The area on the taskbar to the right of the taskbar buttons. The
notification area displays the time and can also contain shortcuts
that provide quick access to programs, such as Volume Control and
Power Options. Other shortcuts can appear temporarily, providing
information about the status of activities. For example, the
printer shortcut icon appears after a document has been sent to
the printer and disappears when printing is complete.]]
Right click the Taskbar | Properties | Taskbar tab |
Under Taskbar appearance
Under Notification area
Group similar taskbar buttons
[[Displays taskbar buttons for files opened by the same program in
the same area of the taskbar. In addition, if the taskbar becomes
so crowded with buttons that the width of the buttons shrinks
beyond a certain width, then the buttons for the same program are
collapsed into a single button. Clicking the button lets you
access the document you want. Right-clicking the button lets you
close all the documents you want.]]
Hide inactive icons
[[Keeps the taskbar notification area from displaying unused
icons.]]
Customize button
[[Lets you specify the behavior of an icon in the taskbar
notification area. For each icon that has been displayed in the
taskbar notification area, you can choose from these options:
Always show option to have the icon always displayed; Always hide
option to keep the icon from being displayed; Hide when inactive
option to keep an icon from being displayed when it has not been
clicked within a certain amount of time.]]
I think I'll wait for a response from someone else.
