"System tray" - Did you know?

[NetRyder]

So I was looking through my RSS feeds today, and while reading Jon Hardwick's latest blog post, I found a link to this this post by Raymond Chen from back in 2003.

Apparently, the correct term for the area next to the clock where all the little icons reside in Windows is "Taskbar Notification Area" and not system tray, or systray, for short, which is what I've always called it. I've always heard everyone use the term system tray too. Raymond explains the possible origin of the misnomer - it comes from the days of Windows 95.

Did anyone else know this?

 

[vern]

I do. I don't know if that makes me weird or knowledgeable. I use systray when referring to it though ... more people know it and it just is plain convenient.

 

[NetRyder]

I do. I don't know if that makes me weird or knowledgeable. I use systray when referring to it though ... more people know it and it just is plain convenient.

You mean you knew that the term 'system tray' was incorrect, or did you also know the origin (the organizer tray metaphor from the early Win95 build)?

 

[vern]

I knew that it was called the Taskbar Notification Area.

 

[FishBoy]

i think i've heard that term before but i always call it system tray and the rest of the bar i call it taskbar

 

[Khayman]

Yes I did

Well, the clues are all there

If you right click it it says "customize notifications" and if you go to task bar properties it says "Notification area"

But like so many words and phrases in the English language, the common usage of a word or phrase, even if its wrong, eventually becomes so high as to become the de facto meaning. An since even Microsoft cal it a system tray man many times, what does it matter?

 

[sean.ferguson]

i got told this in irc years back when i was complaining about my dodjy 'systray'

 

[NetRyder]

Yes I did

Well, the clues are all there

If you right click it it says "customize notifications" and if you go to task bar properties it says "Notification area"

Yeah, I knew about the term too.
I just didn't know that the term 'system tray' is technically incorrect, and the history behind it.

 

[Beginning]

Ok.. I guess I'm a total n00b then.. Because I thought it was always called a systray...

 

[ming]

I knew it, but always recognise it as system tray. it's easier to remember and easier to say. no need to remember the task-bar no-tif-ic-ation a-rea.

 

[SPeedY_B]

Yarrr. Still call it the systray though.

 

[ming]

was hoping this thread would tell me how i can get rid of some of those little rascals sitting in the tray. lol.
i remember a time when i have probably 11 icons sitting there on startup.

 

[NetRyder]

was hoping this thread would tell me how i can get rid of some of those little rascals sitting in the tray. lol.
i remember a time when i have probably 11 icons sitting there on startup.

Well, most applications should have it as an option. If not, they don't deserve to be on your system (although you can kill them with regedit or msconfig).

 

[ming]

Well, most applications should have it as an option. If not, they don't deserve to be on your system (although you can kill them with regedit or msconfig).

well, tell me how i can get rid of the HP printer & memory card icons. they annoy the hell out of me coz they do nothing useful.

 

[NetRyder]

well, tell me how i can get rid of the HP printer & memory card icons. they annoy the hell out of me coz they do nothing useful.

1. First thing to do always is to check the options for the particular app. Right click the icons, look for an option that you can deselect to prevent it from loading at startup.

2. If that's absent, look in the Startup folder under Start>Programs. If you find it there, delete it.

3. The third place to check is the registry (although you can use msconfig in this step too - the registry approach is just cleaner). Look under these two keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Delete any entries from the right-side pane that you don't need.

 

[napalmnthemorning]

I always referred to it as the System tray. I right click on properties and right there it says above the blue bar "notification area". weird.