"System tray" - Did you know?

**NetRyder** · December 20th, 2004

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** · December 20th, 2004

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** · December 20th, 2004

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · December 20th, 2004

I knew that it was called the Taskbar Notification Area.

**FishBoy** · December 20th, 2004

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** · December 20th, 2004

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** · December 20th, 2004

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

**NetRyder** · December 20th, 2004

Originally Posted by 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"

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** · December 20th, 2004

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

**ming** · December 20th, 2004

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** · December 20th, 2004

Yarrr. Still call it the systray though.

**ming** · December 20th, 2004

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** · December 20th, 2004

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · December 21st, 2004

Originally Posted by NetRyder

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** · December 21st, 2004

Originally Posted by ming

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:

Code:

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 · December 21st, 2004

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.

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #1
NetRyder Tech Junkie Joined: April 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,256 Reputation: 4260 Power: 294	"System tray" - Did you know? 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? http://kunal.kundaje.net

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #2
vern Dominus Joined: March 2002 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 1,570 Reputation: 660 Power: 143	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. free illegal pr0n @ ribbed.us

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #3
NetRyder Tech Junkie Joined: April 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,256 Reputation: 4260 Power: 294	Originally Posted by 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. 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)? http://kunal.kundaje.net

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #4
vern Dominus Joined: March 2002 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 1,570 Reputation: 660 Power: 143	I knew that it was called the Taskbar Notification Area. free illegal pr0n @ ribbed.us

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #6
Khayman I'm sorry Hal... Joined: January 2002 Location: England Posts: 5,514 Reputation: 1210 Power: 191	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? "I'm on the server side. I don't know what side you're on"

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December 20th, 2004	Top \| #5
FishBoy Feeeesh Joined: August 2004 Location: Khobar, Saudi Arabia (for summer vacay) Posts: 1,685 Reputation: 530 Power: 113	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

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #7
sean.ferguson OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: July 2003 Location: Fife; Scotland Posts: 1,693 Reputation: 550 Power: 126	i got told this in irc years back when i was complaining about my dodjy 'systray' :P Mac - 13-inch Macbook Core Duo 1.83GHz\| 1GB Ram \| 120GB Internal \| BT & AE \| OS 10.5 PC- Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz \| 2GB Dual Channel Ram \| 360GB Internal \| Lite-On DVDRW \| Radeon X1300XT \| Vista Home Premium 64-bit

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #8
NetRyder Tech Junkie Joined: April 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,256 Reputation: 4260 Power: 294	Originally Posted by 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" 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. http://kunal.kundaje.net

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #9
Beginning I'm Beginning Somehow... Joined: June 2002 Location: XP-erience, NTFS, OSNN, here..... Posts: 1,262 Reputation: 360 Power: 133	Ok.. I guess I'm a total n00b then.. Because I thought it was always called a systray... - - - - - - - - -Devart Gallery - - - - - - - - - -

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #10
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 159	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. Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #11
SPeedY_B I may actually be insane. Joined: March 2002 Location: Midlands, England Posts: 15,800 Reputation: 2877 Power: 307	Yarrr. Still call it the systray though. 1. SPeedYB.co.uk 2. CamPortal.co.uk 3. MacIRC.co.uk

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #12
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 159	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. Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

December 20th, 2004	Top \| #13
NetRyder Tech Junkie Joined: April 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,256 Reputation: 4260 Power: 294	Originally Posted by 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. 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). http://kunal.kundaje.net

December 21st, 2004	Top \| #14
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 159	Originally Posted by NetRyder 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. Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

December 21st, 2004	Top \| #15
NetRyder Tech Junkie Joined: April 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,256 Reputation: 4260 Power: 294	Originally Posted by ming 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: Code: 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. http://kunal.kundaje.net

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napalmnthemorning OSNN Senior Addict Joined: June 2002 Location: OREGON Posts: 719 Reputation: 60 Power: 125	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. Windows 7 Ultimate 86/64 (dual boot) Intel Core 2 Q6600 WD 320GB/HD/Seagate 160GB/HD Asus Extreme Striker 4GB-OCZ-DDR2 GeForce 8800 640 GTS