Miracle

The noted area can become crowded with small icons—many of which don’t “notify” you of anything. A range of programs use the notification area to present program-starting icons. But many of those programs seldom require to be started; they continue to do their job without any interference from you. Windows XP adds a new feature that hides icons you don’t use. Like the programs on the left side of the Start menu, the notification area adjusts to the way you work. And also like the Start menu, you can specify your own preferences that override the adaptive behavior of Windows XP.

With this icon-hiding feature allowed, only active icons and icons you state show in the notification area. Others are only a click away: Click the arrow at the left end of the noted area to shows the hidden icons, as shown in Figure 1.


Figure 1. Clicking the arrow expands the noted area to reveal all icons.

To allow this feature, choose Hide Inactive Icons in the Taskbar And Start Menu Properties dialog box (to get to this dialog box, right-click the Start button and select Properties). To indicate which icons must be hidden, click Customize to show the dialog box shown in Figure 2. For each icon—with icons that have been showed in the past as well as ones that are at present in the notification area—you can select whether to hide or show.


Figure 2. You determine which icons you want to be visible and which ones you want to be accessible only when you expand the notification area.