How to Configure the System Tray in Windows 10 and 11

Introduction

The system tray (notification area) is a panel in the bottom-right corner of the screen where icons for background-running applications and system notifications are displayed. Configuring this area helps organize your workflow, hide unnecessary icons, and quickly access important notifications. After completing this guide, you will have full control over what appears in the system tray on your Windows 10 or 11 computer.

Requirements

Before you begin, ensure that:

• You have Windows 10 (version 1903 or newer) or Windows 11 installed.
• You are logged in with administrator privileges (required for some system settings).
• The applications whose icons you want to configure are currently running.

Step 1: Opening Notification Area Settings

The paths to the settings differ slightly in Windows 10 and 11.

For Windows 11:

1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
2. Navigate to Personalization → Taskbar.
3. Scroll down and click Other taskbar settings (or directly Notification area in some builds).
4. In the window that opens, click Select which icons appear on the taskbar.

For Windows 10:

1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
2. Go to Personalization → Taskbar.
3. On the right side of the window, find the Notification area section and click Select which icons appear on the taskbar.

💡 Tip: You can also open the settings via the taskbar context menu: right-click on the taskbar → Taskbar settings.

Step 2: Managing Icon Visibility

In the window that opens, you will see a list of all applications with an icon in the tray. For each application, three options are available:

• On — The icon is always displayed in the tray.
• Off — The icon is hidden, but the application continues running in the background.
• Only show notifications — The icon is hidden, but you will see pop-up notifications (if the application sends them).

Configuration example:

1. Find the application you want to configure in the list (e.g., Discord).
2. Click the toggle switch to the right of its name.
3. Select the desired option.

⚠️ Important: Some system icons (e.g., sound, network, power) are not configured through this list. Their order is changed differently (see Step 3).

Step 3: Changing Icon Display Order (Windows 10 Only)

In Windows 11, the order of icons in the main tray area cannot be changed — they are always arranged left-to-right in alphabetical order. In Windows 10, you can drag and drop icons:

1. Ensure that for the desired icons, On is selected in the settings (Step 2).
2. On the taskbar, hover your cursor over the system tray area (to the right of the Start button).
3. Hold down the left mouse button on an icon and drag it left or right.
4. Release the mouse button to lock the position.

⚠️ Limitation: Dragging only works for icons that are not locked by the system (e.g., clock, calendar). Some applications may lock their own icon.

Step 4: Configuring Hidden Icons

Hidden icons are displayed when you click the upward arrow (^) next to the main icons. You can control which icons appear in this area:

1. In the icon settings window (Step 1), find the toggle Always show all icons in the notification area.
2. If you turn this toggle off, icons set to Only show notifications or Off will be hidden in the dropdown menu.
3. If you turn it on, all active icons will be displayed in the main row (but those set to Off will still be hidden).

Verifying the Result

1. Look at your taskbar: icons should appear according to your settings.
2. Click the upward arrow (^) in the notification area to see hidden icons.
3. Launch the application for which you changed settings and check if notifications arrive (if that mode was selected).
4. In Windows 10, try dragging an icon to change its order.

Potential Issues

Issue: Settings do not persist after a reboot. Solution: Ensure you are not using third-party taskbar customization programs (e.g., Classic Shell). They may conflict. Temporarily disable such programs.

Issue: There is no toggle for a specific application. Solution: Some applications (especially portable ones) do not register their icon with the system. Check the application's own settings — there may be an option like "Show in notification area."

Issue: In Windows 11, you cannot change the icon order. Solution: This is an OS limitation. In current versions of Windows 11, the icon order in the tray is rigidly defined by the system. The only way to influence the order is to disable unnecessary icons, leaving only the ones you need.