Personalization Turn On or Off Hidden Icon Menu on Taskbar System Tray in Windows 11


  • Staff
Tasbar_corner_banner.png

The hidden icon menu (aka: taskbar corner overflow menu) shows the notification icons you turned off from showing on the system tray.

Starting with Windows 11 build 22572, you can turn on or off showing the hidden icon menu on the taskbar system tray.

Starting with Windows 11 build 22610, there will no longer be an empty show hidden icons arrow showing in your system tray when you’ve set all your icons there to show.

After upgrading to Build 22610, the “Show hidden icons” flyout in the system tray may disappear completely for some Insiders, even though it shows as “on”. Microsoft is investigating the issue. As a workaround if you need access to the icons that would show in the “Show hidden icons” flyout, you can go right-click on taskbar to open the Taskbar settings page, navigate to the “Other system tray icons” and individuals toggle specific apps to “On” until the issue is resolved.


Starting with Windows 11 build 22616, the Hidden icon menu setting has been removed.

Microsoft decided to disable the changes to the system tray introduced in Build 22581 for now. The system tray and specifically the “Show hidden icons” flyout will now function the same way it did with the original release of Windows 11, including the ability to rearrange icons in the flyout. Microsoft hopes to bring these changes back in the future after further refinement of the experience by addressing some of the feedback Microsoft received. Features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.


This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off the hidden icon menu for your account in Windows 11.


Contents

  • Option One: Turn On or Off Hidden Icon Menu on Taskbar System Tray in Settings
  • Option Two: Turn On or Off Hidden Icon Menu on Taskbar System Tray using REG file


EXAMPLE: Hidden icon menu (chevron) on taskbar corner system tray

Hidden_icon_menu-on.png
Hidden_icon_menu-off.png





Option One

Turn On or Off Hidden Icon Menu on Taskbar System Tray in Settings


1 Open Settings (WIn+I).

2 Click/tap on Personalization on the left side, and click/tap on Taskbar on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Hidden_icon_menu_Settings-1.png

3 Click/tap on Other system tray icons on the right side to expand it open. (see screenshot below step 4)

4 Turn On (default) or Off Hidden icon menu for what you want. (see screenshot below)

Hidden_icon_menu_Settings-2.png

5 You can now close Settings if you like.




Option Two

Turn On or Off Hidden Icon Menu on Taskbar System Tray using REG file


1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you would like to do.

2 Turn On Hidden Icon Menu on Taskbar Corner

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Turn_ON_Hidden_icon_menu_on_taskbar_corner.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify]
"SystemTrayChevronVisibility"=dword:00000001

3 Turn Off Hidden Icon Menu on Taskbar Corner

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Turn_OFF_Hidden_icon_menu_on_taskbar_corner.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify]
"SystemTrayChevronVisibility"=dword:00000000

4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

  • Tasbar_corner.png
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  • Turn_OFF_Hidden_icon_menu_on_taskbar_corner.reg
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  • Turn_ON_Hidden_icon_menu_on_taskbar_corner.reg
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Last edited:
Click to expand...
When I access the "Hidden Icon menu" there are no icons listed. Previously, whenever Google Drive updated, the tray icon disappeared and I had to go to this setting and set it up to show the Google Drive icon. Now there is nothing listed in this area. I did manage to find a backdoor (using the ExplorerPatcher app) to a control panel called "Notification Area Icons." But when I change the Google Drive setting from "Only show notifications" to "Show icon and notifications," either nothing happens and the setting reverts to "Only show notifications," or Explorer crashes and the desktop restarts.

2023-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5023706)
 

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  • Notification area.png
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook UX535QE_UM535QE
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 3201
    Motherboard
    American Megatrends International
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
Woops, of course just after I posted that, I found a page that explained that I could just drag and drop the hidden icon into the system tray. I did not know that was possible. That is so much easier (but still doesn't explain the missing functionality, except that MS once again broke something with an improvement).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook UX535QE_UM535QE
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 3201
    Motherboard
    American Megatrends International
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
druekberg said:
Woops, of course just after I posted that, I found a page that explained that I could just drag and drop the hidden icon into the system tray. I did not know that was possible. That is so much easier (but still doesn't explain the missing functionality, except that MS once again broke something with an improvement).
Click to expand...

:shawn:

www.elevenforum.com

Hide or Show System Tray Icons in Taskbar Corner Overflow Menu in Windows 11 Tutorial

The taskbar corner overflow menu (Show hidden icons menu) in Windows 11 shows the hidden notification icons on the system tray for apps. You can turn on or off system tray icons to appear either on the system tray (on) or in the taskbar corner overflow menu (off). If you turn off an app's...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2,
    6TB WD Black WD6001FZWX
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1
    CPU
    i7-1065G7 3.9 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR4-3200
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus
    Sound Card
    Intel SST
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" 4K UWVA AMOLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Yes, thanks, I knew how to do it from the Personalization menu, but that option seems to have disappeared. The overflow menu option is gone (see my screenshots), as well as a list of hidden icons. I never knew about the drag and drop option until just after I left my message.

Just wondering why the Overflow Menu option disappeared all of a sudden. No real worries, drag and drop is easier. But it seems like a strange thing for MS to hide.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook UX535QE_UM535QE
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 3201
    Motherboard
    American Megatrends International
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
druekberg said:
Yes, thanks, I knew how to do it from the Personalization menu, but that option seems to have disappeared. The overflow menu option is gone (see my screenshots), as well as a list of hidden icons. I never knew about the drag and drop option until just after I left my message.

Just wondering why the Overflow Menu option disappeared all of a sudden. No real worries, drag and drop is easier. But it seems like a strange thing for MS to hide.
Click to expand...

The taskbar corner (system tray) overflow menu will only show if you have set a notification to hide instead of show on the system tray.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2,
    6TB WD Black WD6001FZWX
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1
    CPU
    i7-1065G7 3.9 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR4-3200
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus
    Sound Card
    Intel SST
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" 4K UWVA AMOLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
There are three other programs which are set to hide by default (notification only), which I am fine with. But I wanted the Google Drive icon to be always visible. Previously I had to change it from hidden to visible every time it updated. So with the other three icons hidden, shouldn't the overflow menu show?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook UX535QE_UM535QE
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 3201
    Motherboard
    American Megatrends International
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
druekberg said:
There are three other programs which are set to hide by default (notification only), which I am fine with. But I wanted the Google Drive icon to be always visible. Previously I had to change it from hidden to visible every time it updated. So with the other three icons hidden, shouldn't the overflow menu show?
Click to expand...

It should unless Hidden icon menu was turned off.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2,
    6TB WD Black WD6001FZWX
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1
    CPU
    i7-1065G7 3.9 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR4-3200
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus
    Sound Card
    Intel SST
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" 4K UWVA AMOLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
It's on. Maybe it's a flaw with my system. Ugh. I'm not reinstalling just to fix this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook UX535QE_UM535QE
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 3201
    Motherboard
    American Megatrends International
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
druekberg said:
It's on. Maybe it's a flaw with my system. Ugh. I'm not reinstalling just to fix this.
Click to expand...

You could test toggling the hidden icon menu off and on to see if it may refresh to show, or test turning off another app showing on the system tray to hide in the overflow menu to see if the overflow menu will then show.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2,
    6TB WD Black WD6001FZWX
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1
    CPU
    i7-1065G7 3.9 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR4-3200
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus
    Sound Card
    Intel SST
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" 4K UWVA AMOLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Toggling the hidden icon menu off and on had no effect, even when I turned it off and then rebooted.

I couldn't turn off other app icons since the list doesn't show. I did turn off the bluetooth icon, but had to turn it on from the other bluetooth settings (legacy) menu.

As shown in the first message, the "Notification Area Icons" pane (what I'm calling legacy control panel) does nothing when I change settings (from "Notification only" to "Show icon and notification") for individual apps UNLESS I check the box that says "Always show all icons...." Then ALL the hidden icons show. But trying to show them individually from this control panel does nothing.

I can, however, drag and drop them on and off from the taskbar to the hidden icon menu. So I guess that's what I have to do from now on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook UX535QE_UM535QE
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 3201
    Motherboard
    American Megatrends International
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
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