Updated: 08/16/2021 by Computer Hope Show
The notification area displays the programs running in the background and information such as the time and date, notifications, Internet connection status, and the current volume level. Note The notification area is also sometimes referred to as the system tray, systray, shell notification area, or taskbar status area. The notification area is on the far right side of the Windows taskbar. It was first introduced with Windows 95 and is found in all subsequent versions of Windows. Newer versions of Windows feature and up arrow that allows users to show or hide program icons. Common notification area icons
Weather and AQI in the Windows notification areaIn late versions of Windows 10, Microsoft introduced the ability to show the temperature and the AQI (air quality index) in the Windows notification area as shown below. This information is updated as your computer is connected to the Internet to show the current temperature and weather conditions (e.g., sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy). If the AQI is high enough, its value is also shown. Should I use "notification area" or "systray" in my writing?According to the Microsoft Manual of Style, the area described above should be written as "notification area" and never as the "status area," "system tray," or "systray." The area was formerly referred to as the status area or system tray. Today it's always referred to as the notification area. The term "systray" should only be used when describing a Windows processes that loaded the notification area icons in early versions of Windows. Antivirus program, Notification, Operating system terms, Power Options, Windows update
Note This design guide was created for Windows 7 and has not been updated for newer versions of Windows. Much of the guidance still applies in principle, but the presentation and examples do not reflect our current design guidance. The notification area provides notifications and status. Well-designed programs use the notification area appropriately, without being annoying or distracting. The notification area is a portion of the taskbar that provides a temporary source for notifications and status. It can also be used to display icons for system and program features that have no presence on the desktop. Items in the notification area are referred to as notification area icons, or simply icons if the context of the notification area is already clearly established. The notification area. To give users control of their desktop in Windows 7, not all notification area icons are displayed by default. Rather, icons are displayed in the notification area overflow unless promoted to the notification area by the user. The notification area overflow. Note: Guidelines related to the taskbar, notifications , and balloons are presented in separate articles. Is this the right user interface?To decide, consider these questions:
Design conceptsThe Windows desktopThe Windows desktop has the following program access points:
The Windows desktop access points include the Start button, taskbar, and notification area. Note the thumbnail feature of the taskbar button. The desktop is a limited, shared resource that is the user's entry point to Windows. Leave users in control. You should use the desktop areas as intended any other usage should be considered an abuse. For example, never view desktop areas as ways to promote your program or its Brand. Using the notification area appropriatelyThe notification area was originally intended as a temporary source for notifications and status. Its efficiency and convenience has encouraged developers to give it other purposes, such as launching programs and executing commands. Unfortunately over time, these additions made the notification area too large and noisy, and confused its purpose with the other desktop access points. Windows XP addressed the scale problem by making the area collapsible and hiding the unused icons. Windows Vista addressed the noise by removing unnecessary, annoying notifications. Windows 7 has gone a step further by focusing the notification on its original purpose of being a notification source. Most icons are hidden by default in Windows 7, but can be promoted to the notification area manually, by the user. To keep users in control of their desktops, there is no way for your program to perform this promotion automatically. Windows still displays notifications for hidden icons by promoting them temporarily. In Windows 7, most notification area icons are hidden by default. In addition, Windows 7 supports many features directly in the taskbar buttons. Specifically, you can use:
In short, if your program has desktop presence, take full advantage of the Windows 7 taskbar button features for these purposes. Keep the notification area icons focused on displaying notifications and status. Keeping users in controlKeeping users in control extends beyond using the notification area correctly. Depending on the nature of your icon, you may want to let users do the following:
Although it's a good idea to provide most of these settings on the icon's context menu, the program's default experience should be suitable for most users. Don't turn everything on by default and expect users to turn features off. Rather, turn the important features on by default, and let users enable additional features as desired. If you do only four things...
Usage patternsNotification area icons have several usage patterns:
GuidelinesGeneral
When to show
Where to show
Windows launched from notification area icons are displayed near the notification area. Icons
For general icon guidelines and examples, see Icons. InteractionNote: The following click events should occur on mouse up, not mouse down. Hover
For infotip text guidelines, see the Text section of this article. Left single-click
Left double-click
Right-click
Primary commands Open (default, list first, in bold) Run Secondary commands < separator> Suspend/resume enable/disable command (check mark) "Minimized to notification area" (check mark) Opt in to notifications (check mark) "Display icon in notification area" (check mark) < separator> "Options" "Exit"
In this example, Windows Defender has specific Open and Run commands.
Correct: Incorrect: In the incorrect example, Windows Defender should use a check mark to indicate the current state.
In this example, Outlook allows users to choose the notifications they receive from the icon.
For general context menu guidelines and examples, see Menus. Rich tooltips
Notification area flyouts
This example shows a notification area flyout using the recommended presentation. Options dialog box
For general Options dialog box guidelines and examples, see Property Windows. Minimizing programs to the notification areaNote: Minimizing program windows to the notification area is no longer recommended for Windows 7. Use regular taskbar buttons instead. Your program may support both mechanisms for backward compatibility.
Text
Infotip phrasing:
DocumentationWhen referring to the notification area:
When referring to a notification area icon:
Example: To check the network status quickly, click the Network icon in the notification area. |