Windows Vista: Hiding the Notification Area (aka System Tray)

Are you a desktop minimalist, and want to know if it is possible to hide the Notification Area (aka the System Tray)? The answer is yes, but I don't recommend it because the operating system and applications uses this area to communicate information to you.

Although, if you want to know how to do it, I have included the instructions below.

Warnings: This tip does require modifying your Windows registry, and if you're not comfortable performing this operation then I don't recommend that you do it. Also As always, you should backup your registry before editing it. Finally use this tip at your own risk.

• Open up the Windows Registry Editor and then navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
• Right-click in an empty area in the right pane and select New>DWORD value.
• Give the new value the name NoTrayItemsDisplay
• Double-click it, then assign it a data value of 1 and press the OK button.
• Close the registry editor
• Log off your system and then log back in, and your change will take effect.

To revert the changes, follow the instructions above, and change the NoTrayItemsDisplay value back to 0 (zero).