Topic summary
Notification area
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Taskbar.
Taskbar elements
- In older versions of Windows the notification area icons were limited to 16 colors. Windows Me added support for high color notification area icons.
- Starting with Windows XP, the user can choose to always show or hide some icons, or hide them if inactive for some time. A button allows the user to reveal all the icons.
- Starting with Windows Vista, the taskbar notification area is split into two areas: one reserved for system icons including clock, volume, network and power; the other for applications.
- Starting with Windows 7, the system icons and applications are shown in the same area again.
- Starting with Windows 11, the separate volume, network, and power icons are combined into a single button that opens a quick settings menu when clicked. The clock and notification center buttons are also combined.