Create Direct Shortcut for “Notification Area Icons” in Windows Vista and Later
If we want to customize notification area icons settings in Windows 7 or later, we have to first open Taskbar Properties and then click on Customize button to change them. Windows XP and Vista users also have to follow similar steps to access the Settings page.
Wouldn’t it be great if you can have a direct shortcut to “Notification Area Icons” window so that you can access it within a click?
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Recently one AskVG reader “Macko” asked about it via email:
Dear Mr. Vishal Gupta,
Long time I’ve been reading your blog for tweaking XP issues, and they are quite awesome. Yet, I have a question for you, since I do not know where to look for the answer. I want to create a shortcut for “Customize Notifications” (the same as TaskBar Properties/Notification Area/Customize) and I cannot find the way. I hope you can help me.
Greetings!!!
So today in this tutorial, we are going to tell you how to create a shortcut to “Notification Area Icons” in Windows Vista and later. We have tested it in Windows 7 but it should also work in other Windows versions:
1. Right-click on Desktop and select “New -> Shortcut“:
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2. It’ll launch “Create Shortcut” wizard. Now enter any of following strings in location box:
explorer shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
or
%SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 5
3. After entering the location, click on “Next” button. Now type Customize Notification Area Icons in name box and click on “Finish” button. It’ll create a new shortcut on Desktop.
4. Now its time to change the icon. Right-click on the shortcut and select “Properties“. Click on “Change Icon” button. Type taskbarcpl.dll in text box and press Enter. Select the first icon, click on OK button and then Apply the changes.
5. That’s it. You’ll get the desired shortcut on Desktop:
You can also put it in Quick launch toolbar or pin to Taskbar in Windows.
NOTE: If you don’t want to create the shortcut manually and want a ready-made shortcut, download following ZIP file, extract it and you’ll get the shortcut:
Windows 7 has this shortcut near the tray, so in fact we don’t “have to first open Taskbar Properties and then click on Customize button to change them.” Just click that small up arrow then Customize.
^^ Shortcuts might come very useful in some cases. You can pin the shortcut to Taskbar and then you’ll not need to click on arrow and then select customize. Just a single click to launch the window. 🙂
..and just a slot more used on the taskbar.
This shortcut looks similar to what I get when I use this command. . .
MD Notification.{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
But I think your shortcut is more useful.
Cheers, PW.
you should really take out that first sentence ” If we want to customize notification area icons settings in Windows 7, we have to first open Taskbar Properties and then click on Customize button to change them. “. It’s just plain wrong, you have one click on the arrow then one on customize. It’s not even shorter with an icon (because please don’t tell me you’ll honestly pin something as useless as this to the taskbar…)
Hey VG i have also asked a question never reply me 🙁
^^ Which question are you talking about?
@bob
It depends upon the requirements. Since someone asked me, I posted the solution in hope it’ll help others as well. 🙂
When i starts my computer the “On-Screen Keyboard” runs at start i also look at autostarts features but there isn’t option to close “On-Screen Keyboard”
^^ Are you using Windows on a laptop or tablet pc?
“don’t tell me you’ll honestly pin something as useless as this to the taskbar…”
Yeah totally unnecessary for Windows 7. So the shortcut saves one click – I just wonder what on earth people could be doing that they customize their notification area so often it requires a shortcut that saves one whole click but takes up one whole space on the taskbar.
^^ Are you talking about keyboard at Login screen or Desktop?
Or… Just type “Notification Area Icons” in Start Menu Search Bar. Then right-click and hold down on the Item in the list. While holding down, drag the item up to your Windows Start Orb and release the mouse right-click button.
The shortcut to your notification area screen is now in the Start Menu. You can click and drag it up the list of start menu items according to priority and personal taste.
From there, you can click and drag the icon to your desktop or any folder and it will echo another shortcut!