How to use the Windows Notification Area

Situated at the right-hand side of the Taskbar and just to the left of the clock is the Notification Area.

This section shows a series of small icons that each signifies a program running on your PC. If there are too many to display at once, click on the small arrow button to expand the list.

Certain icons are placed in the Notification Area by default, such as the volume control. However, many other programs are only shown in the Notification Area.

Common examples include security suites (such as Norton, McAfee and AVG) and instant-messaging programs that only need to display a window when you receive a message.

If the Notification Area becomes too cluttered you can change which icons are shown or hidden by default.

Right-click the Start button, click Properties and, within the Taskbar tab (in Vista, the Notification tab), click Customize.

All programs that use the Notification Area will now be displayed and you can change how each one appears by choosing from the options in the relevant dropdown box.

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