The notification area and system tray?
I’ve noticed that in your magazine you sometimes call the bit at the bottom right of Windows 10 the ‘notification area’, but at other times you refer to it as the ‘system tray’. I’ve seen both of these terms online too, so it’s not peculiar to you chaps. Why is this? Is there a difference between the two, or is it the same thing? If so, how did it end up having two different names? Philip Osborne
Depending on your viewpoint, this is either an old chestnut or a hot potato – or perhaps a bit of both!
So, let’s start with a bit of Windows anatomy. The strip at the bottom of Windows 10, and earlier versions, is called the taskbar. It contains several elements, including the Start button on the left side, along with various other buttons – including search and task view, if you have those enabled.
The long bit in the middle is where icons sit for pinned or running apps
( 1 in our screenshot). Then, on the far right you have what Microsoft now formally refers to as the notification area 2 . There’s also a tiny vertical strip to the right of this, called Peek 3 .
When the mouse pointer is hovered over this, all windows will become transparent to reveal the Windows 10 desktop.
But the key point is the ‘formal’ name: notification area is what Microsoft today calls this part of the taskbar. The company is also clear that system tray should not be used, as it states in its style guide at www.snipca.com/38552.
Historically, though, in early editions of Windows it was known as the system tray. That’s the name many seasoned PC users have stuck with. Moreover, despite the company’s own style guide, the term system tray appears in plenty of Microsoft’s online support pages.
We tend to use notification area because it's both the correct term, and also what readers themselves use mostly. We try to avoid calling it the system tray, though this old name might slip through occasionally.
Want to know the difference between technical terms? Email noproblem@ computeractive.co.uk