What i really want to do here is make some icons disappear (or block them from appearing at all) while the app will still be running in the background.
Some of these include nvidia and optimus icons, as well as dropbox and USB safe remove. These apps work fine without my intervention, therefore their icons are just clutter to me.
To be clear, i already know how to hide icons (but it doesn't feel like icons are gone with this method since they are just a click away) or how to disable all of the system tray at once (using the registry), i was just wondering if i could block completely some of these icons only.
Thanks.
Best Answer
I think the question is a very good one. And there is also a solution, though one that doesn't work reliably. Check out https://www.raymond.cc/blog/stealth-or-hide-running-program-from-appearing-in-taskbar-or-traybar/ – I think only "Tray It!" and "Taskbar Hide" even theoretically work, however for me Tray It did not work at all (Edit / Shell Icons didn't work). And Taskbar Hide looks extremely old and that's probably why it doesn't work properly. However, I was able to completely hide a tray icon with that (one by one, even if the icon is part of a group). But it is very buggy. But a proof of concept.