Windows – What does “Run as hidden window” mean and how can I show the hidden windows

windows

If we right-click the shortcut of an exe file, there are options to run the program as 'Minimized', 'Maximized', or 'Normal window':

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NirSoft's BulkFileChanger is able to do so too. But there's another option called 'Hidden':

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When I run the programs as 'Hidden', they do not appear in my taskbar. Task Manager does show that the programs are running indeed.

How can I access / show those currently running 'Hidden' programs?

Also, exactly what does it mean to start main window as 'Hidden'?

Best Answer

What "Hidden" means is exactly what you observe, that you cannot see its GUI and it has no presence on the task-bar.

Nirsoft's nircmd allows you to hide, show and activate running windows. Use nircmd win show to reveal a hidden task, or nircmd win activate to show it and bring to foreground.

I find hidden windows most useful for background batch files, which would normally show up with a task-bar entry. If you want to interact with a task, don't hide it.

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