Some programs in Windows come with a feature to minimize themselves to the Windows system tray (also called the notification area). For example, your antivirus software is perhaps displaying an icon in the notification area. Usually these programs also offer a special menu that can be accessed only by clicking or right-clicking on this notification area icon. But some other programs do not allow you to minimize them to the system tray, for example, Firefox browser or Windows Notepad.
What if you could minimize almost any application window to the system tray? Actually a free software called “MinimizeToTrayTool” offers to minimize any application being run in your Windows desktop to the notification area along with an icon taken from that application itself. This software does not add any extra buttons in the titlebar of open windows like some other similar software do. You have to specify the EXE filenames belonging to the application and it takes care of the rest.
MinimizeToTrayTool installs its own icon in the Windows system tray and you can right-click on to open the configuration window. You can also use the right-click context menu to minimize all the open windows to system tray or to restore the previously minimized windows.
In the configuration window, you can add the EXE file names of the applications that you wish to minimize to the system tray. You can use the drag-n-drop method to locate the EXE files of any open window or you can manually type the EXE file name belonging to a program.
Once you have added the programs to the list, you can just click on the minimize button in the title-bar of those program’s windows. Now instead of getting minimized to the taskbar, they will be minimized to the system tray. If you want to restore these applications later, then you can simply click on that application’s icon in the system tray.
Conclusion: If you have multiple windows open in your Windows PC, then the taskbar could become over-crowded. The free MinimizeToTrayTool can help you out by allowing you to minimize any application’s window to the system tray.
You can download MinimizeToTrayTool from http://www.4dots-software.com/minimizetotraytool/.