For some reason when I have MSN Messenger or VLC Media Player running in the background it will show up in the Taskbar and the Notification Area. I don't have the interface open for either of the two programs but they still show up in the Taskbar. Is there any way to remove them from the Taskbar while still keeping them open in the background and in the Notification Area?
For MSN Messenger you can just right click the shortcut and under "Properties -> Compatibility" chose to run as compatible to Windows Vista SP 2. It's behavior will be like in vista, so when you close all windows it will stay just in the tray. For VLC must be the same but I'm not sure since I don't use it. Good Luck
vlc under preferences>interface uncheck systray icon. i don't know if it's the same under windows but that's how it works in ubuntu
Since Windows gave the option to "pin" shortcuts to the task bar lots of program developers decided this would be a good idea and set this option for you without asking. Most provide an option to turn this "feature" off - some don't - those I uninstall as I will not tolerate someone else telling me how to arrange my system. So look through options and you will almost certainly find one that "pins" the shortcut to the taskbar and turn it off. Obviously this option is only available in 7 as this feature is only available in 7.
That worked for MSN Messenger but not VLC. I'd like to be able to minimize VLC to the notification area only and not have it show up on the taskbar.