Unread email notification icon on taskbar - removal.

Hi,

Windows displays an unread email notification 'envelope' icon on my
taskbar - that is as opposed to Thunderbird's new email notification
message which I've turned off. The Thunderbird forum informed me the
envelope icon is a Windows icon which can be turned off by specifying
'always hide pm@nsfm.com has xx new messages'. However I don't like
hiding 'inactive' icons - I like to see what's in my memory and find the
'show all' button fiddly.

Furthermore... Tweak UI has a 'Show taskbar notification icons' setting
but if I switch that off won't I then miss important notifications like
my Firewall informing me of an update and such like?

Perhaps there's a tweak somewhere (in the registry perhaps) that will
allow me to permanently stop the unread email notification 'envelope'
icon from appearing. I get a lot of email, and don't have the time to
look at it all as it arrives, so the envelope icon is on my taskbar most
of the time - I don't like it and I don't need to be told that I have
unread email since I pretty much always have some unread email !!

Thanks all.

Gordon
Mon Mar 03 09:30:28 PST 2008

Poster Matt wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Windows displays an unread email notification 'envelope' icon on my
> taskbar - that is as opposed to Thunderbird's new email notification
> message which I've turned off. The Thunderbird forum informed me the
> envelope icon is a Windows icon which can be turned off by specifying
> 'always hide pm@nsfm.com has xx new messages'. However I don't like
> hiding 'inactive' icons - I like to see what's in my memory and find the
> 'show all' button fiddly.
>
> Furthermore... Tweak UI has a 'Show taskbar notification icons' setting
> but if I switch that off won't I then miss important notifications like
> my Firewall informing me of an update and such like?
>
> Perhaps there's a tweak somewhere (in the registry perhaps) that will
> allow me to permanently stop the unread email notification 'envelope'
> icon from appearing. I get a lot of email, and don't have the time to
> look at it all as it arrives, so the envelope icon is on my taskbar most
> of the time - I don't like it and I don't need to be told that I have
> unread email since I pretty much always have some unread email !!
>
> Thanks all.

if you have turned OFF Thunderbird's notification, then the notification
you are seeing is from some OTHER email client. You need to turn it off
in that email client.

Poster
Mon Mar 03 09:41:12 PST 2008

Gordon wrote:
> if you have turned OFF Thunderbird's notification, then the notification
> you are seeing is from some OTHER email client. You need to turn it off
> in that email client.

I don't have another email client, just Thunderbird, and no other email
client has ever been installed on this PC.

The Thunderbird forum said the envelope is a Windows icon and that
Thunderbird notifies Windows of new/unread email and Windows displays
the icon. I'm not talking about the Thunderbird notification message
balloons, that feature has been sucessfully turned off, I get a sound
only from Thunderbird which is what I want.

Thanks.

Gordon
Mon Mar 03 09:49:50 PST 2008

Poster Matt wrote:
> Gordon wrote:
>> if you have turned OFF Thunderbird's notification, then the
>> notification you are seeing is from some OTHER email client. You need
>> to turn it off in that email client.
>
> I don't have another email client, just Thunderbird, and no other email
> client has ever been installed on this PC.
>
> The Thunderbird forum said the envelope is a Windows icon and that
> Thunderbird notifies Windows of new/unread email and Windows displays
> the icon. I'm not talking about the Thunderbird notification message
> balloons, that feature has been sucessfully turned off, I get a sound
> only from Thunderbird which is what I want.
>
> Thanks.

Right-click on Start, choose properties, on the taskbar click on
"customize", highlight the TBird notification line and in the drop-down
box choose "Always hide".

However, if you are away from your machine, and don't hear the sound,
how will you know you've had an email?

Poster
Mon Mar 03 09:58:16 PST 2008

Gordon wrote:
> Right-click on Start, choose properties, on the taskbar click on
> "customize", highlight the TBird notification line and in the drop-down
> box choose "Always hide".

I'm sorry Gorgon you're having an off-day ;) in my original post I
explained why I didn't want to use that.


> However, if you are away from your machine, and don't hear the sound,
> how will you know you've had an email?

As also explained in my original post, I always have new email, I get a
lot - and I'm not talking about spam - so the icon just sits there most
of the time telling me what I already know.

Thanks.

Gordon
Mon Mar 03 10:12:35 PST 2008

Poster Matt wrote:
> Gordon wrote:
>> Right-click on Start, choose properties, on the taskbar click on
>> "customize", highlight the TBird notification line and in the
>> drop-down box choose "Always hide".
>
> I'm sorry Gorgon you're having an off-day ;) in my original post I
> explained why I didn't want to use that.
>
>

Well AFAIK that's your only option....WHY don't you want to use that?

Poster
Mon Mar 03 10:17:43 PST 2008

Gordon wrote:
> Poster Matt wrote:
>> Gordon wrote:
>>> Right-click on Start, choose properties, on the taskbar click on
>>> "customize", highlight the TBird notification line and in the
>>> drop-down box choose "Always hide".
>>
>> I'm sorry Gorgon you're having an off-day ;) in my original post I
>> explained why I didn't want to use that.
>>
>>
>
> Well AFAIK that's your only option....WHY don't you want to use that?

From original post: "However I don't like hiding 'inactive' icons - I
like to see what's in my memory and find the 'show all' button fiddly."

Anyone got a registry solution?

Thanks.

Gordon
Mon Mar 03 10:21:03 PST 2008

Poster Matt wrote:
> Gordon wrote:
>> Poster Matt wrote:
>>> Gordon wrote:
>>>> Right-click on Start, choose properties, on the taskbar click on
>>>> "customize", highlight the TBird notification line and in the
>>>> drop-down box choose "Always hide".
>>>
>>> I'm sorry Gorgon you're having an off-day ;) in my original post I
>>> explained why I didn't want to use that.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Well AFAIK that's your only option....WHY don't you want to use that?
>
> From original post: "However I don't like hiding 'inactive' icons - I
> like to see what's in my memory and find the 'show all' button fiddly."
>

If you read my reply you are NOT using the "hide inactive icons"
function - you are telling Windows that you want to ALWAYS hide the
Thunderbird notification icon - a TOTALLY different thing.

Poster
Mon Mar 03 10:49:37 PST 2008

Gordon wrote:
> Poster Matt wrote:
>> Gordon wrote:
>>> Poster Matt wrote:
>>>> Gordon wrote:
>>>>> Right-click on Start, choose properties, on the taskbar click on
>>>>> "customize", highlight the TBird notification line and in the
>>>>> drop-down box choose "Always hide".
>>>>
>>>> I'm sorry Gorgon you're having an off-day ;) in my original post I
>>>> explained why I didn't want to use that.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Well AFAIK that's your only option....WHY don't you want to use that?
>>
>> From original post: "However I don't like hiding 'inactive' icons - I
>> like to see what's in my memory and find the 'show all' button fiddly."
>>
>
> If you read my reply you are NOT using the "hide inactive icons"
> function - you are telling Windows that you want to ALWAYS hide the
> Thunderbird notification icon - a TOTALLY different thing.

If you read my original post you will see I SPECIFICALLY wrote about not
wanting to use the 'always hide' setting of 'hide inactive icons' which
is TOTALLY the same thing. :)

I was hoping to find a setting / registry fix to just disable the
envelope icon and leave everything elso alone.

Terry
Mon Mar 03 10:59:38 PST 2008

The date and time was 3/3/2008 10:21 AM, and on a whim, Gordon pounded
out on the keyboard:

> Poster Matt wrote:
>> Gordon wrote:
>>> Poster Matt wrote:
>>>> Gordon wrote:
>>>>> Right-click on Start, choose properties, on the taskbar click on
>>>>> "customize", highlight the TBird notification line and in the
>>>>> drop-down box choose "Always hide".
>>>> I'm sorry Gorgon you're having an off-day ;) in my original post I
>>>> explained why I didn't want to use that.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Well AFAIK that's your only option....WHY don't you want to use that?
>> From original post: "However I don't like hiding 'inactive' icons - I
>> like to see what's in my memory and find the 'show all' button fiddly."
>>
>
> If you read my reply you are NOT using the "hide inactive icons"
> function - you are telling Windows that you want to ALWAYS hide the
> Thunderbird notification icon - a TOTALLY different thing.

The Customize button is only available when "Hide inactive icons" is
checked. So he would have to change all of them except mail to "Always
show". It's workable, but it IS using "Hide inactive icons".

--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.

Harlan
Mon Mar 03 12:28:30 PST 2008

Matt,
If this is showing up when you start Windows, and you have a aol, hotmail,
etc mail account I think the following will help:


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304148/en-us

HTH
Harlan

Harlan
Mon Mar 03 13:22:01 PST 2008

Matt,
If this is showing up when you start Windows, and you have a aol, hotmail,
etc mail account I think the following will help:


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304148/en-us

HTH
Harlan

Poster
Mon Mar 03 14:35:10 PST 2008

Harlan wrote:
> Matt,
> If this is showing up when you start Windows, and you have a aol, hotmail,
> etc mail account I think the following will help:
>
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304148/en-us

The taskbar tray's envelope icon isn't showing up when Windows starts,
but I don't like the number of unread emails showing up on the log-in
page either, so a useful link. Many thanks.

Might there be a similar registry edit for the envelope icon?

Might also the Thunderbird forum person be wrong, and the envelope icon
is a Thunderbird icon and nothing to do with the Win OS? To try and
establish whether that's true, do people who don't use Thunderbird also
get an envelope icon like on the left of the image linked below, when
they have new unread email in their email client?

TinyUrl:
http://tinyurl.com/2g94w8

TinyUrl Preview:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2g94w8

Thanks.

PA
Mon Mar 03 16:44:16 PST 2008

If (1) TBird is your default Mail Client in Set Program Access and Defaults,
and (2) Outlook Express has been Removed via Add/Remove Windows Components,
and (3) no other Mail Client is installed, and (4) the email notification
icon appears in Notification Area only when new mail downloads into TBird,
TBird is invoking the appearance of the icon, no matter what anyone else
told you.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Poster Matt wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Windows displays an unread email notification 'envelope' icon on my
> taskbar - that is as opposed to Thunderbird's new email notification
> message which I've turned off. The Thunderbird forum informed me the
> envelope icon is a Windows icon which can be turned off by specifying
> 'always hide pm@nsfm.com has xx new messages'. However I don't like
> hiding 'inactive' icons - I like to see what's in my memory and find the
> 'show all' button fiddly.
>
> Furthermore... Tweak UI has a 'Show taskbar notification icons' setting
> but if I switch that off won't I then miss important notifications like
> my Firewall informing me of an update and such like?
>
> Perhaps there's a tweak somewhere (in the registry perhaps) that will
> allow me to permanently stop the unread email notification 'envelope'
> icon from appearing. I get a lot of email, and don't have the time to
> look at it all as it arrives, so the envelope icon is on my taskbar most
> of the time - I don't like it and I don't need to be told that I have
> unread email since I pretty much always have some unread email !!
>
> Thanks all.

Poster
Tue Mar 04 02:53:05 PST 2008

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
> If (1) TBird is your default Mail Client in Set Program Access and
> Defaults, and (2) Outlook Express has been Removed via Add/Remove
> Windows Components, and (3) no other Mail Client is installed, and (4)
> the email notification icon appears in Notification Area only when new
> mail downloads into TBird, TBird is invoking the appearance of the icon,
> no matter what anyone else told you.

That is all correct, it is Thunderbird then.

Thanks.

Poster
Tue Mar 04 04:15:10 PST 2008

Poster Matt wrote:
> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
>> If (1) TBird is your default Mail Client in Set Program Access and
>> Defaults, and (2) Outlook Express has been Removed via Add/Remove
>> Windows Components, and (3) no other Mail Client is installed, and (4)
>> the email notification icon appears in Notification Area only when new
>> mail downloads into TBird, TBird is invoking the appearance of the
>> icon, no matter what anyone else told you.
>
> That is all correct, it is Thunderbird then.

Once I knew it was Thunderbird after all and I'd been misinformed the
solution was not a million miles away.

For those interested and more importantly for people who are trying to
do this and find this thread with a search, here are instructions.

Stop Thunderbird from displaying the new email envelope icon on the
Taskbar Tray. This may be Windows specific.

1. In Thunderbird go to: Tools Menu-->Options-->Advanced tab

2. Click on Config Editor to open it.

3. Enter 'icon' in the filter text box to reduce the displayed items.

4. Double-Click on 'mail.biff.show_tray_icon' to set it as 'false'.

5. Make sure it is false, close Config Editor and options and you're done.

6. Alternatively, more advanced users can change this setting directly
in their prefs.js or user.js file.

HTH.

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