Top Tips – How Do You Minimise Windows Live Messenger To The System Tray In Windows 7?

The new Windows 7 taskbar aka SuperBar is one of the biggest new features of Windows 7, however it does come with a problem or two.  One of the problems I have found is that it changes the way Messenger is minimised.

Under Windows XP, and then Vista, Messenger always minimised to a small icon in the system tray, freeing up space on the taskbar for applications you used more frequently.  However, Messenger is now, under Windows 7, minimised to an icon on the SuperBar, which can be annoying for some users such as myself because it takes up space I would rather reserve for other running programs.

Thankfully it is simple enough to return the previous minimising action to the system tray. Follow this guide to do so…

Step One – Find msnmsgr.exe

• Click on the Start button (Windows Orb) on the task bar and type “Windows Live Messenger”
• Right click on the first result and select “Open File Location” as shown in the image below

 

Step Two – Open the .exe Properties

• Right Click on “msnmsgr”
• Select “Properties”

 

Step Three – Set Vista Compatibility Mode

• In the Properties dialogue select “Compatibility” tab
• Tick the checkbox marked “Run this program in compatibility mode for”
• Select “Windows Vista” from drop down menu
• Click on “OK”

Conclusion

You will now have the same default action as you did in Windows XP and Vista, with Windows Live Messenger minimising to the System Tray.

If you have found this article useful, why not share it with a quick Digg or Stumble?  Use the icons below to share this article.  You can also leave comments and discuss this article in the comments below.