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Creating an application with no taskbar icon

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5 Jan 2000CPOL 331.8K   1   70   60
A simple method to create a main window that does not appear in the windows taskbar

This is a technique I first saw in Mike Blaszczak's 'stealth' program.

It is desirable sometimes to not have your application window show up in the taskbar. For instance, you may have an application resides in the system tray, and since it already has a system tray icon, having the extra icon in the taskbar is needless duplication. A simple way to create a window that will not have an icon in the taskbar is to create a separate invisible window, and have that invisible window be the parent of your applications window.

The way to do this, and still allow your application's window to remain visible, is to set the invisible window as parent in your application's PreCreateWindow override.

First, declare a window member variable in your Main Frame class: 

class CMainFrame : public CFrameWnd
{
...
protected:
    CWnd m_wndInvisible;
...

Then override CMainFrame::PreCreateWindow: 

BOOL CMainFrame::PreCreateWindow(CREATESTRUCT& cs)
{
    if (!CFrameWnd::PreCreateWindow(cs))
         return FALSE;

     // Create invisible window
     if (!::IsWindow(m_wndInvisible.m_hWnd))
     {
        LPCTSTR pstrOwnerClass = AfxRegisterWndClass(0);
        if (!m_wndInvisible.CreateEx(0, pstrOwnerClass, _T(""), WS_POPUP,
                CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT,
                NULL, 0))
            return FALSE;
     }

    cs.hwndParent = m_wndInvisible.m_hWnd;

    return TRUE;
}

That's all you need to do! The invisible window will be automatically destroyed when the main application closes.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Chris Maunder
Founder CodeProject
Canada Canada
Chris Maunder is the co-founder of CodeProject and ContentLab.com, and has been a prominent figure in the software development community for nearly 30 years. Hailing from Australia, Chris has a background in Mathematics, Astrophysics, Environmental Engineering and Defence Research. His programming endeavours span everything from FORTRAN on Super Computers, C++/MFC on Windows, through to to high-load .NET web applications and Python AI applications on everything from macOS to a Raspberry Pi. Chris is a full-stack developer who is as comfortable with SQL as he is with CSS.

In the late 1990s, he and his business partner David Cunningham recognized the need for a platform that would facilitate knowledge-sharing among developers, leading to the establishment of CodeProject.com in 1999. Chris's expertise in programming and his passion for fostering a collaborative environment have played a pivotal role in the success of CodeProject.com. Over the years, the website has grown into a vibrant community where programmers worldwide can connect, exchange ideas, and find solutions to coding challenges. Chris is a prolific contributor to the developer community through his articles and tutorials, and his latest passion project, CodeProject.AI.

In addition to his work with CodeProject.com, Chris co-founded ContentLab and DeveloperMedia, two projects focussed on helping companies make their Software Projects a success. Chris's roles included Product Development, Content Creation, Client Satisfaction and Systems Automation.

Comments and Discussions

 
First PrevNext
QuestionSwitch back taskbar icon Pin
_Flaviu16-Jan-18 23:32
_Flaviu16-Jan-18 23:32 
QuestionThis is not working for me? Pin
Swatto8618-May-14 11:36
Swatto8618-May-14 11:36 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Keanu L30-Nov-12 13:17
Keanu L30-Nov-12 13:17 
Newssumthing missing Pin
addy80823-Apr-07 3:09
addy80823-Apr-07 3:09 
GeneralVC++ Code to add application icon to the Task Manager Pin
Smitha Rao27-Sep-06 4:03
Smitha Rao27-Sep-06 4:03 
GeneralRe: VC++ Code to add application icon to the Task Manager Pin
hari_honey19-Aug-08 19:53
hari_honey19-Aug-08 19:53 
Questionalt+tab Pin
Anonymous12-Sep-05 1:41
Anonymous12-Sep-05 1:41 
AnswerRe: alt+tab Pin
Torres O.19-Jan-06 12:26
Torres O.19-Jan-06 12:26 
General[Message Removed] Pin
nompel6-Oct-08 9:18
nompel6-Oct-08 9:18 
AnswerDon't do that Pin
Elmue14-May-12 7:37
Elmue14-May-12 7:37 
AnswerRe: alt+tab Pin
sam t. xu21-Apr-06 10:11
sam t. xu21-Apr-06 10:11 
AnswerRe: alt+tab problem solved Pin
Elmue14-May-12 7:29
Elmue14-May-12 7:29 
QuestionHow I can add an icon in the left superior corner? Pin
Drako LeoLim12-Jan-04 18:14
Drako LeoLim12-Jan-04 18:14 
QuestionHow I can add an icon in the left superior corner? Pin
Drako LeoLim12-Jan-04 18:13
Drako LeoLim12-Jan-04 18:13 
QuestionHow to make it in Visual Basic? Pin
Mickey_vip6-Aug-03 12:40
Mickey_vip6-Aug-03 12:40 
GeneralIncorrect icon in system dialog When Alt+Tab Pin
kimdaejeong24-Apr-03 23:31
kimdaejeong24-Apr-03 23:31 
QuestionHow to Create an application(base dialog) with no taskbar icon? Pin
zhangyifei25-Nov-02 3:40
zhangyifei25-Nov-02 3:40 
AnswerRe: How to Create an application(base dialog) with no taskbar icon? Pin
LupinTaiwan17-Sep-15 19:24
LupinTaiwan17-Sep-15 19:24 
GeneralThis man is just great :) Pin
27-Mar-02 14:59
suss27-Mar-02 14:59 
General...or as they tell it in MSDN... Pin
13-Jan-02 23:14
suss13-Jan-02 23:14 
GeneralRe: ...or as they tell it in MSDN... Pin
Chris Maunder13-Jan-02 23:33
cofounderChris Maunder13-Jan-02 23:33 
GeneralRe: ...or as they tell it in MSDN... Pin
13-Jan-02 23:59
suss13-Jan-02 23:59 
GeneralRe: ...or as they tell it in MSDN... Pin
Elmue14-May-12 7:09
Elmue14-May-12 7:09 
AnswerThe perfect solution Pin
Elmue14-May-12 7:20
Elmue14-May-12 7:20 
To get to the perfect solution:

1.)
Do NOT use WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW for the visible window because this flag shows an ugly caption bar and removes the Minimize, Maximize buttons from the caption bar. (teensy weensy as Chris says)

2.)
Using an invisible parent for your visible window as described in the article makes the taskbar button disappear, which is what we want. BUT in the Task-Switch window (when hitting ALT + TAB) the invisible window is listed, which is ugly. (it does not even have an icon)

3.)
To avoid the latter the !invisible window! needs the flag WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW.

4.)
Another option (if you want the Icon to appear in the Task-Switch window) is to explicitly set the icon for the invisible window.

So here the perfect code:


Header file:
#define SHOW_TASKBAR_BUTTON    FALSE  // Show this window in the Taskbar
#define SHOW_TASKSWITCH_ICON   TRUE   // Show this window in the Task-Switch dialog

CWnd mi_Invisible;



CPP File:
BOOL CMainFrame::PreCreateWindow(CREATESTRUCT& cs)
{
    if (!CMDIFrameWnd::PreCreateWindow(cs) )
        return FALSE;
    
    #if !SHOW_TASKBAR_BUTTON
        if (!::IsWindow(mi_Invisible.m_hWnd))
        {
            DWORD u32_ExStyle = WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW;
            #if SHOW_TASKSWITCH_ICON
                u32_ExStyle = 0;
            #endif

            if (!mi_Invisible.CreateEx(u32_ExStyle, L"#32770", L"Invisible", 
                                       WS_POPUP, CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT, 
                                       CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT, NULL, 0))
                return FALSE;

            #if SHOW_TASKSWITCH_ICON
                mi_Invisible.SetIcon(AfxGetApp()->LoadIcon(IDR_MAINFRAME), TRUE);
                mi_Invisible.SetIcon(AfxGetApp()->LoadIcon(IDR_MAINFRAME), FALSE);
            #endif
        }
    
        cs.hwndParent = mi_Invisible.m_hWnd;
        cs.style &= ~WS_MINIMIZEBOX;
    #endif
    return TRUE;
}


P.S.
"#32770" is the class name for dialogs.

P.P.S.
The Minimze button does not make sense for a window without taskbar button

modified 15-May-12 12:48pm.
GeneralRe: ...or as they tell it in MSDN... Pin
Anonymous22-Jul-03 20:14
Anonymous22-Jul-03 20:14 
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Posted 5 Jan 2000

Article Copyright 2000 by Chris Maunder
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