system tray : Java Glossary

2008-06-26 by Roedy Green ©1996-2009 Canadian Mind Products
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system tray

The bar at the bottom of the screen with tiny icons representing the programs currently running. The system tray is shared by all applications running on the desktop.

JDK

In JDK 1.6+, java.awt.SystemTray lets you manage the tray if your OS supports it. In previous versions you will need some sort of JNI code. There are a number of third party tools.

Linux

In Gnome it is referred to as the Notification Area, on KDE it is referred to as the System Tray. In Gnome, the default GUI for Ubuntu Linux, there is the panel. A strip across the top contains the menus. A strip across the bottom has a buttons such as ones to navigate between desktops. Part of it is the system notification area e.g. a message that updates are available.

Windows

In Windows, the sytem tray takes the form of a strip strip, usually at the bottom of the screen, called the task bar. The far left section of it is called the quicklaunch bar, and is for the icons of frequently launched programs. In the middle are icons for running programs. This region is sometime called the slit. On the far right are small icons for background tasks, e.g. for controlling devices such as the display, mouse, volume, keyboard layout…. Thee icons on the middle and right are sometimes called the system tray. Some people reserve the term system tray only for the icons on the right. Right clicking them lets you interact with the running program, usually exit and restore.

Vista

In Windows Vista, you have the following areas:

Vista task bar

Vista Desktop Terminology
Term	Meaning
desktop	The entire screen surface where the user can store programs, documents, and their shortcut icons.
start menu button	extreme lower right. Used to access menus to launch programs and special Windows places (Documents, Pictures, Music, Games, Computer, Control Panel), with most-recently-used lists for quick access to recently used programs and documents.
quick launch	lower right. Used to launch commonly used programs with a single click.
taskbar	lower middle. Used for programs are currently running.
deskbands	lower right middle. Minimized long-running programs, such as Windows Media Player. Programs that minimize to deskbands aren’t displayed in the taskbar.
notification area	lower right. Used for system and and background programs, as well as alerts and errors, e.g. notification that updates are available.
sidebar	usually in a vertical strip along the right for things like weather, news, currency exchange rates, stock tickers, clocks…

Learning More

Sun’s Javadoc on the SystemTray class : available:

on the web at java.sun.com
in the current JDK 1.6.0_11 or in the old JDK 1.5.0_17 on your local Windows J: drive.

Sun’s Javadoc on the Is the system tray supported on your platform? method : available:

on the web at java.sun.com
in the current JDK 1.6.0_11 or in the old JDK 1.5.0_17 on your local Windows J: drive.

Disable Java tray icon
Gnome panel
icon
JniWrapper
Jtray
System Tray JNI code
Vista Taskbar terminoloy
WindowsTrayIcon

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