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Windows 7 Tip of the Week
Run Windows Live Messenger from the Notification Area

Tip date: February 6, 2010
Tipster: Rodrigo Gómez Morales

While the new Windows 7 taskbar is generally well designed, there are some downsides to its new default behaviors. One of these downsides involves Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft's instant messaging (IM) solution. In previous Windows versions, Messenger didn't take up valuable taskbar real estate with an unnecessary button for its main application window. Instead, the app ran from the notification area, offering up the small, familiar green icon user expect. (Subsequent chat windows and other subwindows do provide their own normal taskbar buttons, however.)

In Windows 7, this behavior has changed. Now, Messenger runs from the taskbar like other applications. And while this behavior may seem consistent or even desirable, most Messenger users would agree that it's neither. Since Messenger runs at startup and auto logs on to various Windows Live service, it is essentially a background task, one that is only needed when you want to initiate a chat or when someone or something else on triggers an alert (such as sending you a message). Many, myself included, find the new default behavior annoying.

Windows 7 Tip of the Week

Fortunately, there is a way to make Messenger work like it did in previous Windows versions. Here's how you do it.

1. If Windows Live Messenger is running, you must close it first. To do so, close any open windows and then right-click the remaining Messenger taskbar button and choose Close window.

2. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder in which Windows Live Messenger is installed. This will vary, depending on whether you're using a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7. In a 32-bit system, the folder is located at:

C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Messenger

Meanwhile, on a 64-bit system, you will find this folder at:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Messenger

3. Locate the Windows Live Messenger executable, which is named msnmsgr.exe (though it will appear as msnmsgr in a default Windows 7 install, because file extensions are hidden).

Windows 7 Tip of the Week

4. Right-click this application and choose "Properties" from the context menu that appears. A property sheet window will appear.

Windows 7 Tip of the Week

5. Navigate to the Compatibility tab and check (select) the option titled "Run this program in compatibility mode for:". Then, in the drop-down box, select "Windows Vista Service Pack 2."

Windows 7 Tip of the Week

6. Click OK to close the Windows Live Messenger property sheet window.

7. Re-run Windows Live Messenger. Now, the notification icon will appear in the notification area, where it belongs. And there won't be any Messenger taskbar buttons until you actually open one. Voila!

Windows 7 Tip of the Week

Note: Because Windows 7 hides notification area icons by default, you will likely find that the Messenger icon disappears almost immediately. To display it permanently in the notification area, click on the "Show hidden icons" button next to the notification area and then drag the Messenger icon down from the little pop-up window.

--Paul Thurrott
February 6, 2010