Hide a launching minimized app icon from taskbar

Question

I need to hide an app icon when it starts minimized from the taskbar, for example when you start a program minimized, how can you hide the app from the taskbar? Im not talking about tray icons on the right side with the ^, I'm talking about TASKBAR in the middle.

Answer 1

HideTaskbarBtn.exe Hides or shows a window on the taskbar.

This uses the inbuilt compilers in Windows 10 - there are three VB.NET compilers and three C# compilers

Windows that are normal, a titlebar with a system menu, appear on the taskbar. Windows that want to appear on the taskbar but don't meet the requirements can set an extended window's style of an AppWindow. To remove a window from the taskbar requires the window to be hidden, the AppWindow extended style forcing it onto the taskbar to be removed and the extended style of a tool palette window applied. Then show the window. The new window won't have a titlebar icon.

This does not work with UWP apps, only Win32 applications and consoles.

If you run this on a minimised window there is no way of activating the window. See Assigns a hotkey to a window if you need to. If you run this on a non-minimised program then minimise the program a Windows 3.11 minimised desktop icon appears.

Just copy each text file into the same folder and double click the batch file to make the program.

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@Echo Off
Echo HideTaskbarBtn.bat
Echo This file compiles HideTaskbarBtn.vb to HideTaskbarBtn.exe
Echo HideTaskbarBtn.exe hides or shows a window'a button on the taskbar
Echo To use 
Echo     HideTaskbarBtn Hide <Window Title>
Echo     HideTaskbarBtn Show <Window Title>
Echo E.G.
Echo     HideTaskbarBtn Hide Untitled - Notepad
Echo     HideTaskbarBtn Show Untitled - Notepad
Echo -----------------------------------------------------
"C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\vbc.exe" /target:winexe /out:"%~dp0\HideTaskbarBtn.exe" "%~dp0\HideTaskbarBtn.vb" 
pause

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'HideTaskbarBtn.vb
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports Microsoft.Win32

Public Module TopMost
    Public Declare UNICODE Function FindWindowW Lib "user32" (ByVal lpClassName As String, ByVal lpWindowName As String) As IntPtr
    Public Declare Function SetWindowPos Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As IntPtr, ByVal hWndInsertAfter As Integer, ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer, ByVal cx As Integer, ByVal cy As Integer, ByVal wFlags As Integer) As Integer
    Public Declare Function SetWindowLongPtrW Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As IntPtr, ByVal Index As Integer, ByVal NewValue As Integer) As Integer
    Public Declare Function GetWindowLongPtrW Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As IntPtr, ByVal Index As Integer) As Integer
    Public Declare Function GetParent Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Intptr) As IntPtr

    Public Const WS_EX_APPWINDOW = &h40000
    Public Const WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW = &h80
    Public Const WS_MINIMIZEBOX = &h20000
    Public Const GWL_EXSTYLE = -20
    Public Const GWL_STYLE = -16

    Public Const HWND_TOPMOST = -1
    Public Const HWND_NOTOPMOST = -2
    Public Const SWP_NOMOVE = &H2
    Public Const SWP_NOSIZE = &H1
    Public Const SWP_SHOWWINDOW = &H40
    Public Const SWP_HIDEWINDOW = &H80
    Public Const SWP_NOOWNERZORDER = &H200      '  Don't do owner Z ordering
    Public Const SWP_NOREDRAW = &H8
    Public Const SWP_NOREPOSITION = &H200
    Public Const SWP_NOZORDER = &H4

    Sub Main()
        On Error Resume Next
        Dim hWindows as IntPtr
        Dim CmdLine as String
        Dim Ret as Integer
        Dim ExStyle as Integer
        Dim Style as Integer
        CmdLine = Mid(Command(),6)
        hwindows = FindWindowW(vbNullString, CmdLine)
        If hwindows = 0 then
            Msgbox(Cmdline & " cannot be found.")
        Else
            If LCase(Left(Command(), 4)) = LCase("Hide") then
                Ret = GetWindowLongPtrW(hWindows, GWL_EXSTYLE)
                ExStyle = Ret
                'Test AppWindow is set and if so remove it
                If (ExStyle And WS_EX_APPWINDOW) = WS_EX_APPWINDOW then ExStyle = ExStyle - WS_EX_APPWINDOW
                If (ExStyle And WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW) <> WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW then ExStyle = ExStyle + WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW
                Ret = SetWindowPos(hwindows, HWND_NOTOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE + SWP_NOSIZE + SWP_NOZORDER + SWP_HIDEWINDOW)
                Ret = GetWindowLongPtrW(hWindows, GWL_EXSTYLE)
                'SetWindowLongPtr does not clear GetLastError if sucessful.
                err.clear
                Ret = SetWindowLongPtrW(hWindows, GWL_EXSTYLE, ExStyle)
                If (Ret = 0 And err.LastDLLError <> 0) Then MsgBox("SetWindowLongPtrW is " & Err.LastDllError)
                err.clear
'               Ret = SetWindowLongPtrW(hWindows, GWL_STYLE, Style)
'               If (Ret = 0 And err.LastDLLError <> 0) Then MsgBox("SetWindowLongPtrW is " & Err.LastDllError)
                Ret = SetWindowPos(hwindows, HWND_NOTOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE + SWP_NOSIZE + SWP_NOZORDER + SWP_SHOWWINDOW)
                If Ret = 0 Then MsgBox("Set Pos Error is " & Err.LastDllError)
            ElseIf LCase(Left(Command(), 4)) = LCase("Show") then
                Ret = GetWindowLongPtrW(hWindows, GWL_EXSTYLE)
                'Test AppWindow is set and if so remove it
                ExStyle = Ret
                If (ExStyle And WS_EX_APPWINDOW) <> WS_EX_APPWINDOW then ExStyle = ExStyle + WS_EX_APPWINDOW
                If (ExStyle And WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW) = WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW then ExStyle = ExStyle - WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW
                Ret = SetWindowPos(hwindows, HWND_NOTOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE + SWP_NOSIZE + SWP_NOZORDER + SWP_HIDEWINDOW)
                If Ret = 0 Then MsgBox("Set Pos Error is " & Err.LastDllError)
                err.clear
                Ret = SetWindowLongPtrW(hWindows, GWL_EXSTYLE, ExStyle)
                If (Ret = 0 And err.LastDLLError <> 0) Then MsgBox("SetWindowLongPtrW is " & Err.LastDllError)
                Ret = SetWindowPos(hwindows, HWND_NOTOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE + SWP_NOSIZE + SWP_NOZORDER + SWP_SHOWWINDOW)
                If Ret = 0 Then MsgBox("Set Pos Error is " & Err.LastDllError)
            Else
                Msgbox("Command line not recognised")
            End If
        End If
    End Sub
End Module

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From https://winsourcecode.blogspot.com/2021/04/this-uses-inbuilt-compilers-in-windows.html

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To use

    HideTaskbarBtn Hide Untitled - Notepad