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How to restore an application from the System Tray

To restore a window hidden by 4t Tray Minimizer, click the application's system tray icon. With the default settings, a single left-click brings the window back. You can also restore windows from a tray menu, use a keyboard shortcut, or activate a Pro Favorite.

These instructions apply to windows hidden by 4t Tray Minimizer Free or Pro. Applications with their own built-in tray feature may use different controls.

Restore a window by clicking its tray icon

1. Find the application's icon in the notification area near the clock. Use the hidden-icons arrow if it is not immediately visible.
2. Left-click the icon once. With the version 6.10 defaults, this performs the icon's default action, restoring the hidden window.
3. Continue working in the restored window. If several windows share one icon, use its menu to choose a particular window, as explained below.

Use the hidden application's icon for this action. 4t Tray Minimizer's own icon opens a different menu.

Find hidden notification-area icons

In Windows 11 or Windows 10, click the ^ arrow near the clock to open the hidden-icons popup, then find the application's icon. If the hidden icon menu is disabled in Windows 11, check Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Other system tray icons. Microsoft's taskbar customization instructions explain the Windows settings.

If a single click does not restore the window

The click behavior is configurable. Open 4t Tray Minimizer's main window and choose View > Options... > Hiding > Single click on the tray icon. The choices are:

• does default action (restoring in the most cases) – the default single-click behavior.
• opens the context menu (double click does default action) – select a window or Restore from the menu, or double-click the icon.
• does nothing (double click does default action) – double-click to restore.

Existing installations can retain a different setting, so check this option before assuming that an icon is unresponsive.

Use the application's tray icon menu

1. Right-click the application's tray icon.
2. For a single hidden window, choose Restore.
3. For grouped windows, select the window you want from the list, or choose Restore All to restore the hidden windows belonging to that icon.

This method is available in Free and Pro. It is useful when several windows share an icon or when you prefer an explicit menu command.

Choose a window from 4t Tray Minimizer's menu

1. Single-click 4t Tray Minimizer's own tray icon with its default mouse settings.
2. Choose the window you want to restore from the hidden-window list.

This provides another way to find a hidden window without locating its individual icon, including when it was hidden without a tray icon. The mouse actions for 4t Tray Minimizer's own icon can be changed under View > Options... > Interface > Tray icon.

Restore all hidden windows with a keyboard shortcut

Press Ctrl+Shift+R to restore all windows hidden by 4t Tray Minimizer with the version 6.10 defaults. This shortcut is available in Free and Pro and affects all hidden windows, rather than just one application.

To check or change it, open View > Options... > Keyboard, find the action for restoring all hidden windows, and check that its hotkey is enabled. Use the configured combination if you have changed the default.

Restore a specific Favorite (Pro)

Pro Favorites provide application-specific restore actions:

1. Add the application to Favorites and open the Favorite's settings.
2. Assign a hotkey to Restore and activate application.
3. Save the settings and press the chosen shortcut to bring that application's window back.

You can also use a Favorite's quick activate/restore action, configure a single shortcut to launch, minimize, and restore the application, or assign an action to restore all hidden instances of that Favorite. These application-specific actions require Pro.

If you cannot find the window

• No icon is visible – check the hidden-icons popup, use 4t Tray Minimizer's hidden-window list, or restore all hidden windows with the configured shortcut.
• The wrong window is restored – right-click a grouped icon and select the window by its title.
• The shortcut does not respond – check that 4t Tray Minimizer is running and that the shortcut is enabled and does not conflict with another application.
• The application has exited – restoration only brings back a window that is still running; launch the application again if it has closed.

Related guides and features

To hide a window again, read how to minimize an application to the system tray. See all 4t Tray Minimizer features or compare Free and Pro for the available controls and edition differences.

Current version: 6.10