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Not sure why but since recently, the Slack icon in bottom right notification area (Windows 10) isn't visible anymore despite Slack app being checked in "Select which icons appear on the taskbar" section. Consequently I need to keep Slack open at all times in my app bar (which I don't want because it's crowded).

Any idea what's causing the problem here?

drake035
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    I had the same problem and followed the steps suggested on Slack's homepage. It fixed it, but only momentarily and I had to repeat the steps again each day or so. I contacted Slack support and they told me this was an issue with *Slack installed from Windows Store*. They suggested using the "Direct Download" version instead (found here: https://slack.com/downloads/windows). – A.M. Mar 13 '19 at 18:16
  • @A.M. Thank you for a workaround/solution! (Downloading directly instead of through the Windows Store.) – Craig Otis May 16 '19 at 14:14
  • I habitually set the tray to show all the icons nowadays. Things have changed a lot since Windows XP - monitors are much wider, and the wide taskbar buttons have been replaced with app icons. – mwfearnley Sep 02 '19 at 07:40
  • Related on [SU]: [Applications disappear from notification area over time](https://superuser.com/a/1363458/269404) -- the problem is that each update gets a separate folder in %localappdata%, making the slack.exe inside a separate application having separate settings from the Windows' point of view. – Palec Feb 21 '20 at 07:38

5 Answers5

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Additionally, every time there is a Slack client app update, you have to go into the "Select which icons appear on the taskbar" in Windows 10 to turn on the "new" icon. It seems this changes when the application is updated.

Update on August 5th, 2018. This issue has been around for nearly two years. I sent them this message on the 'help' issue I first submitted 19 months ago:

People,

This issue has persisted for over a year, and a Slack update this morning did the same thing - the icon is in the notification overflow window, instead of on the taskbar. If there is one application that MUST always be visible in the taskbar, it is Slack, and you keep falling down on this basic requirement.

Clearly, with every Slack client update, the operating system thinks it's a new app (with a new GUID or whatever the nomenclature is), so defaults to the notification icon being in the overflow. This is on you. No other application that uses notification icons does this after an update. None. Okay, maybe not none, but I have never encountered another one, and I am a super geek.

It also doesn't help, that after a client update, the old client runs until exited (as the taskbar icon remains visible), but on the next launch, the icon goes into the overflow. So it might appear to the uninformed that the Slack client update didn't trigger the problem, but it did.

Seriously, you need to mark this as important. It only takes about 10 seconds for us users to change the setting on the new icon, after we discover it's missing. But that 10 seconds is multiplied by the number of users who want that icon to stay visible, for every update. That is a LOT of wasted time.

Jim
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  • Is there any way to change that? – ivangretsky Nov 16 '17 at 15:51
  • This issue is and remains in the Slack dev's court to fix. I've bugged them about it several times, but it doesn't seem to be a priority to them. – Jim Nov 17 '17 at 16:36
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    Wrote to slack support to keep them motivated) – ivangretsky Nov 24 '17 at 08:56
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    @Jim is there a ticket or similar I can refer to in order to also chase Slack support? I bet most users wouldn't even notice that this is a bug but it's highly annoying. – theyetiman Jan 23 '18 at 13:34
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    @theyetiman actually it's quite serious I think, I depend on the notification icon to tell me whether I'm up to date or not. A direct message could go unnoticed for some time if I look away when the windows notification is shown. – David Jan 24 '18 at 14:34
  • @David *exactly*. It's infuriating. – theyetiman Jan 24 '18 at 14:35
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    @theyetiman I don't believe there is a ticket; I used the feedback feature in the app. One thing that I have noticed, is that after a client auto-update, the notification icon remains visible until the client is exited and re-launched. I think this behavior masks the problem, as people might think "hey, the client got updated, and the icon is still visible." – Jim Jan 24 '18 at 15:01
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    June 2019 and this problem still exists :( – Saeed Prez Jun 24 '19 at 08:19
  • February 2020 and the icon still disappears with every update. :-( – xnx Feb 06 '20 at 22:27
  • Actually not sure if this is even something Slack can control. My guess is that because the .exe will be in a new location with each update, Windows no longer recognises it as the same program and thus the icon is reset. – Clonkex Apr 23 '20 at 12:17
  • November 2020 and still no fix >:( Would it be possible to automate a task on Windows 10 to trigger on a Slack update and notify the user somehow? I didn't realize Slack had updated (also didn't know this was an issue until recently, new to Slack) and spent 3 days not realizing I was missing messages. – Keegan Smith Nov 16 '20 at 14:59
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    @KeeganSmith Are you using the UWP (Microsoft Store) version of Slack? As I *think* that might resolve this...I haven't had to "do the needful" on the notification icon for a long while now. – Jim Nov 17 '20 at 18:42
  • Correction - the Microsoft Store version is not a "true" UWP app. Still, I don't believe I've had to "do the needful" after installing it. If I do, I'll surely come back here and report it! – Jim Nov 17 '20 at 18:49
  • @Jim No, I just downloaded straight from Slack's website. I never think about the MS Store to be honest! How long have you been using that version? If it works, that's awesome, I'll try it! – Keegan Smith Nov 18 '20 at 23:17
  • @KeeganSmith Definitely a long while...months...and I'm not remembering having to unhide the icon. Here's hoping I'm not losing my mind and mis-remembering! – Jim Nov 20 '20 at 02:05
  • @Jim Nice! OK, time to open the Microsoft Store for the first time, haha – Keegan Smith Nov 22 '20 at 21:48
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In Windows 10, you have to right-click on the tray (the area you referred to as "notification area") to be able to customize which icons are visible, choose Properties, and then click the Customize button.

From here, click “Select which icons appear on the taskbar”. Enabled items will show permanently on the tray bar.

Here you have a step-by-step guide to solve this issue.

Keep in mind, however, that the you also have to enable the option to "leave the application running in the notification bar" from Slack, as pointed out by Somnath Muluk

Daniel Kravetz Malabud
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    It seems this needs to be repeated every time Slack is updated, because the "new" icon (though it looks the same) isn't recognized by windows. – David Jan 13 '17 at 13:19
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    @David ES - finally someone else with the same issue as me. This is *highly* irritating, as Slack seems to update very, very, regularly. I'm constantly losing my taskbar icon which I rely on for notifications. – theyetiman Jan 23 '18 at 13:34
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    @David I've raised that with them, I suggest you do the same. Upvoting the comment here probably won't get it fixed! – Scott Langham Feb 14 '18 at 16:02
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At some point my slack icon disappeared from the taskbar, and it turned out it was in the hidden icons popover(triggered by the arrow on the left of the icons list). I was able to put it back on the taskbar by simply dragging it there from the popover.

Ivan Kovachev
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When Slack is running, you’ll find a Slack icon in your notifications area. You'll see a blue dot when you have unread activity on one of your Slack teams, and a red dot when you've received a mention, announcement, or direct message.

  1. Click your team name to open the Team Menu.
  2. Select Preferences.
  3. Click to the Windows App tab.
  4. Check the Leave app running in notification area when the window is closed option.

From Preferences, you can also choose how you want the Slack icon to flash in the taskbar when a notification is received: Never, When left idle, or Always.

Note: The icon will stay in the taskbar if your preference is set to Always flash when a notification is received.

Reference: App icon notifications

Somnath Muluk
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    I was going out of my mind trying to figure out why I couldn't get Slack to remove itself from my task bar until I read your little note above. Thanks very much. – David Hancock Nov 16 '16 at 09:30
  • Yes, this is exactly what I'm searching for. Keep Slack running without show icon on taskbar when I minimize Slack. Thank you so much! – le hien Mar 04 '21 at 06:34
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I found the setting in File > Preferences > Windows App: "Leave app running in notification area when the window is closed" to be opposite of what I expected. When I unchecked the option, the icon appeared in the notification area. Once the icon appeared I could adjust the Notification Preferences to "Show icon and notifications".

David Crosby
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