Turn off notification area cleanup
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
Path in the GPO console
User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar Description
This setting affects the notification area, also called the "system tray." The notification area is located in the task bar, generally at the bottom of the screen, and it includes the clock and current notifications. This setting determines whether the items are always expanded or always collapsed. By default, notifications are collapsed. The notification cleanup << icon can be referred to as the "notification chevron." If you enable this setting, the system notification area expands to show all of the notifications that use this area. If you disable this setting, the system notification area will always collapse notifications. If you do not configure it, the user can choose if they want notifications collapsed.
Registry
HKCU
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer Value name: NoAutoTrayNotify
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_StartMenu/NoAutoTrayNotify Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Turn off notification area cleanup
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoAutoTrayNotify"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off notification area cleanup
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NoAutoTrayNotify' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_StartMenu/NoAutoTrayNotify
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off notification area cleanup
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer' -Name 'NoAutoTrayNotify' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off notification area cleanup
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NoAutoTrayNotify' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off notification area cleanup
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off notification area cleanup
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer' -Name 'NoAutoTrayNotify' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off notification area cleanup
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NoAutoTrayNotify' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.