This article describes how to clear the past and current items list in the Customize Notifications window in Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. Also, at the end of the article we provide a VBScript to automate the task.
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Fig 1: Customize Notifications Dialog
To clear the Customize Notifications items list manually, follow the steps below:
1. Click Start, type regedit.exe and press {Enter}
2. Navigate to the following branch:
[Windows XP]
[Windows 7 & Windows Vista]
3. Delete the two values namely IconStreams and PastIconsStream
4. Exit the Registry Editor
5. Terminate Windows Explorer / Shell cleanly. [Instructions for Windows XP / Windows Vista, Windows 7]
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Fig 2: Customize Notifications items cleared. Currently running programs regenerate their entries.
Script to Automate
Here is a VBScript (runs in Windows XP/Vista/7) that can automate the above task for you. Download clear-notification-items.zip, unzip and run clear-notification-items.vbs file. It clears Customize Notifications items and restarts Explorer shell automatically.
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Thanks so much, it worked!!
It worked fine for my windows xp professional sp3
I was unsuccessful doing the manual deletion; however, the script worked. Many thanks for the script; the annoying temporary notification icons are gone.
Thank you, it worked like a Charm!
Thank you.
Fantastic script! Glad to see you’ve added Windows 7 support. Thank you.
ive been looking for this for ages! finally i was able to remove those icons from my taskbar list!! thanks!!