Width of clock in Desktop notification area

Philip Goddard

New Member
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30
Location
Exeter, UK
I've made the in-place transition from Windows 7 to 8 with only a moderate number of glitches and infuriations to resolve, and one inconvenience that I still want to address is the excessive width allocated to the clock display at the right-hand end of the notification are in the Desktop (I use StartMenu X to completely bypass the Start Screen and boot straight into Desktop). The clock is taking up three times as much width as is required for its simple hh:ss display, and I would like to cut out that excess, or to fill the space with additional day / date information, but cannot find any means to do so. Does any nice person here have any useful ideas on this? -- Philip.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Nofan (Nofen) IcePipe A40-Z68
    CPU
    Intel Core i3 2125, nominal 3.30GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
    Sound Card
    Onboard sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ GW2760S
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 512MB and 1Tb SSD
    Cooling
    Fanless, heat pipe technology
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural
    Mouse
    Cirque Smart Cat Glidepoint touchpad
    Internet Speed
    Commonly 39Mbps down, 19.5Mbps up (Plusnet fibre optic)
    Browser
    Pale Moon, sometimes Chrome or IE
    Antivirus
    Comodo Antivirus (free) (HIPS disabled)
    Other Info
    A completely silent PC, with no fans.

    Other security software:
    Windows Firewall Control
    GlassWire Free
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Home (Premium)
    HitmanPro Alert
    Spyshelter Premium
    WinPatrol
    AnVir Task Manager

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Thank you for that, Shawn. It appears that the problem is that I am using minimum taskbar height with small icons (and I would not have it otherwise), and so I'm seeing only the time. It appears that Windows isn't intelligent enough to recognise that with small icons and minimal taskbar height the date is not being displayed, and so it is still 'displaying' the date to nobody at all, and is thus reserving extra width for the (invisible) date. I very slightly reduced the space wastage by setting the minimum-length format for the date, but that is not enough, for every bit of taskbar space is needed.

I guess my only way round this would be to turn off the Windows Clock display and install some third-party clock utility that shows the time in the notification area without wasting space. I'll now have a little search for such a utility. I don't want a display on the desktop space.

--
Philip.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Nofan (Nofen) IcePipe A40-Z68
    CPU
    Intel Core i3 2125, nominal 3.30GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
    Sound Card
    Onboard sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ GW2760S
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 512MB and 1Tb SSD
    Cooling
    Fanless, heat pipe technology
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural
    Mouse
    Cirque Smart Cat Glidepoint touchpad
    Internet Speed
    Commonly 39Mbps down, 19.5Mbps up (Plusnet fibre optic)
    Browser
    Pale Moon, sometimes Chrome or IE
    Antivirus
    Comodo Antivirus (free) (HIPS disabled)
    Other Info
    A completely silent PC, with no fans.

    Other security software:
    Windows Firewall Control
    GlassWire Free
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Home (Premium)
    HitmanPro Alert
    Spyshelter Premium
    WinPatrol
    AnVir Task Manager
Ah, I've found that the space wastage isn't as much as I thought, because about half the empty bit to the right of the clock display is actually the 'Show Desktop' spot, devoid of any icon to announce its presence. It might be difficult to find a system tray clock that displays just the minimum-length time with no space wastage and no additional data unless hovered over or clicked upon. Maybe the current slight space wastage will have to be lived with.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Nofan (Nofen) IcePipe A40-Z68
    CPU
    Intel Core i3 2125, nominal 3.30GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
    Sound Card
    Onboard sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ GW2760S
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 512MB and 1Tb SSD
    Cooling
    Fanless, heat pipe technology
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural
    Mouse
    Cirque Smart Cat Glidepoint touchpad
    Internet Speed
    Commonly 39Mbps down, 19.5Mbps up (Plusnet fibre optic)
    Browser
    Pale Moon, sometimes Chrome or IE
    Antivirus
    Comodo Antivirus (free) (HIPS disabled)
    Other Info
    A completely silent PC, with no fans.

    Other security software:
    Windows Firewall Control
    GlassWire Free
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Home (Premium)
    HitmanPro Alert
    Spyshelter Premium
    WinPatrol
    AnVir Task Manager
You're welcome. I'm not sure what else would work for that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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