Microsoft KB Archive/214655

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PRB: Closed Application Appears As Gray Box in Taskbar

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Q214655

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Win32 Software Development Kit (SDK), on platform(s):
 * Microsoft Windows 95
 * Microsoft Windows 98
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

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SYMPTOMS
After an application closes, the taskbar is not updated and it still contains a gray box (without the window caption or icon). If you click the gray box, it disappears.

CAUSE
This problem occurs because the application has changed the window styles that affect the visibility in the taskbar.

For example, if the window changes its extended style to include WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW style and fails to reset the extended style before closing the window, the taskbar shows a gray button.

RESOLUTION
If you experience this behavior, reset the styles of the window or call ShowWindow with SW_HIDE for the application's main window while processing WM_CLOSE or WM_DESTROY to fix the problem.

STATUS
This behavior is by design.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbOSWinNT400 kbSDKPlatform kbOSWin95 kbOSWin98 kbWndw

Issue type : kbprb

Technology : kbWin32SDKSearch kbAudDeveloper kbSDKSearch kbWin32sSearch