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A lot of the Windows style guidelines refer to 'Desktop Presence' in various places, e.g. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dn742496(v=vs.85).aspx', but it's never defined anywhere that I can see.

Is there a definition for what exactly they mean by this?

Is it the presence of a normal window on the screen throughout the execution of the application? Do apps that occasionally appear on screen (with dialogs or notifications), but are predominantly hidden count? What about applications you can interact with on the desktop but only on demand, e.g. the wireless network connection menu?

Tim Perry
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    The definition is right there at the top of the article. "The taskbar is the access point for programs displayed on the desktop, even if the program is minimized. Such programs are said to have desktop presence." In other words desktop presence means "Displays a taskbar button, even when minimized." – Raymond Chen Sep 15 '14 at 18:03
  • Ah, yes, I totally missed that somehow I'm afraid! I'd been looking in totally different places. Do you want to put that as answer below, and I'll accept it? – Tim Perry Sep 15 '14 at 18:23

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Found an ok answer in the article I initially linked to, in the end (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dn742496(v=vs.85).aspx):

"The taskbar is the access point for programs displayed on the desktop, even if the program is minimized. Such programs are said to have desktop presence."

Tim Perry
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