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I just install TortoiseHg, to act as Mercurial client tool.

However, in my Vista, whenever I start, there is a TortoiseHg Overlay Icon Server at my notification bar.

Is quite annoying. What is the purpose of that? Can I disable it?

Cheok Yan Cheng
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2 Answers2

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The notification icon is part of a service* which gives us those handy icons on the corner of version-controlled files/folders. (The little icons demonstrate whether the file is "up-to-date", modified, etc.)

If you want to get rid of the icon:

  1. Right-click on Desktop
  2. Click on TortoiseHg->Explorer Extension Settings
  3. Click on Icons
  4. Uncheck Show Icon under Taskbar

enter image description here

My current setup is that I've disabled TortoiseHgOverlayServer from starting up with Windows through msconfig's Startup tab. (To run msconfig, press Windows+R, and type in msconfig.)

Then, when I want my icons to update, I right click on my project folder, and click on TortoiseHg->Update Icons. This starts TortoiseHgOverlayServer manually, and it'll only be there until you log off Windows.

*It's not really a Windows service, but it acts kinda like one, so...

Mateen Ulhaq
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It is the service, which modifies the icon in the explorer which showes when files are under version control and if they are changed. Let it do its work.

bernd_k
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    This is the only answer that bothers to answer the question of what it is. – David Rivers Jun 08 '11 at 16:06
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    Exactly. Also the tray icon TURNS GREEN when the process actually performs file-system monitoring and updates the overlay icons for files/folders. – jazzcat Oct 03 '11 at 07:26