Tray Service

In an attempt to keep the user experience as clean and unobtrusive as possible, many hardware manufacturers bundle proprietary features in the form of discrete services running in the background automatically on boot. While some consider them bloatware and worth disabling after hunting them down within the confines of the operating system, others find their tweaks compelling, but difficult to control without a proper graphical interface.

One example is Lenovo’s function key activation prompts, meant to replace the lack of dedicated physical light toggles on particular laptop models with a software equivalent. On one hand, their large size can be seen as a benefit for accessibility reasons. On the other hand, frequent use of the Caps Lock key and other modifiers can turn it into a nuisance.

With Tray Service, one can select the running process from a pop-up list and create a custom shortcut to it, featuring quick access to the ability to toggle its function depending on the current user’s preferences. As such, room-mates or siblings having to share a single computer for both school assignments and leisure activities can have an easier customizing the experience to suit each of their individual needs.