Local taskbar visible during remote desktop fullscreen

When I do remote desktop fullscreen connection on Windows 10 local host to Windows 7 remote host, the local task bar will not get covered by the RDP window as it used to be. It remains visible on top and the only help is to set the local taskbar to auto-hide. It overlays and hides the remote taskbar.

It had started to happen after some update, not sure which one, perhaps the Creators update.

I use shortcut on desktop, tried various settings but without any success.

How can I make the local taskbar hidden behind the RDP fullscreen window? (and not visible on top of the remote desktop fullscreen window rendering the remote taskbar unavailable?)

Vojtěch Dohnal

Posted 2017-08-21T14:26:09.737

Reputation: 2 586

Does this answer help? It seems pretty similiar to your issue.

– Tim G. – 2017-08-21T14:52:31.180

1@TimmyJim not at all. I have RDP fullscreen, so I do not have the linked issue at all. Only taskbar is on top and not behind RDP window, that is the problem. – Vojtěch Dohnal – 2017-08-21T15:17:35.020

Answers

I have figured it out today using a hint from this discussion.

"Thanks Tony, that means a program has raised the MustBeSeen system flag. Typically this is a program that needs your attention, like antivirus or backup program that has some message it's waiting to tell you. It is almost always a program icon near the clock in the notification area. Once you clear the MustBeSeen flag by addressing the program, the taskbar will hide again.

As a best practice suggestion, hit Ctrl+Shift+Escape and disable anything on the Startup tab you don't need autorunning. That limits how many things load there, and lessens how many programs can raise the MustBeSeen flag."

There must have been something in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update that's changed the way how the taskbar overlays work and so seems to be causing it.

So I have closed all my apps running in the background with notification icon and the problem went away.

Here is a link to the quoted answer.

Vojtěch Dohnal

Posted 2017-08-21T14:26:09.737

Reputation: 2 586

1So this bug is not going to be fixed? I use RDP often and this often happens, making fullscreen work on the remote computer very annoying. – comodoro – 2017-12-27T16:15:41.717

2This is a horrible mis-feature of windows. I am going to switch to using Linux as my host operating system and then remote into windows and VMs, because Microsoft can't make a useable home base for me in windows. I can't stop stupid programs from raising this flag. – Warren P – 2018-01-10T17:47:56.713

I think it is "by design feature" that got into windows as they try to make one Windows for PCs, tablets and phones. Unfortunately it makes the desktop OS less usable. – Vojtěch Dohnal – 2018-01-11T07:49:01.087

It was Outlook that was causing this problem for me! Got a feeling they have a lot of temps working at MS nowadays :-D – 3-14159265358979323846264 – 2018-09-19T13:22:59.803

In my case, it was that the battery was running low + some apps stopped working, and consequently the Windows Security Center had "Actions Recommended." – Kim – 2019-03-28T23:00:26.287

Anyone knows some tool which would be able to identify which app actually set this flag? – Joerg S – 2020-02-22T11:12:25.293

Seems like this doesn't work here. I closed all applications which were either present in the notification area or in the task bar itself. Plus I read and removed all the messages shown in the Windows Action Center. Still doesn't want to show me the task bar of the remote system. Probably anyone got a clue? – Joerg S – 2020-02-22T11:22:42.970

Try restarting explorer.exe process as mentioned in fixing remote desktop taskbar

Jikku Joseph John

Posted 2017-08-21T14:26:09.737

Reputation: 421

Restarting it tends to only fix the problem for an hour or so in my case, or until the MustBeSeen flag is triggered again. – user2924019 – 2018-02-12T11:42:34.840

Better use the link to the superuser q&a than to that blog - http://superuser.com/questions/495871/taskbar-disappears-over-remote-desktop-connection-when-outside-local-network

– Vojtěch Dohnal – 2018-04-18T05:21:31.903

@Vojtěch Dohnal, that question is not for the same issue. – M Granja – 2019-01-15T14:07:29.640

@MGranja It is not but the blog the answerer quotes quotes one answer to that question. – Vojtěch Dohnal – 2019-01-15T14:26:24.310

I have Snagit on my home computer. If I open it (or it's a startup program), the taskbar of my home computer overlaps the taskbar of my remote computer. If I close Snagit on my home computer side, viola! Problem solved. Find the program running on the non-remote computer that is forcing its way into the foreground, then, "FINISH HIM!"

Nick Dupont

Posted 2017-08-21T14:26:09.737

Reputation: 11

I had the same issue, and decided to try the remove the "I need to be seen" task. But I just right clicked on the icons and then clicked on "remove from taskbar" I kept the ones that I know have been there before the problem and removed the others. After I did that I could see my remote desktop taskbar!

Shay

Posted 2017-08-21T14:26:09.737

Reputation: 1