topic Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows? in Collaboration Applications

Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

tomr000011 — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:28:04 GMT

Is there any way to prevent WebEx from making its windows taskbar icon start flashing an alert every time the presenter changes slides?

I hope this isn't news to Cicso, but many people perform other tasks while watching a presentation in the background. It's very disruptive to have the taskbar constantly pop up and start flashing for attention. For example, in the course of typing this question, I've had to stop and dismiss a webex alert four times. Please, please, please, if this feature isn't currently in webex, consider adding it soon.

Make that five times. Ok, sixth time while I was fixing a spelling error.

Thanks.

This is a real problem. Very

b dozer — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 17:18:44 GMT

This is a real problem. Very annoying. Well, maybe when it decided it needs to take focus (especially while typing) is worse...

Please fix this obnoxious

cisco — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 17:28:29 GMT

Please fix this obnoxious behavior! I need a way to disable the taskbar coming back onto my screen and the icon flashing over my windows because somebody joined/left the meeting! Turn it into a config setting or get rid of the notification altogether.

Please Cisco. This is a

mr2502101 — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 16:04:00 GMT

Please Cisco. This is a frustrating user experience for me. I have tried everything. Hide the participants panel (it keeps coming back), minimize the panel, it reopens. All of it causes the flashing on the toolbar. It is a useless distraction. Please change it.

Another vote to please fix

skipdouglas20011 — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 19:32:14 GMT

Another vote to please fix this ridiculous behavior. Other programs that blink on the taskbar will at least stop after a while. WebEx blinks both the taskbar and the program window forever until I return mouse focus to it, even when there is NOTHING that requires interaction or viewing. It's incredibly annoying that WebEx refuses to let us background it on the screen or move the window to a second monitor while we listen to conferences. Beginning a Google search for "stop webex" results in multiple search suggestions at the top related to this problem; clearly lots of people are looking for fixes or workarounds even if they're not posting here.

Hear, hear. Very annoying.

thombrooks — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 14:19:22 GMT

Hear, hear. Very annoying. Even if it's on, make it a preference we can disable, please.

+1

Adam T — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 15:48:23 GMT

Just ridiculous and annoying.

Edit:

Attached is a script in PowerShell to fix the issue temporarily.

REVIEW ALL CODE BEFORE YOU RUN IT OFCOURSE

Agreed. This is so

Jason Lingohr — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 23:37:45 GMT

Agreed. This is so unbelievably idiotic!

I cannot comprehend why anyone would think this was a good idea.

This is really pissing me off

twiggles — Wed, 03 May 2017 17:48:23 GMT

This is really pissing me off to the point that I'll recommend other solutions moving forward.

Created an account just to

JasonMaitlen — Thu, 25 May 2017 18:35:18 GMT

Created an account just to say the same thing, please fix this!

Yes! I've just started using

mats.bjur — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 12:38:00 GMT

Yes! I've just started using WebEx, and this feels like a throw-back to the 90's. It is extremely annoying to get your text typing interrupted by windows shifting focus away from the application you might be using.

Please fix!

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

jrodriguez@vocera.com — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:25:57 GMT

This is driving me crazy!

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

lindsey.statler@polaris.com — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 13:48:18 GMT

This is so annoying! Cisco, why have you not created a solution for this yet!?

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

ni0h — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 19:02:37 GMT

I am a unix admin. On conferences, I am usually called upon to perform tasks... as root, on production systems. For all you button-pushers out there, that means in text, on the commandline, most of the time. Except right after I log in, or have just run clear, the cursor is usually at the bottom of the screen, and every time a different person speaks on the call, and at other times with no action I can discern, the taskbar pushes up and hides what I am typing. I'm an exceptional typist, but I read every command I'm running twice before entering - immediately, then again after clearing my mind of the task so I can read the command as if I were the shell running it. Having to flip back and forth to and from webex to get the bottom of my screen back is a significant irritant.... akin to reading a newspaper and having somebody smack the back side of the paper every few seconds. I have frequently signed off conferences, done my work, and signed back in, because of this malicious feature. Please let us make it stop.
I always advocate for gotomeeting when there's a choice, because of this, but so many vendors prefer webex.

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

EricArellano — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 16:03:42 GMT

This is the stupidest "feature" yet Cisco! Please, please fix this. Windows should have a way to turn off ANY app from flashing the taskbar, if it does please let me know. But shame on Cisco for not being better

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

laurameowcole — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 20:32:35 GMT

I have a semi-solution (which applies to all applications, not just WebEx) that limits the number of times a taskbar icon will flash --albeit, the WebEx application seems to flash anew every time someone joins/leaves, the presenter clicks on something, or WebEx senses my annoyance level returning to baseline -- but it involves editing the Registry so do this at your own risk.

Microsoft's instructions (full path below)

In regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

change ForegroundFlashCount (which defines number of times icon flashes) to a fewer number than 7

Note: I've seen mixed information about the values 0 and 7; 7 is the default Win10 value but some sources say 7 makes the flashing "infinite", 0 makes it "infinite", or 0 turns flashing off entirely. I've set mine to 1 but feel free to experiment (don't forget to restart explorer.exe to see regedit changes go into effect).

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-start/how-to-stop-icons-from-flashing-on-the-taskbar/6c7c443b-3610-4ea2-a646-eea85ada007c?auth=1

ATTN Cisco: I should not have to hack my registry to maintain a healthy stress level. Please consider this issue a high priority and either remove flashing or enable the user to choose which triggers will cause the application to flash.

VERY Annoying!!

goldchain — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 15:16:30 GMT

I've used WebEx forever, and I can't tell you how much I love it compared to other conferencing solutions. However, the fact it tries to steal attention and flashes the taskbar anytime there's a change in slide, or speaker in WebEx is VERY tiresome and completely unnecessary. It provides ZERO value to have the taskbar icon flash. I auto-hide my taskbar, and WebEx constantly keeps my taskbar unhidden, which then covers other apps dialog boxes (Try typing a message in full-screen WebEx Teams (where your typing box is at the bottom of the screen) while the taskbar is constantly being unhidden by WebEx. You can't do it!)

Cisco this can NOT be rocket science to fix, and it needs to be fixed. Period. There is ZERO reason for this to happen.

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

DavidHolshouser59456 — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 19:25:02 GMT

This thread was started 08-26-2015.

Does anyone thing Cisco has any intention of ever fixing this?

NOPE!

I created an account I'll never use just to register this complaint.

Seriously!!!

This tool has so many stupid annoyances, this is a business decision to be as bad as possible to the actual people using the tool.

HATE!!! Wish my company had chosen something else.

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

MattWhatever14647 — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 17:11:39 GMT

I tried searching for a setting to change this behavior and this thread is the first hit. It is disappointing to find that changes to this behavior have been requested since 2015 with no response from Cisco.

Re: Stoping flashing WebEx taskbar icon on Windows?

jchi — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 17:08:40 GMT

Hey, this was posted five years ago and nothing has been done. Do they pay attention at all? This is incredibly annoying, fix this garbage.