How can I hide an application from the Windows taskbar?

TrayIt

Pitaschio

Auto Window Manager

TaskSwitchXP

Take your pick. They all minimize applications to the system tray. They're all free and work with Windows XP.

As of the April 2018 update, Windows 10 is now able hide windows from view without installing extra software. There are now Virtual Desktops that allow you to isolate specific windows to separate environments. Here's how you enable the feature to do as you desire:

Configure your Multitasking settings.

1. Open your Settings dialog
2. Search for Multitasking
3. Set the taskbar to only show the active desktop's windows

Move window to a different desktop

1. Press ⊞ Win+Tab ↹ keys together
2. Click the 'New Desktop' option at the top of the screen
3. Drag one of the open windows to the new desktop window
4. Click on Desktop 2 to switch to that desktop
5. Observe that the taskbar no longer shows the windows that are open on Desktop 1

Shortcuts

• ⊞ Win+Tab ↹ = opens the Virtual Desktop management screen
• CTRL+⊞ Win+D = create and move to a new desktop
• CTRL+⊞ Win+→ = move to the next desktop
• CTRL+⊞ Win+← = move to the previous desktop
• CTRL+⊞ Win+F4 = close the current desktop

Try the open-source tools Minime and RBTray to minimize a Windows application to the system tray and hide it from the taskbar.