We’re replacing the notification area (popularly known as the “[[http://standards.freedesktop.org/systemtray-spec/latest/|system tray]]”) with a series of status menus.

Some of these are system-centric menus: the [[TimeAndDate|clock menu]], [[MessagingMenu|messaging menu]], [[SoundMenu|sound menu]], [[BatteryStatusMenu|battery status menu]], [[KeyboardMenu|keyboard menu]], and so on. Others are application-centric menus, using a D-Bus API based on the [[http://www.notmart.org/misc/statusnotifieritem/|Status Notifier]] specification.

Ubuntu developers are organizing this transition, with Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10 and Ubuntu 11.04 as targets. 

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== Why are we doing this? ==

The notification area is a chronic mess of redundant and inconsistent items, and cannot realistically be fixed without changing the API. For more details, see “[[http://design.canonical.com/2010/04/notification-area/|Farewell to the notification area]]”.

== My program uses the notification area. What should I do? ==

Sometimes, the appropriate replacement is a custom status menu (“application indicator”), but often it is not. See CustomStatusMenuDesignGuidelines for our recommendations.

If you do need a custom menu, see [[DesktopExperienceTeam/ApplicationIndicators]] for sample code.

== How can I help? ==

Many programs use or refer to the notification area or “tray”. Help us compile a list of these programs, report bugs, and fix them, at [[/CompatibilityFixes]].