- 1 year ago
How to open and minimize external app to system tray in Qt
To open and minimize an external application to the system tray in a Qt application, you'll need to utilize the native functionality of the underlying operating system. Here's a general approach using the Qt framework:
Include necessary Qt headers: Include the necessary Qt headers in your source file:
cpp#include <QSystemTrayIcon>
#include <QMenu>
Create a system tray icon: Create an instance of
QSystemTrayIcon
and set the application icon:cppQSystemTrayIcon *trayIcon = new QSystemTrayIcon(this);
trayIcon->setIcon(QIcon(":/path/to/icon.png"));
Replace
":/path/to/icon.png"
with the path to the icon file you want to use.Create a menu for the system tray icon: Create a menu for the system tray icon that allows users to interact with the application. You can add actions such as "Open" and "Exit" to the menu:
cppQMenu *trayMenu = new QMenu(this);
trayMenu->addAction("Open", this, SLOT(show()));
trayMenu->addAction("Exit", QApplication::instance(), SLOT(quit()));
trayIcon->setContextMenu(trayMenu);
In this example, the "Open" action triggers the
show()
slot to bring the application to the foreground, and the "Exit" action triggers thequit()
slot to close the application.Minimize to system tray: When the application is minimized, hide the main window and show the system tray icon:
cppvoid MainWindow::changeEvent(QEvent *event) {
if (event->type() == QEvent::WindowStateChange) {
if (isMinimized()) {
hide();
trayIcon->show();
} else {
trayIcon->hide();
show();
}
}
QMainWindow::changeEvent(event);
}
This code overrides the
changeEvent
function of the main window to handle the window state change event. When the window is minimized, it hides the main window and shows the system tray icon. When the window is restored, it hides the system tray icon and shows the main window again.Handle system tray icon activation: Handle the activation of the system tray icon to show or hide the main window:
cppvoid MainWindow::trayIconActivated(QSystemTrayIcon::ActivationReason reason) {
if (reason == QSystemTrayIcon::Trigger) {
if (isHidden()) {
show();
activateWindow();
} else {
hide();
}
}
}
Connect the
activated
signal of the system tray icon to this slot:cppconnect(trayIcon, SIGNAL(activated(QSystemTrayIcon::ActivationReason)),
this, SLOT(trayIconActivated(QSystemTrayIcon::ActivationReason)));
This code handles the activation of the system tray icon. If the main window is hidden, it shows and activates the window. If the main window is visible, it hides the window.
Cleanup: Don't forget to clean up the memory by deleting the
QSystemTrayIcon
andQMenu
objects when they are no longer needed:cppdelete trayIcon;
delete trayMenu;
With these steps, you can open and minimize an external application to the system tray in a Qt application. Remember to adjust the code according to your specific requirements and integrate it into your Qt application appropriately.