Keyboard Express is designed to run in the background. It is not necessary to have the program displayed in order to play back a macro. Just press a hotkey to play back the macro without Keyboard Express being displayed. But there are times when the program window needs to be open, such as to create or edit a new macro. There are several options for activating Keyboard Express from its hidden mode. These are described below.
 

Keyboard Express - Explorer > Options > Preferences > Activation
 
Activation Options 

Display icon in Notification Area 
This option will place a Keyboard Express icon in the Windows notification area (system tray). Left mouse click on the icon to activate the Keyboard Express - Explorer window. Right mouse click on the icon to activate a menu of program options.
 

Show macro running status

Choose to display the "Running Man" icon in the system tray during the execution of a macro. It signals that a macro playback is in progress.

 

HotKey to enable/disable Keyboard Express

Use a hotkey to disable or enable Keyboard Express. Disabling the program prevents a macro from running if a hotkey or shortkey is typed. This may be desirable when using an application that does not require Keyboard Express. Press the default hotkey of Pause to disable Keyboard Express. Press Pause again to enable the program.

The hotkey may be changed to another combination if preferred. Choose from several other combinations available in the drop down menu.

An alternative to using the hotkey is to right mouse click on the Keyboard Express icon in the system tray. Left click on the Suspend Keyboard Express or Resume Keyboard Express menu item. The system tray icon displays a circle with a line through it when the program is disabled.
 

  
Activation Key 

Typically when Keyboard Express is running, the Keyboard Express - Explorer window is not displayed. Choose from one of several ways to activate and display the Keyboard Express - Explorer window.

 

Notification Area Icon Only

With this option selected, the only way to activate and display Keyboard Express would be to left mouse click on the icon in the system tray. In order to use this option, first select the Place in Notification Area option which is mentioned previously in this topic.

 

HotKey Combinations

The remaining options use a hotkey combination to activate and display Keyboard Express. Select the hotkey combination preferred. When Keyboard Express is minimized, press the hotkey and the program window displays. The hotkey combinations may be used in conjunction with the "Display icon in notification area" option.