Feature request: option to hide EQBuddy when EverQuest Legends isn't running

[Frankthetankk]

Summary

Add a toggleable Options setting to hide the EQBuddy overlay (and its chips) when the EQ Legends game process isn't running at all — not just when it's unfocused.

Context / why this is different from the existing toggle

EQBuddy already has "Hide when game unfocused," which hides the widget when you alt-tab to something else. That's useful, but by design it explicitly does NOT apply when the game isn't running — the widget stays visible all the time in that case. I understand the reasoning is probably to allow reviewing session history, drops, quests, etc. without the game open, but for players who just want the overlay gone entirely when they're not actively playing, there's currently no way to do that — the only options are manually closing EQBuddy each time, or leaving it running and visible indefinitely.

Suggested behavior

• A separate toggle (distinct from "Hide when game unfocused") — something like "Hide EQBuddy entirely when EverQuest Legends isn't running."
• Could reasonably combine with the existing option rather than being fully separate — e.g. "Hide when unfocused OR when the game isn't running" as one broader setting, if that's simpler to implement than two independent toggles. Open to whichever approach fits the existing settings model better.
• Presumably reuses the same "is eqgame.exe running" check the log-hygiene/truncation logic already does elsewhere in the app, so this shouldn't require new process-detection work.
• When the game launches again, the widget should reappear automatically the same way the existing hide/unhide behavior already works.

Motivation

Right now there's no easy way to get EQBuddy out of the way entirely between play sessions short of closing it — which then requires manually relaunching it later, versus just leaving it running and letting it hide/show itself based on whether the game is actually open.

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EQBuddy 1.69.0 · Windows 19045

[DranakCorps-bot]

Built — coming in the next update (queued behind our usual field-test pass). Thanks @Frankthetankk; you guessed the implementation right down to the process check we'd reuse.

It landed as a separate toggle, per your first suggestion: Options → Behavior → "Hide the widget while the game isn't running at all", right under the existing unfocused one. They compose — tick both and the overlay exists only while the game is focused. Both off by default; when the game launches again, everything comes back within a few seconds (the same 5-second process probe the unfocused hide already ran, so no new background cost).

Two behaviors worth knowing:

• EQBuddy's own windows having focus always overrides the hide. That's deliberate twice over: hiding the thing you're clicking reads as broken, and it's the escape hatch — with the game closed and the widget hidden, launch EQBuddy again (Start menu) and the running copy surfaces so you can browse session history or untick the option. Quit interacting and it tucks itself away again.
• Chips, breakout windows, and the alert tile all follow the widget, same as the unfocused hide.

Verified by automation actually clicking it: toggle on → setting persisted → widget gone once another app had focus with no game running → toggle off → widget back. (Yes, we click things now instead of looking at screenshots — you know why.)

[DranakCorps-bot]

Now live in v1.70.0 - Options -> Behavior -> "Hide the widget while the game isn't running at all." Let us know how it behaves in real use.

[Frankthetankk]

Bug/feature request: EQBuddy disappears from the Windows taskbar when hidden (unfocused)

What I'm seeing

When EQ Legends is unfocused, EQBuddy's widget correctly hides itself as designed — but the EQBuddy entry in the Windows taskbar disappears along with it. There's no visible indication in the taskbar that EQBuddy is still running in the background.

My current settings (screenshot attached)

• ✅ "Hide the widget while the game is running but not focused" — CHECKED
• ⬜ "Hide the widget while the game isn't running at all" — UNCHECKED
• ✅ "Keep EQBuddy above fullscreen overlays (Lossless Scaling and k...)" — CHECKED

Since the "not running" toggle is off, this is specifically the unfocused-hide behavior causing the taskbar entry to vanish, not the newer not-running toggle from #114.

Why this seems like a problem

The taskbar entry is normally how a user confirms "is this program still open?" without needing to check Task Manager. Right now, when the widget hides due to being unfocused, there's no way to tell at a glance that EQBuddy is actually still running — it looks, from the taskbar's perspective, like the program has closed entirely. I don't think EQBuddy should disappear from the taskbar under any circumstance while it's actually running, even while the widget itself is intentionally hidden from view.

Not sure if this is a deliberate design choice, a side effect of how the hide feature suppresses the window, or a genuine oversight — flagging it either way since it doesn't feel like expected behavior for a program that's supposed to still be running in the background.

Suggested behavior

The widget itself can still hide/fade/whatever the current design intends — but the taskbar entry (and presumably system tray, if that's used) should stay present and clickable the whole time EQBuddy is actually running, regardless of whether the overlay is currently shown or hidden.

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EQBuddy 1.70.0 · Windows 19045

[DranakCorps-bot]

Built — coming in the next update. You're right that it wasn't a deliberate choice: hiding the window takes its taskbar entry with it (that's just how Windows treats hidden windows), and nothing else existed to say "still running."

The fix is the one you guessed at: a system tray icon, present the entire time EQBuddy runs — hidden widget or not. Left-click surfaces the widget (it then stays visible while you're interacting with it, same rule the hide logic already honors); right-click has Show / Options / Exit. Windows tucks new tray icons into the hidden-icons overflow by default, so look behind the ^ chevron first — drag it onto the visible tray if you want it permanent.

We considered forcing the taskbar entry to persist instead, but a hidden window with a live taskbar button is its own kind of lie ("click me!" — click does nothing visible where you clicked), and the tray is the Windows-native home for "running in the background." If the tray icon doesn't satisfy the "is it still open?" glance in practice, say so and we'll revisit.

[DranakCorps-bot]

Now live in v1.72.0: the hide-when-not-running toggle plus a tray icon so a hidden EQBuddy is always one click away. Thanks again Frankthetankk.

[Frankthetankk]

No strong opinion here myself — the tray icon works fine for me and I don't mind either way. But I could see it mattering more for someone who relies on the taskbar as their primary "is this still running" check and doesn't think to look in the tray overflow. Since you already have a toggle for the not-running hide, might be worth exposing tray-vs-taskbar as its own toggle too, so players who prefer one or the other can pick — rather than picking a single default for everyone. Not a strong ask either way, just flagging it since you left the door open on it.

[DranakCorps-bot]

Noted, and filed as a real (small) item rather than lost: tray-vs-taskbar as its own toggle for the hidden-when-not-running state. Your framing of who it matters to is the useful part — someone whose "is it still running" check is the taskbar, not the tray overflow — so that's how it's written down. Not scheduled against anything yet; it's honestly low on the pile, which matches your "not a strong ask either way".

— Dranak (Claude Code)