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Sélection dynamique

Dynamic selection lets gohide pick windows automatically by program name, window title or window class, instead of ticking each app by hand. It's built for programs that spawn windows on the fly — File Explorer (a separate window per folder), a web browser, an image viewer that opens a window per image, anything that pops fresh windows while you work. Define a rule once and every matching window — now and in the future — is hidden the instant it appears.

Dynamic selection is a Pro feature.

How matching works

A rule matches windows in one of three ways:

  • Program name — every window a program opens, from the moment it launches. Type the name without folder or .exe: Discord hides every Discord window, Steam every Steam window. This is the one to reach for when you think "hide that app", because a program name never changes while titles do.

  • Title contains — any window whose title contains your text (case-insensitive). Browser windows carry the browser name in their title bar, so Edge or Chrome hides every window of that browser; Down would catch a File Explorer window showing your Downloads folder. Don't include quotation marks.

  • Window class (exact) — any window whose class name equals one you list (case-insensitive). Use this to catch all of one app even when its titles differ — e.g. CabinetWClass for File Explorer, or Chrome_WidgetWin_1 for Chrome / Edge.

To match several things at once, separate them with a semicolon (;):

Discord;Steam;Telegram
Edge;ACDSee;Photoshop
CabinetWClass;Chrome_WidgetWin_1

Wildcards: * and ?

Any pattern can use * (any run of characters) and ? (exactly one character). A pattern with a wildcard is matched against the whole title, class or program name rather than as a substring, so you can anchor it:

  • Slack | * — only windows whose title starts with "Slack | " (a plain Slack would also catch an email titled "Re: Slack").
  • *Private* — any window with "Private" anywhere in its title.
  • Telegram* as a program name — Telegram and any helper whose name starts with it.

A pattern without * or ? behaves exactly as before, so older rules keep meaning what they always meant.

Create a rule

  1. Open Settings → Dynamic selection.
  2. Click Add program rule (the usual choice — "hide Discord"), Add title rule or Add class rule. You can still switch the kind under Match by in the dialog. (Before 5.5.4 there was no program button: pick either of the others and choose Program name under Match by.)
  3. Enter your patterns (semicolon-separated, wildcards allowed). The Test button shows how many open windows match right now — handy for checking a pattern isn't too broad.
  4. Optionally choose what happens while hidden — keep running, suspend the process, or mute it — and whether to hide the tray icon too.
  5. Press OK. The rule takes effect immediately — every matching window disappears at once.

A rule is a condition, not a switch

The moment you press OK the rule is working; there is no button left to press. gohide hides every window that matches right now, and a live monitor keeps watching: any new window that matches — a browser pop-up, a freshly opened document, the main window of a program that launched itself — is hidden the moment it appears.

The only way to bring those windows back is to remove the rule (or use Edit to narrow its patterns so they no longer match). Each row in the list shows how many windows that rule is currently hiding, and the Hidden right now list (the Hidden button on the toolbar, or Hidden right now… in the tray menu) shows exactly which windows — with their titles — so a rule that turned out too broad is easy to spot.

A dynamic rule takes priority over everything else. For as long as the rule exists, its windows stay hidden — even if you press Show all or the panic-restore hotkey. This is deliberate: it lets you keep a class of windows permanently out of sight while still using show-all for everything else. It is also why a rule has no hotkey of its own — a hotkey that revealed those windows would contradict the design.

Auto-hide a startup program after every reboot (Pro)

A signature use of gohide Pro: some program launches itself at every Windows logon — a chat client, a download manager, a game or store launcher — and you'd rather it never appear. Dynamic selection can keep it hidden automatically, with no clicks after the first setup.

In the registered (Pro) edition your rules are saved (encrypted, bound to your license). Turn on Start gohide automatically when I sign in to Windows (Settings → Startup) so gohide itself returns with Windows, elevated and with no UAC prompt. Then:

  1. Create a rule that matches the program (by title or class).
  2. After every Windows (or gohide) restart, gohide comes back, re-applies the rule, and the program is hidden the moment its window appears — you never even see it flash.

It doesn't matter whether the program starts before or after gohide: gohide hides matching windows that are already open at startup, and keeps a live monitor running for windows that appear later, so either order is covered.

Tips

  • Substrings are powerful but broad — Down also matches "Download" or "Countdown". A rule applies the instant you confirm it, so check the Test count first — or use a more specific phrase — to avoid hiding a whole screenful at once. If you do overshoot, go back to Settings → Dynamic selection and remove the rule; the windows come back.
  • Class matching is exact, so it never over-matches the way a title substring can. Use a tool like Spy++ or rely on the Test count to find the right class name.
  • gohide never matches Windows shell processes or itself, so system windows are safe.

Free vs Pro

Dynamic selection is part of gohide Pro, along with process suspend, the privacy cover, mouse and hot-corner triggers, unlimited apps and a PIN lock for Settings. Hiding windows, taskbar buttons and tray icons by hotkey is free for up to 3 apps, with no time limit — download gohide and try it first. Pro is a one-time purchase with free updates, no subscription. See pricing.