remove shortcut arrows on icons windows 10

So interestingly enough, i got this to work on my desktop, but my laptops icons have the black square issue. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Cheers anyway (-: Lenovo's Surface-like IdeaPad Duet 3i packs the Intel N-series CPU but you won't find it in the US, Lenovo's new ThinkPad Z13 features a woven Flax cover made from plant fibers, Lenovo ditches old haptic touchpad tech for Sensels FusionUX stack heres why its a big deal. I appreciate you sharing. Please help and I will be waiting for your kind reply. To do so right-click the Explorer key in the left pane, then select New > Key and name it Shell Icons. You might already have a subkey named Shell Icons. How to Remove Shortcut Arrow Overlay on Windows 10, How to Center Taskbar Icons in Windows 10, How to Fix Boot Manager Is Missing in Windows 10, How to See Saved Items on Facebook Marketplace, How to Get Microsoft Teams Status Change Notifications. I hate how when I plug in a Bitlocker-protected external drive, the W10 notification category says "Calculator". Double-click the new 29 value and type (or copy and paste) the following into the Value data box to remove arrows from shortcut icons: Click OK and exit Registry Editor. A hack implies that you broke some defence/barrier that was preventing you from doing something. However, editing the Registry is risky since a single typo can corrupt your computer files and cause it to stop working, so you should make a backup before attempting anything. Sleeker, more powerful, and redesigned check out the new Lenovo ThinkPad X13 and X13 Yoga. Extract the BlankIcon folder to the root of the C drive. Rare footage of Blazblue actually getting a shoutout =) ;). 90% of the icons on my desktop are shortcut icons, and now I want to get rid of those arrows. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Any help would be appreciated. Extract the four files including Shortcut Arrow Icon - Remove.reg, Shortcut Arrow Icon - Restore.reg, and blank.ico. 5. That's a cool trick, although I'm not sure what the point of the desktop icons are when you can pin apps to start, taskbar, or search for them by name without having to minimize all your windows. I want to be able to tell if they are shortcuts or files on my desktop by glancing through them. Helpful tech how-tos delivered to your inbox every week! I followed steps. Like I said, everyone has their thing that bugs them. Did it work? Paste "%windir%\System32\shell32.dll,-50" in the Value Data field and click OK. So, download this zip file, open it, and extract the folder in it to the root of your C drive. Let's see how to do it. 2) Download and merge the .reg file for the lnk item in the table in option 2 of the tutorial below. This is not working for me, may it be I am on 64-bit OS? Remove the Shortcut Arrow Icon in Windows 10 & 11 contains the registry files and a blank.ico to remove or restore the shortcut arrow from your icons. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. 20 years as a technical writer and editor. In the Value data box enter (or copy and paste): %windir%\System32\shell32.dll,-50 and hit OK when done. Nevermind, I found a great reason for not using this method anymore. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Youll need to restart your computer (or log off and back on) to see the changes. Define "a lot of effort". If theres not, youll need to create it by right-clicking the Explorer folder icon, choosing New > Key, and naming it Shell Icons. It's mostly just a legacy from the days when Windows had a useful desktop metaphor, where real-world objects represented computer functions. No matter what method you use, you should be able to get exactly the icons you want with minimal fuss. Heres how it works. I had the same issue, I'm going to attempt to change the black squares to transparent ones. This literally takes a few minutes. No arrows that way :D, You can get rid of the Recycle Bin as well. Depends. This method is here for people who have not updated yet. I store all of my apps and such in the Start Menu but I have a backup of my music on my desktop and computer guff like Command Prompt and Notepad on the Desktop. One of the biggest changes in Windows 11 is the placement of the Start Menu on the taskbar. Type regedit in the text field, and then click OK to open Registry Editor. To open Run, press its designated Win + R keyboard shortcut. These methods should work in Windows 7, 8, and 10. If I see the arrow I know I can toast it and not lose an app. Not a good hack! Read: How to Center Taskbar Icons in Windows 10. Anytime you create a shortcut, it will automatically have an arrow icon overlay. Tools like this offer lots of tweaking options, so our advice is to go slow. Is there a way to just link the iTunes icon rather than the folder? The All Apps list looks messy with folders for programs. I'm with you here. Now, if they could just fix that annoying "Unspecified Error" in Explorer.exe - I'd be extremely happy! Make sure you watch what you say. Oh that's much better. Right click on \Explorer and using the dialog menu choose New > Key and name it Shell Icons. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). The concept and implementation works for me. Enter shortcut arrow icon in that websites search box to find more. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Clear instructions are presented in this article so I don't think the danger is that great, as long as you are able to follow instructions. I only have skype on my desktop so i uninstalled it and then reinstalled it and it worked but then when i shut down and restart the black blank space returns. How do I fix this? I mean, the whole reason for the start menu to return is habit. Is this just something left over from the Win 95/98 days that people just can't seem to adapt from? If you are not comfortable editing the registry, you can automate things with a .reg file. Step 1: Open Registry Editor on Windows. Click the Key option on the submenu. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. When you select that option, the Icons folder shown directly below will open from which you can select different arrows for the icon. because leaving it blank removes itcompletely, not justreplaces it witha transparecy icon that seems toget crappy black square after some time. Remove shortcut icons arrow in any windows 10 PC. To do so, reopen the Registry Editor, right-click the 29 string for the Shell Icons key, and select the Delete option. You need to scale up or down the icons on the desktop with CTRL + mouse wheel up or down. Move everything to you documents folder and hide desktop icons. In the Value data box enter C:\Windows\system32\BlankIcon.ico or the path where you saved your Blank Icon. I was looking for how to do this. Steps to Remove shortcut arrows by editing the Registry manually:-. You are the man. But try deleting the value that you put in step 7 and everything should be fine. Everything worked just fine but after a second shut down it just shows a blank black space instead. How to Add Icons to the Desktop in Windows 11, MakeUseOf MWC Awards 2023: The Best Tech in Show. Windows Central is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Certainly one of my annoyances as well. Yay! A crack is meant to bypass security. there is no icon so nothing wrong with it like with the way shown on the article. Wow you can do anything to Windows through the registry. The tiny black squares remain. There are some apps likes AVG PC TuneUp 2015 (opens in new tab), which I really like, that can do this and other things, in case you are interested. Everything can be taken wrongly if it's through text. Open the start menu, search for "Registry Editor," and click the result to open the Registry Editor. I use the arrows to differentiate a shortcut from an actual file. I get a white rectangle over some of my icons with this "fix". Press Windows + R keys to open Run. As an added precaution, create a system restore point too. Better to leave it or delete the key and wait for something that works. Do let me know in the comment section below. Very strange, especially because both systems have near identical settings. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. You can also do it manually through the Task Manager. Just to update, the solution with the folder AVG only works if you have AVG on your computer. Using the browser bar on the left, browser to the following path. Use Winaero Tweaker instead if thats the case. Although I like to keep docs/images or things I'm working on on the desktop, so even I'm guilty of it too. All rights reserved. I agree that the indication comes to rescue by differentiating it from the original file but aesthetics, as some would say, is also a real thing. Neither have arrows! For Windows 8, youll need UWT 3. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer. An example, iTunes. 10. I found a way to do it without black box or anything crappy shell32.dll crap that doesn't work after a restart or two. Aside from removing the arrow overlays, you can also change them to more appealing ones by selecting ShortcutArrow Changers Custom shortcut icon option. I always do that. I used to have the Recycle Bin on there, but I now turn that off as well. It's just one more option/place for people to put "stuff". Icons on the desktop are like putting your cloths in the living room. Since were about to make changes to the Registry, well toss out the obligatory warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and you can certainly change things that would render your system unstable or even inoperable. What does it do? Hey this is a nice tip, I don't have problem with those arrows actually but it's kinda neat to see shortcuts without them, thanks Dan! it is obviously easier to access a shortcut from the desktop rather than searching through menus. Vaibhav is a broadcast journalist with a keen interest in tech. Removing those little arrows requires a tweak to the Windows Registry, but there are a few different ways of going about it. Use ICO image file to hide the Arrow: I always knew you could edit things in the registry and have done so many times before. Also the wallpaper looks so good without all the junc I see some people put on there. Its the easiest way to get rid of the arrow overlay. The backup helps you restore the system if anything terrible happens. 2 Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor. Thank you. ShortcutArrow Changer is a freeware customization app that enables users to remove the shortcut icon arrows in Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7. Just use this string for the value on the 29 key you created: Then, once again, close Registry Editor and restart your computer to see the changes. You have a taskbar and a start menu. There was a problem. Even though the arrows are smaller than in some previous versions of Windows, they arent terribly attractive. Cool trick. Is there a reason the method you described would be preferred? Thanks for the tip, Daniel. but other users have difficulties, you know haha. Go one step further and don't have desktop icons at all! There are many ways and the easiest two ways are listed below. thx, This stumped me for a while, go to step 4 and simply delete the 29 file leaving the default one. Thanks!!! * like for example groove Music or VLC fom store wont play any song and in error i clearly stated something wrong with registry. Heres how to do it. Yea,actually this tweak is not like in other builds of Win7 and Xp. Lol at chacka chacka. Save it to the C:\Program Files (x86)\BTI Software House\ShortcutArrow Changer folder. The button will now be named "Restore Shortcut Arrows To Shortcut Icons." That's all it takes! Without the arrow overlay, you will be hard-pressed to find the difference between an actual file and a shortcut. But hey, it works for some people. Thanks. I do that in a roundabout way install CCleaner and pin that to your taskbar. Give it a name that suits you or add the current date and save. Click OK to bring up the Registry Editor. First of all it was because of those annoying little shortcut arrows, now it just looks messy with anything on it. Step 4: Name the new subkey "Shell Icons". So, right-click on the Explorer folder and select the New -> Key option. To hide Skype from the TaskBar, you have to go under Tools->Settings->Advanced. Click OK to bring up the Registry Editor. Right-click Shell icons then hover your mouse over New and click String Value. Thank you very much. In the right pane of the Shell Icons key, right-click on any empty area, and select New > String Value. I think doing a system backup is more effort. 1) Delete the 29 string value in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Icons key. Double click/tap on the 29 String Value to modify it. This registry change caused a problem in that it turned all my desktop shortcut icons into little black squares. I tried this and while the initial results were good, after a short amount of time I started getting black blocks on my desktop icons, and icons in my Start menu weren't appearing or only partially appearing - had to remove the reg key to fix it. And uncheck "Keep Skype on the taskbar While i'm connected".. Same thing happened to me. In fact, rows of icons just reminds me of iPhones and iPads now. You can leave the Shell Icons key in place. I was perfectly fine with those shortcut arrows until I read this article. You don't need to Restart. No harm done though everything is perfect now. Too bad MS dosen't have a current version of the MS Powertoy Tweak UI for W10 to expidite this process. Didn't read the article properly! All the fear of the registry seems kind of funny. Command Prompt looks more impressive without the stupid arrow haha. Just leave that box empty. Wellsince YOU are the one creating the shortcuts, one would expect that YOU know they are such. It looks like a real Window that shows just beautiful landscapes (soo peaceful). Name it 29 . There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. This did absolutely nothingto get rid ofmy shortcut arrows. Just changes a behaviour. For now, if you want a purer desktop with less clutter, just take the five minutes and make this registry change! That's what my library folders are for documents, music, pictures, etc. Download Remove the Shortcut Arrow Icon in Windows 10 & 11. If you have the October 2020 Windows update, version 20H2, this method will not work and there are currently no workarounds to remove these shortcut arrows from app icons. You can also use the Registry to bring back the oversized arrow from the Windows Vista days, just in case you like really ugly things. We all have pet peeves. Okay. Enjoy! Your IP: Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a11d38e9f2dcab5 And does anyone know how to fix it? If you are someone who does not even want to see the shortcut icon with the shortcut files, folders, and programs, then you can remove it too. A lot of effort for somehing I see only 3-4 times a month for a minute or two, I can't even remember the last time I actually clicked a desktop icon. So for that click the new 29 value and type the text given below into the "Value data" box and this would remove arrows from shortcut icons- %windir . He's authored or co-authored over 30 computer-related books in more than a dozen languages for publishers like Microsoft Press, O'Reilly, and Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Could you also do a tutorial on rearranging/reorganising the All Apps in the start menu. Guns are dangerous but you can learn to use them so you don't shoot yourself or someone by accident. Alternatively, move the arrows ICO file into that folder after downloading it. It has consistently beenone of the first things I would change on an XP (or newer) installation. The registry tree you provided it's true. And make win. Then you can select to add your downloaded arrow to shortcut icons with ShortcutArrow Changer. It also happens to be free and its a portable tool, so theres nothing to install. Ultimate Windows Tweaker automatically creates a system restore point for you when it starts, but if youre concerned about a tweak go ahead and back up your computer first. Click Continue when prompted. 14. Open Regedit Open Run Command by pressing Windows Key + R and Type regedit.exe. (1) Type in regedit into the Cortana/search box and (2) select regedit at the top, When prompted Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your PC? Yetserday I tried this and the icons on my desktop looked so good, but today they look like this. Many many thanks for the article. Someone who sees his desktop regularly and hates the little arrows would obviously be making a different calculation. However, this big box was removed with a small icon in Windows 11 to keep the interface clean. Restart your computer. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. 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