Thats all it takes! Yea,actually this tweak is not like in other builds of Win7 and Xp. but other users have difficulties, you know haha. You can leave the Shell Icons key in place. I followed steps. Had to reverse this. Wellsince YOU are the one creating the shortcuts, one would expect that YOU know they are such. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. Click OK to bring up the Registry Editor. because leaving it blank removes itcompletely, not justreplaces it witha transparecy icon that seems toget crappy black square after some time. Just changes a behaviour. Create a live tile or just an icon? The registry is one big database of configuration settings for Windows. After creating the string value, double-click on it. The location / process for changing this in the registry has not changed since XP either. For more resources, don't forget to check our Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks page. It takes up more than 75% of the icon, It has this giant black box when I first start up my computer, Then after an hour or so themysterious black box shows up again, but it stays there this time. Enter Shell Icons in the new key's text box. Click the small right-pointing arrow icon next to "SOFTWARE." Just createthe string valuename it 29 and leave the value datablank. I had larger icons too and had same problem, a bite square on icon :D Type the regedit Run command in the Open box. Do you have something easier? How to Remove Shortcut Arrows from Windows Shortcuts. and that's not always a good thing, it's very dangerous to mess with the registry, I only do it for important things, and this arrows thing is not one of them, if there isn't an option in the settings, then I consider it's not meant to be. Type or copy-paste HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer in given space in Registry Editor. Nice idea, though. Time to use this technique to remedy that! If you want to undo your edits, delete the file in your Registry called "29". Oh that's much better. He's written hundreds of articles for How-To Geek and edited thousands. The concept and implementation works for me. Use Winaero Tweaker instead if thats the case. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. I had that initally and then it turned transparent, incuding part of the icon. These hacks are really just the Shell Icon key we described above, exported to a .REG file. Command Prompt looks more impressive without the stupid arrow haha. Donot define the string value. ;), If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. Select the Shell Icons folder, right-click on the right panel and choose the New -> String Value option. You don't need to Restart. Open the application and scroll to the Shortcut tab from the side panel. It might be slightly simpler to remove arrows from desktop shortcut icons with third-party customization software. It worked - briefly. Running the hack adds the key to the Registry. I mean after editing the registry setting will it create a problem such as i need to restore my pc,,Cuzz i installed windows 10 on my pc. Aside from removing the arrow overlays, you can also change them to more appealing ones by selecting ShortcutArrow Changers Custom shortcut icon option. Choose an alternative icon there, click Open, and press the Apply button. What does it do? Just double-click the one you want to use, click through the prompts, and then restart your computer (or log off and back on). i was so happy when w8 came out with the start menu. I have tried what you advise, however it just makes the wwhole icon disapear. This is why the term 'FIRST WORLD PROBLEM' was created. 6. I get why it is there, at least for documents (you do not want to delete the original), but I think it makes less sense for apps. Steps of How To Remove Shortcut Arrows In Windows 10 Without Software 1. 209.236.71.63 This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. In the Value data box enter (or copy and paste): %windir%\System32\shell32.dll,-50 and hit OK when done. remove the shortcut arrow with a single click; set classic (XP-like) shortcut arrow with a single click; set ANY icon as the shortcut overlay; and of course, reset the shortcut arrow to its default icon. 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In the registry editor, copy the below path, paste it in the address bar, and press Enter. Registry Editor takes you to the target folder immediately. In the right pane of the Shell Icons key, right-click on any empty area, and select New > String Value. Click to reveal Too bad MS dosen't have a current version of the MS Powertoy Tweak UI for W10 to expidite this process. Any workaround? Removing the shortcut icon is something people like to have a cleaner Desktop, and it's easy to do. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Alternatively, move the arrows ICO file into that folder after downloading it. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a11d3581c7c1f55 The action you just performed triggered the security solution. It's an age where options are being removed for the sake of simplicity, and that is bad in my view. They'd see that Google Chrome shortcut on your desktop and think they've uninstalled it by dragging it in the Recycle Bin (which is what everyone should do with their Chrome shortcuts). I leave them the way they are. 2) Download and merge the .reg file for the lnk item in the table in option 2 of the tutorial below. Name the new file "29" then double-click it. Major Geeks for more than your General Needs. After a short adjustment period you'll be happy you did. You can remove shortcut icon arrows by adding a new Shell Icons key to the registry. with no value data. A hack implies that you broke some defence/barrier that was preventing you from doing something. Double click on 29, make sure the value is empty (it should still be, even if you're having a bug), and hit 'Okay'. Next, extract the remove_shortcut_arrow_icon.reg file. Way 2: Open Run dialogue box by pressing Windows + R, type regedit, and click OK. Today when I powered up my laptop, the arrow thingy was replaced by a black square. This is how you can disable shortcut icon arrows with ShortcutArrow Changer. That is it. This is the Icon we will use to remove the shortcut arrow icon in Windows 10 and 11. Last time when i changed the registry for dark theme, Apps were not accepting data from hard drives*.so i wont change it this time again and there is no defaults for registry as well. Everything can be taken wrongly if it's through text. 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. Use the method Daniel describes, not an old classic. I restarted explorer.exe and computer to check and everything was alright zoom it and zoom out icons. Sit in the library in the mornings before school finishing off any work, Yeah we've come along way I remember having to use login studio to skin vista whereas 7 had the option to do that. Do let me know in the comment section below. [don't have W10 yet]. Give it a name that suits you or add the current date and save. I hate how when I plug in a Bitlocker-protected external drive, the W10 notification category says "Calculator". Also the wallpaper looks so good without all the junc I see some people put on there. This easy step by step guide shows you how to get rid of them! For Windows 7, youll need UWT 2.2. Open up regedit (1) Type in regedit into the Cortana/search box and (2) select regedit at the top 2. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes! 12. I think doing a system backup is more effort. The All Apps list looks messy with folders for programs. Same thing happened to me. before making changes. But try deleting the value that you put in step 7 and everything should be fine. 90% of the icons on my desktop are shortcut icons, and now I want to get rid of those arrows. Next, select the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer within the Registry Editor's left navigation pane. Press Windows + R keys to open Run. This works! It's like the registry has no limit to it's reach throughout the OS. All three are included in the following ZIP file. hmmno one made any arrow to the knee joke.. lol, that's too oldalthough, in hindsight, it would have worked well here. Seems silly to me to install an app for something that takes < 5 minutes and for which you will likely never use again. Next, youre going to create a new value inside the Shell Icons key. all what i got after following these steps were black empty boxes instead of the arrow shortcuts. After that, double-click on the extracted file. To remove the shortcut arrow icon overlay, we need to edit the registry. Steps to Remove shortcut arrows by editing the Registry manually:-. Is this just something left over from the Win 95/98 days that people just can't seem to adapt from? Or if you have any questions, you can always count on our Windows 10 Forums at Windows Central for more help. If you are stuck in the process and need any help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible. I can't post a picture here Any solution to that? I used to have the Recycle Bin on there, but I now turn that off as well. Step 2: Navigate to the following key in Windows Registry Editor. I don't treat my desktop as if it is a folder to store things. OP should revise his post so that people stop running into this problem. . 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. After sucessful registry no shortcut lnk but blank black boxes in that places after sometimeSo everytime i had to restart explorer.exe. What Is the Windows Registry and How Do I Edit It? Press the folder icon on the taskbar to bring up Explorer. Extract the BlankIcon folder to the root of the C drive. (Don't really need it on the desktop.) All MS needs to do is allow pinning small livetiles (at the minimum) to the desktop and we can get rid off all of these hotchpotch, ancient app icons and shortcuts altogether. Icons on the desktop are like putting your cloths in the living room. Instead, we are going to show you how to do it the nitty gritty way through the registry. you know add in red "at your own risk" think, but that should also make it better for the users if they must use registry editor for some tip you give. You are the man. Click regedit and click Yes. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Looking for a way to fix it. I go even deeper with my irrational nitpick and remove all icons from my desktop. Name the New Folder as Shell Icons. Thank you very much. This is an irrational one to me. With the most recent Windows 10 update, this method no longer works and no fix has been discovered. And definitely back up the Registry(and your computer!) Thank you. I am so glad we have a start menu so i can pin my apps, they are so much better to look at. As you type, you'll see search results populate. 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. So, right-click on the Explorer folder and select the New -> Key option. What other visual cue does it have to tell you it's a shortcut? Wow, so easy to do, Vaibhav is a broadcast journalist with a keen interest in tech. I absolutely hate those pesky little arrows. Just to update, the solution with the folder AVG only works if you have AVG on your computer. Tried this - on my machines the shortcuts disappeared - but were replaced by a square black box ! 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. I never understand why people put icons, not to mention folders on their desktop, it makes it so ugly and chacka chacka ( untidy ). East or West Daniel is the best. He has more than 30 years of experience in the computer industry and over. Not a good hack! FYI, you'll have to restart the computer after making the change, as this setting is in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry hive. All the fear of the registry seems kind of funny. Due to security reasons, we are not posting or linking some home-made .exe files that people have created to automate this task. The desktop is where I open and used my apps not for pining icons. Enjoy! there is no icon so nothing wrong with it like with the way shown on the article. The black box is far worse than the shortcut arrow. Download Remove the Shortcut Arrow Icon in Windows 10 & 11. The start menu does it all. Cool trick. 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. I was perfectly fine with those shortcut arrows until I read this article. So interestingly enough, i got this to work on my desktop, but my laptops icons have the black square issue. This restores the arrow icon. :), Took two minutes, tops. i'm sure he must have received complaints thats why this time it is there now. Nitty gritty way through the registry has no limit to it 's an age where options are being removed the... Term 'FIRST WORLD PROBLEM ' was created have created to automate this task places after sometimeSo i. Your computer the change, as this setting is in the right panel and choose the new - > option... 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