If you want to remove the shortcut arrows from Windows XP desktop icons, you’ll need to check out my post on tweaking Windows XP using Tweak UI for XP. I also tried to run this program on Windows XP, but it didn’t allow me to. Your arrows should either be gone or be reduced in size. ![]() Now go ahead and log off your computer and log back on. You can also check the box at the bottom, which will remove the word “ shortcut” when you create new shortcuts on the desktop. ![]() Choose one of the four options from the list and click Apply. You can either shrink the arrow size for the arrow shortcuts or remove them altogether from your icons. The program is very simple to use and does it’s one job very well. The only downside is that it only works on 32-bit versions of Windows. This little freeware application is by no means a stunning piece of software with loads of features, etc, but then again it’s usually the simple applications that everyone loves. Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover basically takes the registry hack and wraps it into a small program. Once you select the radio button, the desktop is automatically updated and you’ll see the arrows have disappeared. The nice thing about this program is that you don’t even have to log off for it to work. The classic arrow is a smaller arrow than the default one and you can also choose a custom image if you want something other than an arrow to show up on the icon. Once you run the EXE file, you’ll get a simple dialog as shown below where you can choose from one of four options. There are 32 and 64-bit versions for Windows 7 & Vista and the same for Windows 8. Once you download it, just unzip the files and then navigate to the appropriate directory for your OS and platform. Windows Shortcut Arrow Editor is a nifty little program is my favorite because it not only works on Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 32 or 64-bit versions, but also doesn’t require you to mess around with the registry. This will also work on 32 or 64-bit versions of Windows. Now just log off and log back in or restart your computer and the arrows should be gone from your desktop icons if done correctly. In the Value Data field, go ahead and copy and paste the following:Ĭlick OK and close out the registry editor. Then double-click on the entry to bring up the key editor. Right-click on any white area in the right-pane and choose New – String Value.Ĭhange the name to the number 29 and press Enter. Then click on Shell Icons in the left pane and you’ll see just a key named Default in the right-hand pane. Now type in Shell Icons with the capitalization shown in the screenshot above. If it’s not there, right-click on Explorer in the left-hand pane and choose New – Key.Ī new key will appear in the left-hand menu and you’ll have to give it a name. Note that you may not have the Shell Icons key under Explorer by default. Create dummy Iconcache.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – SOFTWARE – Microsoft – Windows – CurrentVersion – Explorer – Shell Icons.Delete existing ~local\Iconcache.db file (file is hidden).Put your new dummy file in the C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\ directory (where you deleted the file in step 2)ĭone! You can now reboot and/or log off indefinitely and the shortcut icons will always return good with no further action required - ever!!! (If you stop at this point, like I did and most folks do, the shortcut icons will only look good until the next reboot or logoff event, after which they will return as black or have other issues.)Ĭreate an Iconcache.db dummy file with any text editor (just type in blah blah or whatever in the text editor), save it as Iconcache.db and then set the attributes to Read Only, Hidden, and also remove ALL SYSTEM privileges to the file (easy to do - just right click the file, choose properties, and make the changes in the General and Security tabs) Reboot and the icons should return good with no shortcut arrows showing reg files available which makes this step easier and repeatable - look for them in your search results)ĭelete C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Iconcache.db file (the file is hidden, so set your file viewer to show hidden files so you can see and delete it) If you're unfamiliar, Google it, and you'll learn that the Registry modification procedure is actually pretty easy to do. Modify Registry with the popular Shell Icons settings that most folks find on the net to address this problem (The -50 string value modification). ![]() Removing those pesky shortcut icon arrows once and for all: Only tested on Windows 7HP SP1 - Consider setting system restore points before and after (even this short process) just to be safe
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