How to Remove Shortcut Arrow Icon on Shortcuts in Windows 10
183How to Remove Shortcut Arrow Icon on Shortcuts in Windows 10.
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When you create a shortcut in Windows, it will automatically add an arrow icon overlay over the actual shortcut icon. If you don't like it, here's how to remove shortcut arrow from shortcut icons on Windows.
We all have pet peeves. Some are rational, others may appear irrational to others. I am not sure where this registry trick falls into, but shortcut arrows on the desktop drive me crazy. There is just something about making an otherwise nice desktop icon busier with those arrow overlays.
In case you do not know what I am referring to let me explain. Since the days of Windows 95 whenever you placed a shortcut on the desktop for app or document, an arrow is placed on the lower corner of the icon. 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. We just do not install apps to the desktop, so I am unsure why I need to be reminded "hey, this is a shortcut, not the real app".
In Windows, icons for shortcuts have little arrows to remind you that what you’re looking at is a shortcut. Even though the arrows are smaller than in some previous versions of Windows, they aren’t terribly attractive. Fortunately, they’re pretty easy to remove.
Removing those little arrows requires a tweak to the Windows Registry, but there are a few different ways of going about it. These methods should work in Windows 7, 8, and 10.
Generally, the arrow icon overlay on a shortcut icon helps you quickly differentiate between a file or application and a shortcut. Without the arrow overlay, you will be hard-pressed to find the difference between an actual file and a shortcut.
That being, if you are someone who likes to keep their desktop clean or only has shortcuts on the desktop, you can remove the arrow overlay from the shortcut icon. It's pretty easy to do. Follow the below steps and you should be good.
This tutorial will apply for computers, laptops, desktops,and tablets running the Windows 10 operating system (Home, Professional, Enterprise, Education) from all supported hardware manufactures, like Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba,Lenovo, and Samsung).