Windows 7 removing shortcut arrow in windows 7

Does anyone know if this work with Windows7 64 bit?

I install and run it but got a error after I click apply. I have tried to click continue but after log back in, the arrow still there. :frown:
 
Note that removing the shortcut arrow with hack

Note : Please note that in some cases deactivating the arrow for *.LNK files might lead to duplicate items in the Explorer context menu, as in essence, removing the “IsShortcut” effectively forces Windows to treat the shortcut as real hard file. In Windows 7, it may also cause error such as Link Removed - Not Found.

Here's a registry hack to eliminate the -shortcut which is created when you create a shortcut:

=========================================
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"link"=hex:00,00,00,00
=========================================

Make sure the word CurrentVersion does not have a space between it.

It should read CurrentVersion ,not Curre ntVersion. This forum wraps for some reason.

Copy and paste the the info inside the lines into Notepad, choose Save As, then select All Files from the drop-down menu box and type in removeshortcut.reg. Save it to your desktop and double-click on it to merge it intro the registry.

You'll need to restart for it to take effect. You'll still see the -shortcut on ones you've already created, but any shortcuts created after the registry hack will simply display the name.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm sure you are try to be helpful, but I remember a long time ago on the Registry Guide forums that removing the shortcut arrow can cause problems.

Here's the possibilities of what might happen when you remove the shortcut arrow:

Note : Please note that in some cases deactivating the arrow for *.LNK files might lead to duplicate items in the Explorer context menu, as in essence, removing the “IsShortcutâ€Â￾ effectively forces Windows to treat the shortcut as real hard file. In Windows 7, it may also cause error such as unable to pin shortcut to Taskbar or Start Menu.
 
Yes, I understand it still works, but the warnings I posted can screw up your system.

Truthfully, I don't see any reason to enable this registry hack.

If you don't have the shortcut arrow, how do you distinguish between the actual application or it's shortcut.
 
I tried the registry hack to get rid of the shortcut arrows as I hate them with a passion. My desktop looks soooo much better without them.

And you're right, it will mess up other things, including pinning things to the task bar, and I'm not sure about this, but my reliability monitor also quit working about the same time, it no longer shows things on the chart. Oh well, I'll have to live with it for awhile.


:)
 
Here are the steps to remove shortcut arrow in windows 7
(1)Start-->run-->regedit
(2)Locate the following key.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile
(2) Delete the IsShortcut registry value in the right pane
(3) Navigate to each of the following registry keys, and then follow steps from 2 to 3 above to remove the shortcut arrow:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\piffile
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ConferenceLink
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DocShortCut
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\InternetShortcut
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WSHFile
(4) Close regedit.
(5) Logout and restart your computer
 
Works a treat in my Windows 7 Utimate 32 bit. As thought, does anyone know a way of removing the icon text?
Cheers.
 
Works a treat in my Windows 7 Utimate 32 bit. As thought, does anyone know a way of removing the icon text?
Cheers.


Use an icon without text

You can even use an invisible icon.. won't see it if you name it with Alt + 255 unless you mouse over it. It blends in perfectly with the background

You can't use a space so you have to use alt +255 and you can only make one this way.... but it's cool
 
Use an icon without text

You can even use an invisible icon.. won't see it if you name it with Alt + 255 unless you mouse over it. It blends in perfectly with the background

You can't use a space so you have to use alt +255 and you can only make one this way.... but it's cool

Hi tblount,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry if I appear a bit dim, but could you give me a bit more on how to apply this fix?

Thanx. :D
 
Hi tblount,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry if I appear a bit dim, but could you give me a bit more on how to apply this fix?

Thanx. :D


Right click on any shortcut or program and select Properties.... then Change Icon... there are icons all over the place.. most .dll files have some... but the motherload is in : %SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll and moricons.dll in the same folder.

You can also download millions of icons from the internet or build your own... or modify the ones you have with icon editing software.
 
Dear Reghakr:

I followed your instructions to a 'T' and everything seemed fine. I C&Ped everything between the lines, saved to desktop, dbl-clicked shortcut, allowed the removeshortcut.reg to make mods to my computer, rebooted, made a NEW shortcut to google (and other NEW shortcuts), yet I'm still getting those gawd awful arrows covering half of the icons. And yes, I removed the space from the string that is not supposed to be there. 8^)

Any suggestions?

Best Regards;

Casey G
 
Last edited:
Back
Top