Windows 11 desktop icons

• Shell commands (e.g., explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder)
• Known user folders (Documents, Downloads, Music, Videos, etc.
• Classic Desktop Icon Settings (for This PC, User’s Files, Control Panel, Network, Recycle Bin)
• Direct shortcuts to .msc, .exe, and .lnk (administrative tools/utilities)

• Actual filesystem folders: e.g., C:\Users\YourName\Documents is "Documents"
• "Shell objects": which are opened with e.g., explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder for "This PC", or shell:ControlPanelFolder for Control Panel
• Executables/Admin Tools: such as Device Manager, Task Scheduler, Registry Editor, etc.

Everything in Your Screenshot Can Be Recreated Via Script​

• All of these desktop shortcuts and icons can be generated automatically using PowerShell (as per our earlier combined script), or batch/VBS, for any user/profile.
• The "This PC", Network, User's Files, Recycle Bin, Control Panel are “special” in that Windows can toggle them, but if you make a shortcut using the shell command, it works identically.
• All admin tools (Event Viewer, Device Manager, etc. are either .msc or .exe and can be shortcut.

Icon Appearance Notes​

• If you use explorer.exe shell:... shortcuts, Windows will assign the correct icon (matching the one you see in Explorer or the Start menu).
• If you link directly to the folder, you get a plain folder icon with a shortcut arrow.
  For true “special” icons (like the Desktop Icon Settings toggles), you need to use either the shell command shortcut or the desktop icon registry tweak.

Comparison to Explorer​

• The icons you see on your desktop are the same logical objects as shown in File Explorer's navigation pane under "This PC", "Network", "User’s Files", etc.
• If you open "This PC" from the desktop or from Explorer, you get the identical view.

Your Screenshot = Our Script Output​

• Registry tweak and shell command shortcuts give you those icons
• All utilities are shortcut using their system path or .msc

ChatGPT said:

Yes, in your provided desktop screenshot, the icons shown are the same ones that Windows exposes via:

• Shell commands (e.g., explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder)
• Known user folders (Documents, Downloads, Music, Videos, etc.)
• Classic Desktop Icon Settings (for This PC, User’s Files, Control Panel, Network, Recycle Bin)
• Direct shortcuts to .msc, .exe, and .lnk (administrative tools/utilities)

All these desktop icons are a combination of:

• Actual filesystem folders: e.g., C:\Users\YourName\Documents is "Documents"
• "Shell objects": which are opened with e.g., explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder for "This PC", or shell:ControlPanelFolder for Control Panel
• Executables/Admin Tools: such as Device Manager, Task Scheduler, Registry Editor, etc.

Everything in Your Screenshot Can Be Recreated Via Script​

• All of these desktop shortcuts and icons can be generated automatically using PowerShell (as per our earlier combined script), or batch/VBS, for any user/profile.
• The "This PC", Network, User's Files, Recycle Bin, Control Panel are “special” in that Windows can toggle them, but if you make a shortcut using the shell command, it works identically.
• All admin tools (Event Viewer, Device Manager, etc.) are either .msc or .exe and can be shortcut.

Icon Appearance Notes​

• If you use explorer.exe shell:... shortcuts, Windows will assign the correct icon (matching the one you see in Explorer or the Start menu).
• If you link directly to the folder, you get a plain folder icon with a shortcut arrow.
  For true “special” icons (like the Desktop Icon Settings toggles), you need to use either the shell command shortcut or the desktop icon registry tweak.

Comparison to Explorer​

• The icons you see on your desktop are the same logical objects as shown in File Explorer's navigation pane under "This PC", "Network", "User’s Files", etc.
• If you open "This PC" from the desktop or from Explorer, you get the identical view.

Your Screenshot = Our Script Output​

Your screenshot matches exactly what a single run of the script provided earlier does:

• Registry tweak and shell command shortcuts give you those icons
• All utilities are shortcut using their system path or .msc

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Conclusion:
Yes! These are all scriptable and are the standard system "specials" and tools Windows exposes.
If your goal is to mass-deploy this setup (with these exact icons) to any Windows 11 system for any user, using the combined PowerShell script is the ideal and most future-proof approach.
Want a script that exactly matches the layout or names in your screenshot (e.g., Dutch, no duplicate names)?
Just let me know, and I'll provide the localized and de-duplicated version!

Click to expand...

How Windows Shortcuts Get Their Icons​

• System Folders/Shell Shortcuts:
  If you use explorer.exe shell:SomeSpecialFolder, Windows assigns the correct icon as seen in Explorer and the Start menu. E.g., This PC, Control Panel, and Network get their special system icons.
• Regular Folders:
  Shortcut points directly to a folder (e.g., C:\Users\Tim\Documents) → plain yellow folder with shortcut arrow.
• .exe and .msc Files:
  If you point to an .exe (e.g., Task Manager, Notepad), Windows uses the program’s embedded icon. If you point to a .msc (e.g., Device Manager), Windows picks the default MMC icon (unless a specific icon is registered).
• Shell Verb Shortcuts:
  Opening a shortcut with, say, explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder (vs. hard path to "This PC") always produces the "real" This PC icon.

How to Script with the "Right" Icons​

• This guarantees the correct system icon is shown for each special folder or tool.
• You don’t need to manually set icon paths: Windows does that based on the shortcut target, if you use the shell verbs or correct executable locations.

Where Are the Actual Icons Stored?​

• Most system shell icons:
  %SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll
%SystemRoot%\System32\shell32.dll
• Program icons:
  embedded in the program (.exe or .msc file) itself.
• Shortcuts to folders are shown as plain folders by default.

Location Examples​

Best Practice for Accurate Icon Assignment​

• For special folders and system icons:
  Use shell verbs (explorer.exe shell:...) in your shortcut generator script (as demonstrated above).
• For apps/tools/utilities:
  Link directly to the program’s .exe or .msc—Windows will use the “real” program icon.

Customizing Icon (optional)​

$shortcut.IconLocation = "C:\Path\To\YourIcon.ico"
$shortcut.Save

ChatGPT said:

Great question! Here’s how Windows assigns icons to all those shortcuts:

How Windows Shortcuts Get Their Icons​

• System Folders/Shell Shortcuts:
  If you use explorer.exe shell:SomeSpecialFolder, Windows assigns the correct icon as seen in Explorer and the Start menu. E.g., This PC, Control Panel, and Network get their special system icons.
• Regular Folders:
  Shortcut points directly to a folder (e.g., C:\Users\Tim\Documents) → plain yellow folder with shortcut arrow.
• .exe and .msc Files:
  If you point to an .exe (e.g., Task Manager, Notepad), Windows uses the program’s embedded icon. If you point to a .msc (e.g., Device Manager), Windows picks the default MMC icon (unless a specific icon is registered).
• Shell Verb Shortcuts:
  Opening a shortcut with, say, explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder (vs. hard path to "This PC") always produces the "real" This PC icon.

How to Script with the "Right" Icons​

The PowerShell script I gave earlier uses explorer.exe shell:{Verb} for system icons and links directly to .exe or .msc for admin tools:

• This guarantees the correct system icon is shown for each special folder or tool.
• You don’t need to manually set icon paths: Windows does that based on the shortcut target, if you use the shell verbs or correct executable locations.

If you want to customize icons:
You can specify an alternate icon for any shortcut in your script, for example:
$shortcut.IconLocation = "$env:SystemRoot\System32\shell32.dll,3"
…but for almost all Windows tools and shell folders, the default icon is correct.

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Where Are the Actual Icons Stored?​

• Most system shell icons:
  %SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll
%SystemRoot%\System32\shell32.dll
• Program icons:
  embedded in the program (.exe or .msc file) itself.
• Shortcuts to folders are shown as plain folders by default.

---

Location Examples​

Shortcut Target Type	Example Target/Arguments	Default Icon Location
This PC (Computer)	explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder	System draws correct icon
Control Panel	explorer.exe shell:ControlPanelFolder	System draws correct icon
Recycle Bin	explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder	System draws correct icon
Documents Folder	explorer.exe shellersonal	System draws correct folder icon
User’s Files	explorer.exe shell:UsersFilesFolder	System draws correct generic user folder icon
Device Manager (Admin tool)	%SystemRoot%\System32\devmgmt.msc	From devmgmt.msc or MMC shell
Task Manager	%SystemRoot%\System32\taskmgr.exe	From taskmgr.exe
Notepad	%SystemRoot%\System32\notepad.exe	From notepad.exe
Music/Pictures/Videos/Gallery	explorer.exe shell:MyMusic/MyPictures/MyVideo	System draws correct folder icon

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Best Practice for Accurate Icon Assignment​

• For special folders and system icons:
  Use shell verbs (explorer.exe shell:...) in your shortcut generator script (as demonstrated above).
• For apps/tools/utilities:
  Link directly to the program’s .exe or .msc—Windows will use the “real” program icon.

---

Customizing Icon (optional)​

If you ever want to override and use a custom icon, set this property in your PowerShell script after .TargetPath:

Code:

$shortcut.IconLocation = "C:\Path\To\YourIcon.ico"
$shortcut.Save()

…but this is not usually needed for standard Windows items.

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If you notice any icon showing up as a plain folder when you expect the Windows icon, switch that shortcut to use a shell: verb if available, or confirm you’re linking to the correct file.
If you want a script for Dutch-language shortcut names or mapped 1:1 to your screenshot with no duplicates and perfect icons, just let me know!

Click to expand...

Correct “Special Folder” Location/Shortcut Methods:​

How to Script (PowerShell Sample):​

$wshell = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
$desktop = [Environment]::GetFolderPath('Desktop')
$specialFolders = @( @{name="This PC"; args="shell:MyComputerFolder"}, @{name="User's Files"; args="shell:UsersFilesFolder"}, @{name="Network"; args="shell:NetworkPlacesFolder"}, @{name="Control Panel"; args="shell:ControlPanelFolder"}, @{name="Recycle Bin"; args="shell:RecycleBinFolder"}, @{name="Desktop"; args="shell:Desktop"}, @{name="Documents"; args="shell:Personal"}, @{name="Downloads"; args="shell:Downloads"}, @{name="Music"; args="shell:MyMusic"}, @{name="Pictures"; args="shell:MyPictures"}, @{name="Videos"; args="shell:MyVideo"}, @{name="Home"; args="shell:Profile"}, @{name="Gallery"; args="shell:MyPictures"})
foreach ($item in $specialFolders) { $shortcut = $wshell.CreateShortcut("$desktop\$($item.name).lnk") $shortcut.TargetPath = "$env:SystemRoot\explorer.exe" $shortcut.Arguments = $item.args $shortcut.Save
}

• Avoid making shortcuts directly to C:\Users\xxx\Documents, etc.—those will have a plain folder icon.
• Always use the explorer.exe shell:SpecialFolder approach for true Windows icon fidelity.

Extra: If you want this for Dutch or need special handling for extra folders (like OneDrive, etc., just specify, and I'll expand the script with (localized) names and targets!​