Remove Arrows from Desktop Shortcut Icons | Windows 10 & 11

This is How to Remove the small arrow icon in the bottom left of your desktop shortcuts on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Here is the line from the video that you can copy and paste:
%windir%\System32\shell32.dll,-50
I also teach you how to reverse this process in case you ever wish to have the arrow icons again.
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[@howdoidavid]

🔵 *Update:* For those who are getting *Black Boxes* remove the line of code at 2:17 that is in the "Value Data" section... Basically just deleting "%windir%\System32\shell32.dll,-50" and keeping that section blank Some other viewers suggest that this worked for them!

[@zeljkomilenkovic5829]

Thanks buddy,just had this problem and I was coming back to ur video thinking I would find a fix,what a relief

[@allaroundman5687]

I'm the one who suggest that.

[@allaroundman5687]

I'm the one who suggested it.@@zeljkomilenkovic5829

[@zeljkomilenkovic5829]

@@allaroundman5687 Oh,thanks a lot man

[@LonesomeGhosts]

I've tried this as well as changing to -51 with restarts of the windows explorer as well as my computer. The black boxes remain unfortunately. Windows 11 here

[@ManOfSock1]

this is the first tech tutorial that I watched and actually understood the directions and was able to fix it first try. we need more people like this guy to make tutorials

[@harlhequim]

Agree. Today It seems everyones wants to be a personality or a stand up comic instead of the purspose of the tutorial

[@Fixing_Everything.]

Yes agreed this was one of the best in a long time. Most simply went through and done. So easy. This Chap was the best in a while.

[@SarvarKayrullaev]

I have a problem, now it's worse than before, instead of the previous Arrow icon there is a bag of black stuff, how do I fix it now

[@Remcindzik]

fr

[@Fixing_Everything.]

@SarvarKayrullaev I had that and fixed it. There is something at the top he added about it. But go back into the registry and click on the registry file and remove the name. That fixes it. But look at the add on notes at the top.

[@hellscythe_5565]

This is the first time i watched an English tutorial that get straight to the point thankyou for the help

[@swerverson]

Easiest tutorial I have ever watched in my life. Thank you, and Great job David.

[@Bardockk_]

this is the type of tutorial i wanna seee EVERYTIME i search for something, great video. Keep up the good work!

[@IanS533]

I don't usually comment but I want the algorithm to bless this man. 10/10 worked flawlessly. Amazing tutorial.

[@MyLaptop-pp4by]

You're right this man deserves 10/10

[@imatts65]

Great video and very informative. Straight to the point and no filler intro to make the video long. Thanks! Keep it up!

[@SeraphimSephiroth]

What a relief!! Straight to the point, easy to understand, fix actually works. Instant subscribe!

[@VIBwithKhaled]

The first time I encounter a tutorial that I watch and follow the instructions given because it's clear and straight to the point! Thank you mate, it worked!

[@h.a6859]

Yea i didn't really notice them either but i felt the desktop being cleaner after doing this

[@omarehab2251]

this is by far the best youtube how to video i've ever seen straight to the point, quick and clear, thanks man!

[@PatchesCanada]

David, your instructions are so clear and easy to follow ... I just love you! ♥Thank you!!

[@AmateurStorytime]

Thanks so much! I know zilch about programming, but this tutorial was so simple without going into technical details that I was able to follow it effortlessly!

[@1Hyrex]

Thank you bro. First I had to look up how to remove the green checkmarks, then the blue arrows which led me to this video. It's crazy how this is such a process for something that should be so simple. Good video

[@carlosauza9998]

This was a great video! It is probably the first video I actually followed through and it all made clear sense. Thank you so much. I appreciate you.

[@e.n85784]

Simple and straightforward. We need more people just like you.

[@jonesmalaco]

Worked perfectly! Awesome tutorial, straight to the point. If only the world had more tutorials like this one...

[@g36c.]

Very useful, to the point, and the black box fix worked. Amazing job

[@godfreyhamshire]

Thank you for the Tut, it worked I had to delete the "%windir%\System32\shell32.dll,-50" on reboot leaving the 29 as on windows 11 it was doing the black box thing. Thank you very much for your tut I was pulling my hair out, trying various solutions this is the only one that worked for me. Very Grateful for the help. Thank you !!!

[@paargii808]

Thank you very much for tutorial! I was always getting annoyed with that small arrows and always were hiding apps on desktop but with you i finally can normally see apps on my desktop without that small arrow!!

[@slip6hazard9]

Jesus man thank you SOOOOO much! As some one with OCD I always like my things looking a particular way and those damn arrows have plagued me for years to the point where I just wouldn't use desktop icons and be forced to opening all my programs from file explorer. I know it may not seem like much to others but to me Sir, you are a GOD and a LEGEND. Again from the very depths of my soul I am forever in your debt 🤘🏻👍🏻

[@ShanelHbskl]

impressed by your clarity and depth, every video is a hit!

[@whenthemoon]

Super straightforward and easy to follow, thank you!!

[@chromeatic788]

Detailed, to the point and clear. Couldn't ask for better 👍

[@shanekemp1312]

Thank you so much for posting this. I've done 4 hours of google searches and tried way to many ways to address this issue. Such a simple fix as well and I appreciate you sharing it.

[@wingame52]

Thanks for clear concise explanation. Years of wanting to rid shortcut arrow keys finally learnt!

[@johnhebbe5544]

Wonderful. For a change, a well organized presentation spoken clearly. Provided at a perfect pace. Thank you. My plan is to bring up this video again, move it to the right side using the Windows + right arrow key. Then, using the steps in the presentation, flipping back and forth, work through the process on the left side of my actual desktop. This should work.

[@Fixing_Everything.]

No need for that. Simply drag the video to the left and clip it there and then click on the video again maybe just drag it to the left and your good to go..

[@johnhebbe5544]

Got it. Thanks.@@Fixing_Everything.

[@Mors_Umber]

What a King, it actually worked! I love how customisable Windows is, thanks man. Everything looks so clean now

[@nimroddiver]

Spot on and thank you so much. For years I've paid out on third party programs to do this for me! Certainly earned a sub and a big thumbs up. The ONLY thing I was thinking whilst doing this was "how and why" it works, what the file is, what it does and what the -50 means. Purley out of interest as to how it does it :)

[@L0V3_707]

Thank you SOOO much the little arrow was getting on my nerves because it felt so outta place and it worked out so well, directions were so clear I understood everything and it all went according to plan!!! I cannot thank you enough.

[@RecraftedS]

Wow... Simple, Easy, and Precise! Thank You! It Actually Works! Hope You Have a Great Rest of Your Day!

[@teddykim23]

Super clear, ez to understand and short to the point. love it

[@bulletprty]

this is one of the only tutorial videos where i had no difficulty following along. thank you so so much you're absolutely great! i wish all tutorials were as nice as this one.

[@Ashfaq_Ahamed]

He is No 1 Tutor in KZbin i watched ❤ It's Working 😊 Thanks a lot 🎉

[@zhulikkulik]

Oh man, thank you so much! I have my icons set to be tiny. Recently, just by some miracle after trying every solution they finally stopped rearranging themselves after reboot. And just today I looked at them and realized that arrow takes up like ¾ of the icon. Thanks again!

[@stormjack]

Restarting explorer via right click was an excellent tip! Thanks so much.

[@TomatoSauceKing]

I had to go to "users" section at the last step to find explorer process, but it worked. Thanks man

[@PROMATAGG]

thanks for the heads up!

[@user-hv7zu7wg4w]

Thank you for a video that gave me exactly what I was looking for and no more! I greatly appreciate this!

[@nulhe]

Worked. So, so, so clear this tutorial. So good. You gain another suscriber here and another like. More people like you. More from you buddy. Excellent work.

[@timmackay9366]

This was the greatest instructional video in the history of the internet.

[@miunce]

thankyouu this was really easy to follow for me n I struggle with following stuff a lot, im glad you're on here

[@wickedbandanadude]

FANTASTIC - was looking for that for ages. Thank you so much. As others said, so clear to follow.

[@DreamerYT4]

hellll yes, very helpfull, very easy to follow along with too, i just watched the video without pausing and going along with each step.

[@718vox]

Very clear instructions, thank you so much!

[@hunterhughes8380]

I dont know why i had the strong desire to stop what i was doing to remove tiny arrows that i have never noticed before... But here we are. great video tutorial though

[@musabsarjo]

You can imagine that I live 35 km away from Gaza and the war, and here I am searching for a way to remove the shortcut arrow. I think we are an obsessive-compulsive disorder group, with all due respect to everyone.🤣🤣🤣🤣😂

[@user-nq6wn4hm7s]

Not noticing these annoying shortcut arrows is truly a blessing

[@swills4772]

Absolute Legend. I dont know how long I had this but it just decided to bug the S out of me yesterday. Thanks!

[@vamsiguduguntla]

WOW!!!!!!!!!! It worked :) But at first it didn't work, later in the second attempt it worked. Thank you so much David!

[@newayk47]

Excellent video - thank you! I've done this before years ago but there's no way I could have remembered all those details.

[@robsalas54]

THANK YOU!!!! Building a jukebox/music streaming kiosk for my game room and wanted a clean icons on the desktop!

[@Framed_Frags]

Brilliant tutorial, straight forward and too the point. Thank you!

[@JacobPrater]

Thank you so much, everything looks so much cleaner now

[@LtSheppardXxL]

freaking awesome, im on a damn thought rampage in customizing my stuff and added a new icon image to a game and it looked terrible with the arrow. Thanks so much!

[@C4titaa]

For those who still have the black icons even after removing %windir%, try deleting the entire code and leaving just the "29" it worked for me doing it this way.

[@ItsKRONX11]

Thanks mate! Really useful and straight to the point.

[@LordFren]

Thank you, on point, easy to follow and exactly what I needed. Good job!

[@dinossauroproductions6271]

God bless you my friend, I have tried doing this with a microsoft guide I found in a quick google search, and Microsoft employees themselves are doing it the wrong way XDDDDD I swear bro it was also a modification in regedit, but it only removed the icons from the shortcuts (not URLs, like steam games) and also broke my task bar, it wouldn't open any programs from there. Your method tho, worked 100%, removed ALL shortcut icons from all desktop icons, and keeps the system working (as far as I can tell)

[@sawdfreak]

so just to let this creator know, fantastic job on getting it, while the black boxed apperaed at first, and changing the code to 51, it still does have the black boxes

[@The0urg1a]

Awesome video, desktop looks a whole lot cleaner now, very cool!

[@jebaker2]

Absolutely awesome walk-thru! Thanks!

[@ehabqadora1759]

If the shortcut arrow box is black then delete the text in the string value named 29 and then reboot or restart the windows explorer , The arrow and the black box will be gone .

[@Laskhmi2311]

Black box gone, arrow still there

[@MichaelCaliri]

Worked for me

[@Pyranders]

Who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?

[@criticalerrorgaming1896]

then the arrows will be there, even if i recreate the 29 string value and restart windows explorer, the black boxes will be back.

[@bethanyreardon6057]

this worked thankyou (:

[@kexcz8276]

Awesome! Straight tp the point, well explained, and even command ready to copy. Thank you so much! ;)

[@choubani12]

thank you so much, that was so useful ! i just wanna ask if there is some side effects to worry about ! thanks again

[@blackwolf_365]

When I installed a new monitor, all the icons just disappeared, lol. good thing you explained at the end of the video how to undo it😅. bravo, man🤩

[@gauravkamat420]

Broo thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏 also update your video title because I tried this on windows 7 and it actually worked 🙏 thankyou man :)

[@HeWhoKnows777]

This worked better than anything in my life.

[@Sethsimracing]

Wow, was able to follow this and it was so easy! Awesome tutorial, earned a sub from me! Desktop looks way cleaner now!

[@isthatCole19]

Thank you so much it actually helped ! Chill tutorial , fast and easy.

[@PECorbit]

Thank you! A great 'how to' video. Easy to understand and follow.

[@MaxoWasTaken]

still works great tutorial easy to follow along

[@howdoidavid]

*If you like easy to follow tutorials like this Subscribe to this channel!*

[@tomkjr1]

Great job! It worked like a charm. I hate those damn arrows!

[@satorugojo-js3oy]

thank you for this short, easy and understandable content🙏

[@basilwyrm]

Amazing! Mission complete. That right there, is why you're the best, boss!

[@KatieTheSheep]

thank u v much for the no-frills tutorial! was able to follow it in real time as well, wooooo

[@millank5164]

Thank you very much, its simple and working! finally a clean icons.

[@MODDEDbyBACTERIA]

I too had the black boxes after rebooting (Windows 11), did what it said below and it seems to work fine. Thanks for the video, I always hate those shortcut arrows!

[@revan4638]

Works perfectly, huge thanks you are great!

[@Nick12_45]

Thank you! exactly what i searched for

[@ube_panda]

Thanks for the tutorial! This worked for me and helped me streamline my desktop

[@EllishGD]

This is the tutorial i never needed, but i still used it

[@davidruzzo5806]

I have followed these instructions at least 3 times. Every time I get a black square over the shortcut arrow. I tried changing the new line code to -51, same black box appears. So I have ended up just deleting the new key and living with the shortcut arrow. Thanks for your assistance!

[@TroJaNSniPeR85]

Just put the 29 key back but don't put anything for the code and it should work for you

[@DanSandersdotnet]

@@TroJaNSniPeR85 This is what finally did it for me

[@alcateia6797]

​@@TroJaNSniPeR85thanks bro .

[@Gabiruu]

@@TroJaNSniPeR85 thanks a lot bro

[@RodrigoMirra]

Worked like a charm 🤩

[@jamesb-yj9cc]

Great video, exactly what I was looking for and it worked, thanks!

[@kaviyakaavs]

Wow this was awesome..worked perfectly.. thanks a lot fr the clear instructions

[@mireafelder8194]

Worked like a charm for me first try! Thanks so much!

[@fredmc2389]

Straight to the point (and it also worked)

[@NonLegitNation2]

worked great. i did this about 2yrs ago but did a fresh install since then so only now remembered to do it again. We'll see if I get those black boxes when i restart, if so I'll try changing the value like you suggest.

[@Fixing_Everything.]

A Thousand Thank You's I've been trying to get these dam things off my icons for ages now. Took 5 minutes with your help. Again Thank you. 😁😃😋

[@jacobgriffin8172]

Thank you. I didnt put in the script just left 29 blank works fine. looks better, now to remove the text below icons

[@klarexmanuts]

you deserved a subs!!!!!! very detailed an straight to the point thankyou!!!!!😘😘😘😘

[@razvanvultur608]

you got yourself a new sub, love the content. Keep it up, brother

[@avcreationclub]

Amazing .... Love this method Thank you so much. Millions thanks to you because I really need this

[@mythnyxx]

Worked perfectly, thank you.

[@toddsorensen5485]

Works perfectly! Thanks very much!

[@zigimc2370]

David u mad man, it worked first try. THANK YOU

[@WunWeno]

No time wasted, thank you for this fast tutorial :D

[@alexraptorortiz5784]

Thanks man, first the icons looked black and then my search box broke. I appreciate it dude.

[@nemensin]

fr

[@vejni]

real

[@Hylaire]

Thx it looks much aesthetic now!

[@yubear420]

Thank you so much. I was getting frustrated everytime I minimize all windows and see the shortcuts have those arrow things!

[@dkjonggamer7131]

sir i have no words that how you have helped us from the issue we are facing really i wanted to appreciate your hard work in making this video for us so i have subscribed to your channel regards.

[@rebeccamendez3870]

Thank you for the fix!! Worked like a charm.

[@tkwgxn9614]

thank u so much !! it looks so clean now

[@marcelinehardwick5235]

Hey there, had an issue a while back where the use of this method caused black boxes and i used the fix in your comment section to get it working again. however i have logged on to my pc just now and only the text was showing up without an icon, and it was only fixed after i deleted the 29 string value entirely. just letting you know in case this begins to affect more people, its worked great for me up until now so thank you for the video regardless Xx