Where Is My Recycle Bin?

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BobH
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by BobH »

Rudi wrote:Hi Bob,

Glad your RB icon is resolved, but, does your RB icon have a shortcut arrow on it, since you used the command "Create a shortcut" to send the icon to your desktop?
( :whisper: I hope I'm not throwing a spanner in the works here...)
OK, Rudi!

The spanner is in the works now> :fanfare:

None of the shortcuts on my Win 7 HPE desktop have a shortcut arrow (whatever that is). What am I missing?
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HansV
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by HansV »

By default, shortcuts have an arrow in the lower left corner of their icon:
S0007.png
If these arrows are missing on your system, you may have removed them by changing or removing the registry entry IsShortcut of the registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile.
S0008.png
As a side effect, some shortcuts disappear altogether. Recreating the IsShortcut entry may restore the Recycle Bin.
Not that the entry doesn't have a value. Its mere existence or absence makes the difference.
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Best wishes,
Hans

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Rudi
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by Rudi »

To add to Hans's reply:

NOTE:
-- The registry entry in Lnkfile, not inkfile.
-- IsShortcut is one of two values: IsShortCut or IsNotShortCut
-- The arrows may have been hidden by some Windows tweaking software that you downloaded and ran previously.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker is one of these apps that allows you to change registry setting (not easily accessible from the Windows interface) via a packages and user-friendly interface. Below is an image that shows the option to toggle the shortcut arrow on the shortcut icons.
1.jpg
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Regards,
Rudi

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BobH
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by BobH »

Thank you, both, for the information and instructions.

I tried editing the Registry (regedit.exe) and found no such file as identified by you both. Here is a screenshot of the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/lnk folder and its contents:
reglnk.jpg
I then found, downloaded installed and ran Ultimate Windows Tweaker. When I looked at each of the menu choices I finally found the option you described, Rudi; but the option is grayed out and the box is blank.

I have no clue why the lnkfile is missing.

What should I look at next? Should I try to recover or add the lnkfile to the registry? If so, how does one do that?

I'm off to search for answers.


UPDATE:

In searching, I found that there are a number of different problems around options in the Registry lnk and lnkfile files; however, none of those described are relevant to my situation. Most of them have to do with shortcut links being hijacked or changed from their intended purpose.

I went back to my desktop and discovered that SOME of my shortcuts have the arrow and others do not. Apparently, I changed something at some point in time and some of the program shortcuts retain their arrows while more recent ones (I think) do not have an arrow. All of the shortcuts seem to be pointing to their intended functions for either programs or files. I have not experienced clicking one that didn't produce the expected result (or at least I don't recall this ever having happened). In other words I don't really have a functional problem but only one of display anomalies for the shortcut icons.

I reopened Ultimate Windows Tweaker and looked again at the various options for changing the registry. Mind you, I have not changed anything in UWT or using Regedit . . . only looked at the options. The strange thing is that now I can see the "Remove Arrows from Shortcut Icons" without it being grayed out, but it remains unchecked (meaning, I inferred, that the arrows should be displayed. Here's a screenshot:
uwt.jpg
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Last edited by BobH on 12 Aug 2014, 15:37, edited 1 time in total.
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Rudi
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by Rudi »

Hi Bob,

I found an interesting post that apparently resets the shortcuts registry settings.
It is the third post in this thread.
It informs to copy and paste the data into a text file with a .reg extension, then import into the registry.

The response from the enquirer seems very positive...

Please note this is not my field of expertise, so either wait for confirmation on this or ensure you have a backup of the registry or even better, a recent restore point on your Windows system.
Regards,
Rudi

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BobH
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by BobH »

As mentioned in my update, the results I found do not relate to my situation. All of my shortcuts work as intended. The only issue is that the icons for some of them do not show arrows.

I'm reluctant to crack the editor because the solutions don't relate to my problem.

I'll keep looking and let everyone know if I find anything.

Thanks, again!

:cheers: :chocciebar: :thankyou:
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HansV
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by HansV »

Your screenshot shows the .lnk entry. You should look for the lnkfile entry instead - without a . before lnkfile.
Best wishes,
Hans

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BobH
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by BobH »

HansV wrote:Your screenshot shows the .lnk entry. You should look for the lnkfile entry instead - without a . before lnkfile.
AHA!

Once again I failed the test. I should have looked further in the Registry group.

Having said that, however, I find that the file you referenced, Hans, is where it should be.
lnkfiless.jpg
What more am I missing?
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by HansV »

That looks OK, so this is not the cause of the problem after all. I'd try the registry fix suggested by Rudi.
Best wishes,
Hans

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BobH
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by BobH »

I've posted a question on the Microsoft Support Community board.

For now, I think I'll wait to see if that turns up anything before I dive into any Registry changes. I realize that I can backup the Registry and restore it if anything goes amiss, but I'm leery of Reg changes but more specifically of my lack of attention to details these days.

Thank you again for all the help.

:cheers: :chocciebar: :thankyou:
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PaulB
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by PaulB »

Windows 8.x users should take heed of Hans' cautionary warning in post 132560 above. After trying the registry hack he describes, I lost the ability to right-click the Windows start button and could not activate the jump list for the File Explorer icon in the task bar. Jump lists for other icons in the task bar worked OK, and right-clicking seemed to work in all other cases I tried.

Once I restored the "IsShortcut" registry entry everything returned to normal (so far, anyway).
Regards,
Paul

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HansV
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by HansV »

That method isn't suitable for Windows 7 or Vista either - it's a leftover from Windows XP, I think.

If you would really like to remove or change the shortcut arrow, you can use the free utility Window Shortcut Arrow Editor. It offers four options: Windows Default (Windows 7 and higher style), Classic Arrow (Windows XP style), No Arrow, and Custom.
windowsshortcutarroweditor.png
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Best wishes,
Hans

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BobH
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by BobH »

I just realized that I owe a bit of information gleaned from the MS Community forums about shortcut icons.

It seems that the blue arrow appears (mostly if not exclusively) on files of extension .exe. I have asked for the list of rules that are followed in either adding or omitting the arrow but as yet have received no response. If I do, I shall return with an update.

At least the information provides some explanation for the appearance of the arrow on some icons and its omission on others.

I'd like to thank everyone who chimed in on this thread. It was all helpful!!
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Re: Where Is My Recycle Bin?

Post by HansV »

The actual programs that we run, such as Firefox, Excel, Notepad etc. are .exe files located in different places in the folder structure of our hard disk. We don't want to have to dig to the correct folder each time we start a program. So we create shortcuts to the .exe files on our desktop, or in the Start menu, or on our taskbar, and use those shortcuts to start the programs.

We can create shortcuts to files (documents) and folders too, but that's less frequently used than shortcuts to programs.

When we place a shortcut on the desktop (or in a subfolder of the desktop, or in another folder), Windows displays a blue arrow in the lower left corner of its icon by default, unless we use some kind of trick or utility to hide/remove the arrow.

When we pin a shortcut to the Start menu or to the Taskbar, Windows doesn't display the arrow.
Best wishes,
Hans