If you want to make it easier to display icons on the Windows 7/8/10 desktop, you can “remove” shortcuts from the desktop icons.
Before showing you how to remove shortcuts from desktop icons, you should know that there are two types of desktop icons. There are standard shortcuts that you can create for the programs you install, and there are desktop icons that you can place on the desktop for common functions such as Computer and Trash. You can define an icon as a shortcut if there is an arrow in the lower left corner of the icon, as shown in the image below.
The method for removing text from each of these types of icons is different.
Remove text from desktop icon
To remove text from icons on the desktop, such as Computer and Trash, right-click the icon on the desktop and select Rename from the pop-up menu.
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Press space to insert a space in place of the text and press Enter.
The desktop icon now looks like there is no text below it.
NOTE. You can add and remove desktop icons by right-clicking the desktop, choosing Personalization from the pop-up menu, and clicking the Change Desktop Icons link on the Personalization screen. The Desktop Icon Options dialog box appears, where you can turn the desired desktop icons on or off.
Remove text from shortcut
To remove text from a shortcut, right-click the shortcut icon and choose Rename from the pop-up menu.
This time, instead of typing a space, hold the Alt key and type 255 on the numeric keypad. Press Enter. Note that you need to use the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard, not the one above the letter keys. Not sure why, but it only works when you use the keyboard on the right.
For some shortcuts, the File Access Denied dialog box may appear. If so, click Continue to complete renaming the shortcut.
There is no text under the label now.
The second thing to note about this method is that it only works for one icon on the desktop. If you try to use ALT + 255 for the second icon, it will say that there is already another icon with the same name. In this case, you will have to use ALT + 255 multiple times.
For example, for the second desktop icon, type ALT + 255, ALT + 255 and press Enter. For the third icon, you have to do it three times, etc., etc.
NOTE. We recommend that you only remove text from desktop icons and shortcut icons if the icons are easily identifiable without text. Enjoy!
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