A shortcut is a pointer to a file or application that is stored in another location. When you create a shortcut, you will notice the icon has a small arrow in the corner. This little arrow indicates that the icon is indeed a shortcut.

Here is a tip that lets you remove the shortcut arrow and it works with all versions of Windows. A word of caution before you proceed since it does require making changes to the registry. Do so carefully and create a backup of your registry before you begin.

To completely remove the shortcut arrow, open the registry and delete the Isshortcut from the following three keys:

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\piffile
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\InternetShortcut

Once you’ve made the change Windows no longer considers shortcuts to be shortcuts and the shortcut arrow will no longer appear.