Open Application Toolbar and Context Menu Icon - Fix

How to Fix the Windows Explorer "Open" Application Toolbar and Context Menu Icon in Windows 7

   Information
This will show you how to fix the Windows Explorer Open application toolbar and context menu icon when you select an application (ex: EXE) file in Windows Explorer to the correct icon in Windows 7.


EXAMPLE: Open application Toolbar and Context Menu icon
NOTE: This is before and after you fix the icon when you have an application (ex: .exe) file selected in Windows Explorer.
Before.jpg

Fixed.jpg


Here's How: 1. Click on the Download button below to download the file below. Application_Icon.zip

Download


2. Click on Save, and save the .zip file to the desktop.

3. Open the Zip file, and extract the Application_Icon.ico file to your desktop.

4. Right click on the extracted Application_Icon.ico file, and click on Properties, General tab, and on the Unblock button. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: If you do not have a Unblock button under the General tab, then the file is already unblocked and you can continue on to step 5. Unblock.jpg
5. Move the downloaded Application_Icon.ico file into the C:\Windows\System32 folder. (see screenshot below) System32.jpg
6. If prompted, click on Continue and Yes to approve moving the .ico file. Afterwards, do either step 7 or 8 below.

7. To Automatically Fix the Icon with a REG File Download
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below. Fix_Open_Toolbar_Context_Menu_Icon.reg


Download


B) Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the desktop.

C) Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.

D) Click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted.

E) When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

F) Go to step 9.
8. To Manually Fix the Icon in Registry Editor
NOTE: This option will also allow you to use a custom icon of your own instead if you like. A) Open the Start Menu, then type regedit and press Enter.

B) If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
C) In regedit, go to: (see screenshot below step 8D) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open
D) In the right pane, right click on a empty space and click on New and String Value. (see screenshot below) Step2.jpg
E) Type Icon and press enter. (see screenshot below) Step3.jpg
F) In the right pane, right click on Icon and click on Modify. (See screenshot below) Step4.jpg
G) Copy and Past the location below into the Edit String box and click on OK. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you like, you could also enter the full path of a different icon (.ico file) that you would like to use instead with ",-1" (no quotes) at the end like below.
%Windir%\System32\Application_Icon.ico,-1

Modify.jpg
H) Regedit will now look this. (see screenshot below)
Step6.jpg
I) Close regedit.
9. If you have not already, close and reopen all Windows Explorer windows to apply.
That's it,
Shawn
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Thanks a lot for this! :D
 

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....mmmh, and what about removing only the generic (ugly) icon near the Open button instead of replacing it in explorer bar + pop-up menus? ;)
Since it's just the Open command it makes sense, as option, not to use any icon for exes...
 

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Thanks a lot for this! :D
You're most welcome SnowOak, and welcome to Seven Forums. :)

....mmmh, and what about removing only the generic (ugly) icon near the Open button instead of replacing it in explorer bar + pop-up menus? ;)
Since it's just the Open command it makes sense, as option, not to use any icon for exes...

Hello Hexaae,

You could substitute the Application_Icon.ico file from the download in step 1 with a transparent blank icon of your own to use instead to not have a icon display since it would be transparent. :)

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

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Does anyone know if the open in the context menu should display an icon for other files to.
For example if I right click a pdf file I get the adobe icon on the toolbar but not in the context menu.
Is this correct.
Capture.PNG

Thanks Danny
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
acer aspire 5935g
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Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
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intel(R)core(TM)2 duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz
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intel gm45/gm47 revision 07
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3 gb ddr3
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ati radeon hd4570/512mb
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lop156wh2-tle1 15.3 flat
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It's correct.
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
MSI GX660-262it
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7 840QM
Memory
8GB DDR3 1333MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility HD 7970M 2GB DDR5
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Intel SSDSA2CT040G3
Hybrid ST750LX0ST750LX003
Antivirus
360 Internet Security
Browser
IE10
Hey, I want to thank you for your contribution here. You don't know how annoyed I am with that missing icon.

I do have a couple of questions for you.

First... is the missing icon a problem with just a rare few of us or all of windows 7 users?

Second, can you tell me exactly how to uninstall this fix completely and revert windows back to right where it was... just because I'm terribly OCD about these things.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 64 bit
Hello Respen, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Yes, the missing icon is a minor graphical bug that affects all Windows 7 installations for everyone.

To reverse the fix, you would just need to delete the Application_Icon.ico file in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Next, delete the Icon key in the left pane of the registry at the location in step 8.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
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Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
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ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
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Integrated
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2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
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Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
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Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
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Google Chrome
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Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
You're most welcome Adam, and welcome to Seven Forums. :)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Is this fix compatible for x64? I think so, but due to some reasons its not working for my x64bit edition. I remember that when I used x32bit version, this fix worked perfectly.

Take Care
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Presario CQ61
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Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 x64
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Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHz
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce G 103M; Codename: G98
Screen Resolution
1366x768

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
acer aspire 5935g
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
CPU
intel(R)core(TM)2 duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz
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intel gm45/gm47 revision 07
Memory
3 gb ddr3
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ati radeon hd4570/512mb
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lop156wh2-tle1 15.3 flat
Screen Resolution
1366x768
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OCZ-Agility3 60gig ssd
320gig external hdd
500gig external hdd
Mouse
Optical
Internet Speed
30Mbps Down/30Mbps Up

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Presario CQ61
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHz
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce G 103M; Codename: G98
Screen Resolution
1366x768
It works fine on x64 Achilleus. You could try - http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/49819-icon-cache-rebuild.html to see if that forces the icon to show for you.

Danny

Hi! Danny. Thanks for your reply. But I already done that, the problem still exist. I don't know what to do. It seems so strange.

Hope anyone can help me with this.
Thanks in advance & Take Care

Okay no worries, did you unblock the downloaded file first and put the .ico in the correct location C:\Windows\System32. I don't want to sound condescending but if the process isn't followed exactly it won't work. Try it once again from scratch.

Post back if it doesn't work this time. What are your UAC settings and user account settings.

Danny
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
acer aspire 5935g
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
CPU
intel(R)core(TM)2 duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz
Motherboard
intel gm45/gm47 revision 07
Memory
3 gb ddr3
Graphics Card(s)
ati radeon hd4570/512mb
Monitor(s) Displays
lop156wh2-tle1 15.3 flat
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
OCZ-Agility3 60gig ssd
320gig external hdd
500gig external hdd
Mouse
Optical
Internet Speed
30Mbps Down/30Mbps Up
It works fine on x64 Achilleus. You could try - http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/49819-icon-cache-rebuild.html to see if that forces the icon to show for you.

Danny

Hi! Danny. Thanks for your reply. But I already done that, the problem still exist. I don't know what to do. It seems so strange.

Hope anyone can help me with this.
Thanks in advance & Take Care

Okay no worries, did you unblock the downloaded file first and put the .ico in the correct location C:\Windows\System32. I don't want to sound condescending but if the process isn't followed exactly it won't work. Try it once again from scratch.

Post back if it doesn't work this time. What are your UAC settings and user account settings.

Danny
Done what you've told me. The problem still exist.
I disabled all the UAC settings.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Presario CQ61
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHz
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce G 103M; Codename: G98
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hi! Danny. Thanks for your reply. But I already done that, the problem still exist. I don't know what to do. It seems so strange.

Hope anyone can help me with this.
Thanks in advance & Take Care

Okay no worries, did you unblock the downloaded file first and put the .ico in the correct location C:\Windows\System32. I don't want to sound condescending but if the process isn't followed exactly it won't work. Try it once again from scratch.

Post back if it doesn't work this time. What are your UAC settings and user account settings.

Danny
Done what you've told me. The problem still exist.
I disabled all the UAC settings.

Ok reset UAC to default reboot and try it again. Are you using an admin account

Danny
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
acer aspire 5935g
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
CPU
intel(R)core(TM)2 duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz
Motherboard
intel gm45/gm47 revision 07
Memory
3 gb ddr3
Graphics Card(s)
ati radeon hd4570/512mb
Monitor(s) Displays
lop156wh2-tle1 15.3 flat
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
OCZ-Agility3 60gig ssd
320gig external hdd
500gig external hdd
Mouse
Optical
Internet Speed
30Mbps Down/30Mbps Up
Okay no worries, did you unblock the downloaded file first and put the .ico in the correct location C:\Windows\System32. I don't want to sound condescending but if the process isn't followed exactly it won't work. Try it once again from scratch.

Post back if it doesn't work this time. What are your UAC settings and user account settings.

Danny
Done what you've told me. The problem still exist.
I disabled all the UAC settings.

Ok reset UAC to default reboot and try it again. Are you using an admin account

Danny

Done. Still the problem isn't fixed!
Yes! I'm using Admin account.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Presario CQ61
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHz
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce G 103M; Codename: G98
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Okay

Just to check.
- You didn't rename the .ico file did you and it is unblocked
- For sure its in C:\Windows\System32
- You merged the .reg file and rebooted/Logged on-off

You could manually check in regedit that the key is there and is identical to the manual method in Shawns tutorial. If all the above is correct rerun the icon cache rebuild just to be sure.

To be honest I'm out of suggestions. Brink may be able to add something when hes online later as he created the tutorial.

Sorry mate I see no reason why it wouldn't have worked for you.
Double check the above and let us know. :rolleyes:
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
acer aspire 5935g
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
CPU
intel(R)core(TM)2 duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz
Motherboard
intel gm45/gm47 revision 07
Memory
3 gb ddr3
Graphics Card(s)
ati radeon hd4570/512mb
Monitor(s) Displays
lop156wh2-tle1 15.3 flat
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
OCZ-Agility3 60gig ssd
320gig external hdd
500gig external hdd
Mouse
Optical
Internet Speed
30Mbps Down/30Mbps Up
Hello Achilleus,

As Danny posted above, double check to make sure that you followed each step exactly and fully. This tutorial works in both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 unless any little part of it was not followed exactly as is.

Could you also post a screenshot of this to see if anything may stand out?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Okay

Just to check.
- You didn't rename the .ico file did you and it is unblocked
- For sure its in C:\Windows\System32
- You merged the .reg file and rebooted/Logged on-off

You could manually check in regedit that the key is there and is identical to the manual method in Shawns tutorial. If all the above is correct rerun the icon cache rebuild just to be sure.

To be honest I'm out of suggestions. Brink may be able to add something when hes online later as he created the tutorial.

Sorry mate I see no reason why it wouldn't have worked for you.
Double check the above and let us know. :rolleyes:

At last, it worked like a charm.
I knew it, I had done this fix many times on my 32bit OS, but I stumbled when I found I can't fix it as before. It was tricky. I was using Tera Copy as my Copy handler. I thought I copied Application_icon.ico to system32, when I was rechecking the file by pasting the file again, Tera Copy shows that the file already exists in System32 and asks me whether it wanted to overwrite it. So, I was sure, the file really exists there. But, when I checked System32 folder manually, the file doesn't exist! I was :eek: & :confused:! Then I disabled Tera Copy and used the default Windows file copy handler & the file copied without any prompt to overwrite it.
Then I killed the Explorer.exe process and started it again. Voila!!!:party:

The problem solved. But, I'm still confused with Tera Copy's response. Why it didn't copy the file and asks me to overwrite the file which in fact the file doesn't exist.Unusual!

Thanks to Danny & Brink for helping me.
Again, Brink, you're doing a fantastic job as Microsoft Valued Pro & being Site's Admin.

Take Care
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Presario CQ61
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHz
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce G 103M; Codename: G98
Screen Resolution
1366x768
That's great news Achilleus. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted. :)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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