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Force the display of a shortcut icon in the taskbar instead of the executable icon

Lena🌺 🏳️‍⚧️ 0 Reputation points
2025-11-14T20:34:34.56+00:00

I am looking for a way to launch an application via a custom shortcut without the .exe file icon appearing in the taskbar—is it possible to force Windows to display the shortcut icon instead of the one embedded in the executable?

Windows development | Internet Information Services
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  1. Jack Dang (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 4,865 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-17T07:19:05.14+00:00

    Hi @Lena🌺 🏳️‍⚧️ ,

    Thanks for reaching out.

    Windows does not support showing a shortcut’s icon in the taskbar for a running Win32 application. This is expected behavior by design: when an application starts, the taskbar button always represents the actual running process, and Windows uses the icon tied to the application’s executable identity - not the .lnk shortcut used to launch it.

    Microsoft documents this behavior in the Application User Model (AppUserModel) guidelines, which explain that the taskbar uses the AppUserModelID (AUMID) or, if none is set, the executable path to determine icon, grouping, and identity:

    Because the taskbar icon is bound to the running process identity, Windows ignores any custom icon defined in the .lnk file once the application starts.

    If you need a custom icon to appear on the taskbar, the supported methods are:

    1. Assign a custom AppUserModelID and associate an icon with that AUMID This allows Windows to use your chosen icon for the taskbar entry. (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/properties/props-system-appusermodel-relaunchiconresource)
    2. Modify the EXE’s embedded icon Editing the application’s resources changes both the file icon and the taskbar icon.

    There is no setting or API in Windows that can force the taskbar to display a shortcut’s icon instead of the executable’s icon.

    Hope this helps! If my answer was helpful - kindly follow the instructions here so others with the same problem can benefit as well.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

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  1. Q&A Assist
    2025-11-14T20:34:46.5966667+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    It is not possible to directly force Windows to display a shortcut icon in the taskbar instead of the executable icon. The taskbar button typically contains the application icon and title as defined by the executable. However, if you want to change the icon that appears in the taskbar, you can modify the icon associated with the executable itself. This can be done by using a resource editor to change the icon embedded in the .exe file or by creating a new shortcut with a different icon and pinning that to the taskbar.

    Additionally, you can use the ITaskbarList interface to modify the contents of the taskbar programmatically, but this still relies on the icons defined within the executable or the shortcut itself.

    For more information on modifying taskbar icons, you can refer to the documentation on managing taskbar buttons and icons.

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