(WINDOWS 11) INVISIBLE TASKBAR ICONS CREATED WHEN YOU PIN A PROGRAM TO THE OPEN-SHELL START MENU WHEN THE PROGRAM IS ALSO ALREADY PINNED ON THE TASKBAR.

[MichaelIsGreat123]

Remark: I use capitals and/or bold only to highlight important ideas, not for any other reasons.

I put the two postings I already posted on "Windows 11 and the future of Open-Shell · Discussion #745 · Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu" at
#745
Just to make sure that they will be spotted by the developers of Open-Shell whom I thanks a lot for Open-Shell.

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MichaelIsGreat123
Feb 6, 2023

---There is something really annoying happening with Open-Shell when one wants to pin a program on the Open-Shell Start Menu (as an example, I use Notepad because Notepad is already listed on the normal Start Menu in all apps):

1. WHEN it happens that this pinned program (Notepad) shows on the Windows 11 normal Start Menu when you click on all apps. In this example, Notepad shows in all apps with its normal icon.
2. AND WHEN it happens that this program (Notepad) is already pinned on the taskbar with its VISIBLE normal icon.

---With the 2 conditions stated above, when I pin Notepad on the Open-Shell Start Menu (say by clicking the normal start menu, then all apps and right-click on Notepad and select pin to start menu (Open-Shell) ), Notepad shows on the Open-Shell Start Menu with its normal icon.

---Now, if I shut down Windows 11 and then restart again Windows 11 from scratch, here is what I will see.

1. In the normal Start Menu for Windows 11, click on all apps and you check Notepad, you see the normal Notepad with its normal icon BUT also a second Notepad that is there that is white and that was created when I pinned Notepad on the Open-Shell Start Menu.
2. I also notice that the taskbar icon for Notepad has now become invisible following the pinned of Notepad on the Open-Shell Start Menu, I assume due to the creation of this white icon for Notepad that is in the normal start menu in all apps. I can move my cursor on this invisible Notepad taskbar icon and I see the name Notepad.

---If I delete this white icon for Notepad in the normal Start Menu then in all apps, then do a restart of the taskar using Task Manager and then select restart for Windows Explorer, you can see that the invisible taskbar icon for Notepad now becomes visible with its normal taskbar icon.

---What I would like is to be able to pin Notepad on the Open-Shell Start Menu when Notepad is already pinned on the taskbar and, the next time I restart Windows, I do not see an invisible taskbar icon for Notepad even though Notepad has been pinned on the Open-Shell Start Menu previously.

---I took Notepad as an example because it is one of the programs already listed on the normal start menu in all apps and Notepad is also pinned on the taskbar. Select any other programs meeting these 2 conditions if you want and the same problem will happen.

---The solution to this problem could be that, when you pin a program on the Open-Shell Start Menu, if this program is already listed on the normal Start Menu in all apps, then a duplicate with a blank icon is NOT created in the normal Start Menu in all apps. This way, if the program is already pinned on the taskbar with a visible icon, this visible icon for this program on the taskbar will NOT become invisible when you pin it on the Open-Shell Start Menu.

---I also wrote a post on a similar topic that is just above entitled: SOLUTION TO THE INVISIBLE TASKBAR ICONS IN WINDOWS 11.

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MichaelIsGreat123
Jan 23, 2023

---SOLUTION TO THE INVISIBLE TASKBAR ICONS IN WINDOWS 11.
--I uninstalled Open-Shell (I think you can do that also when you have Open-Shell installed) and I went to the Windows 11, Start, all apps, and I selected the duplicates that were in white for the following taskbar icons that were invisible on the taskbar when Open-Shell was installed:
-Paint
-Settings
-Notepad
C:\Users\ [username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
and in this folder, I deleted the 3 white icons that were in all apps and that were duplicates in all apps.
I found the location by right-clicking on one, select more, select go to location and it pointed out to this folder:
C:\Users\ [username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

--After deleting the 3 blank icons for the 3 apps above that were also duplicates, I ended my VM (VM for Virtual Machine; I could only find this out with a virtual machine!) by selecting shutting down (A Restart is NOT sufficient, as when you do Restart and you log in back, it does not get rid of the blank duplicates in the all apps).
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WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT, WHEN YOU DELETE THE BLANK ICONS IN START, ALL APPS, YOU MUST THEN SHUT DOWN. WHEN YOU LOG IN BACK, YOU SHOULD SEE THE TASKBAR ICONS THAT WERE INVISIBLE BEFORE TO BE NOW VISIBLE WITH THEIR PROPER TASKBAR ICONS.
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--When I logged in back:

1. all the taskbar icons for these 3 apps were now showing properly on the taskbar (they were not invisible anymore).
2. very important too when I checked the all apps, there were no more 3 blank duplicates. It is this fact that seems to ensure that the taskbar icons will show up normally and that they will not be invisible.

Each time you pinned an application on the Open-Shell menu, there is a possibility that this particular application will create a white duplicate of the application of the same name in the normal Windows 11 Start Menu, all apps. In such a case, you get a new invisible taskbar icon on your taskbar. Simply delete this white duplicate from the Start Menu, all apps using the folder location I gave you above and next simply do a full shut down of your computer. When you login in back, the invisible taskbar icon is not invisible anymore and you get a proper icon for this application on the taskbar.

Of course, I tested that on my current installation of Windows 11 and it works.
It was an annoying problem that I had and I am happy NOW THIS PROBLEM IS SOLVED!!

I hope you will be able to solve this issue.
Open-Shell runs fine on Windows 11 except this issue.

Many thanks to the developers of Open-Shell.