Windows 10: Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop in Windows

How to: Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop in Windows

How to Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop in Windows


By default, Windows uses drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop.

Depending on if your desktop background is light or dark, using drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop may make reading the icon label easier or harder.

If harder, then you can turn off use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop to remove the drop shadows.

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop for your account in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop in Visual Effects Performance Options
• Option Two: Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop using a REG file

EXAMPLE: Drop shadows on icon labels on the desktop











OPTION ONE [/i] Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop in Visual Effects Performance Options
1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe into Run, and click/tap on OK to directly open to the Visual Effects tab in Performance Options

2 Check (add - default) or uncheck (remove) Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



3 If you don't see an immediate change, then you can sign in to apply instead.

If the setting change still didn't get applied, then restart the computer.







OPTION TWO [/i] Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop using a REG file
The downloadable .reg files below will modify the DWORD value in the registry key below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

ListviewShadow DWORD

0 = Remove
1 = Add


1 Do step 2 (add) or step 3 (remove) below for what you would like to do.


2. To Add Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop
This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 4 below.

Add_drop_shadows_for_icon_labels_on_the_desktop.reg

Download

3. To Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 4 below.

Remove_drop_shadows_for_icon_labels_on_the_desktop.reg

Download
4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 sign in to apply.

If the setting change still didn't get applied, then restart the computer.


8 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Change Visual Effects Settings in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Font Smoothing in Windows
• How to Change the Size of Desktop Icons in Windows 10
• How to Change Text Size for Icons in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Common Desktop Icons in Windows 10
• How to Hide or Show All Icons on Your Desktop in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Auto Arrange Desktop Icons in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Align Desktop Icons to Grid in Windows 10
• How to Change Desktop Icon Horizontal and Vertical Spacing in Windows 10

:)

 

Desktop icon labels have drop shadows

On my Windows 10 Desktop, the text under icons has an unpleasant shadow. I cannot seem to remove the drop shadows. There is a checkbox (in Advance System Settings), and I have carefully unchecked it, and restarted my PC. But the drop shadows under the
icon labels persist. I was able to get rid of the drop shadows in Windows 7 quite easily. But so far, I can't accomplish the same task in Windows 10. Any help?

 

Desktop icon label drop shadows always on after snap windows


Hi, Win 10 pro - can confirm I see that after using Snap. Normal function is restored if you restart explorer via the task manager.

Suggest you report it via the Feedback Hub app e.g.

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/drop-s...or-icon-labels
- gives a relevant registry key; maybe it can be 'fixed' or worked around using that.

I found this tutorial for 8 downwards but there isn't the equivalent here:
Desktop Icon Labels - Turn Drop Shadows On or Off - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

Desktop icon label drop shadows always on after snap windows

Thanks for these hints and also for pointing out that the proper name for what I meant was "snap" windows. I changed the thread title appropriately. *Smile
Will consider making that report and post any results back in this thread.

 

Desktop icon labels have drop shadows

This is an ongoing bug which Microsoft appears to be willfully ignoring. It is definitely consistently Task View which causes the problem. Whenever I use Task View the desktop icon labels get ugly drop shadows. The only way to remove them
is to log off and log on again. This issue has been reported ever since Windows 10 was first released! It has totally put me off using Task View. I would rather do without that than put up with these ugly shadows.

I would like to be able to switch off task view so it isn't activated accidentally by eg. snapping windows to the edge of the screen. Anybody with a suggestion of how to do this?

Otherwise, WHY DOESN'T MICROSOFT FIX THIS BUG??!! How hard can it be?

 

Add or Remove Drop Shadows for Icon Labels on Desktop in Visual Effects Performance Options

Is there any update on this?

My wife was complaining about this and I can't seem to get it to work. Just upgraded my latptop from 8.1 to 10 a couple days ago and have the same problem. I tried the change the background to a solid orange (which has worked in the past). I unchecked the system->advance->drop shadow setting. Still nothing. So I downloaded the reg file and ran it. Still have drop shadows. checked the registry entry. Looks like it should work but I still have the shadow and of course can't read the text.









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