Windows 10: blue arrows on thumbnails, word opens in wordpad?? after W 10 update

11/19/15 - I hope this is the right place to post this. So I just installed the BIG Windows 10 update (can't remember what it was called, 1511 or something) and so far it seems all right, except my desktop is a little different. One, my desktop background picture was removed and needs to be reset, no big deal, but all my Microsoft Word files open in Wordpad now (yes, I have a current license, just bought 2016 a few weeks ago--Excel comes up normal...) and the thumbnails have these mysterious blue arrows that point at each other in the corners. I think they might have something to do with file compression? But the arrows are also on some of my program icons in the taskbar, too. Can anyone tell me what's going on and how to fix it?

((I would attach a screenshot but I'm not sure how...))

:)

 

Blue Arrows

Since downloading a Windows update yesterday I've found little blue arrows on every icon and every folder and every thumbnail. THIS IS ANNOYING! It makes the screen look cluttered and I'm not fond of it in the least bit. I do NOT have any Norton or Symantec
related product on my computer so I'm lead to believe this came about because of the update. Is there a way to remove these annoying little blue arrows before I get ticked off enough to chuck my computer out the window?....not Windows 10- a
real window. lol

 

De-inatalll WIndows 10 back to 8.1 with bugs

I've tried W. 10 and decided that it's still not ready for me. So I de-installed it back to W. 8.1. However, the system is behaving stranger than beforehand, i.e the cursor is rapidly changed into blue circle (like "MS wait clock") for a second, than
arrow again and vice versa. In addition, I've seen somewhere after the de-install that I'm using "W. 10 kernel" although using W. 8.1...



Is it possible that I was left with W. 10 bugs although "returning" into W. 8.1...?!

 

Hello skitz, and welcome to Ten Forums. *Smile

The tutorial below can help show you how to post a screenshot.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1...en-forums.html

If the blue arrows look like the ones in the tutorial below, then yes it means that the file is compressed.

Compress or Uncompress Files and Folders in Windows 10

 

Thank you, Brink! I don't think a screenshot is necessary any more, but I bookmarked the link for future reference. They were indeed compression arrows. I went through and uncompressed everything. And I'm embarrassed to say the Word/Wordpad thing was an easy fix that I could have figured out on my own if I hadn't been impatient and tired. I just needed to switch the default app with which to open those docs. *Redface

BUT... In file explorer, all the launchers, installers, setups, etc., still have compression arrows on their thumbnails, even after restarting. I right-clicked on the entire Download folder, went into the properties, and uncompressed everything inside, but they still have the compression arrows after restarting. Do I need to redownload/reinstall all of my programs?

This is rather a lot of "clean-up" after an update...kind of a pain...

This compression thing seems to have ruffled quite a few feathers after the update, so if there's a thread where this is already solved, feel free to point me in that direction. *Smile

 

Yeah a lot of people seem to be bothered my similar problems... Do you know if there's a place where I can give Microsoft some constructive feedback about the update?

 

It all depends on what you compressed to make uncompressing it easier.

Did you use "System compression" in Disk Cleanup by chance?

In addition, use step 3 below to see if you may have compacted the OS.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2...dows-10-a.html


The tutorial below can help show you how to send feedback to Microsoft.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/7...dows-10-a.html

 

I've never ever compressed anything myself, so I absolutely did not use System Compression in Disk Cleanup. All I've been doing is trying to undo all the compressing the Windows update did automatically. If I compressed something, it wasn't intentional, and I would have no idea how I'd managed to do so.

I ran the command, and the screen said: The system is not in the Compact state because Windows has determined that, it is not beneficial for this system.

 

Do you have any 3rd party utility type programs installed that may have an option to compress? If so, you may have inadvertently set it by mistake.

The good news is that compression will not hurt anything, and can save some hard drive space.

 

If you like, you can add the context menu in the tutorial below to help make uncompressing the random files easier.

Compress and Decompress - Add to File and Folder Context Menu - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

I don't know what that means. So probably not? But possible.

Yeah, that's the only thought that's keeping me from completely freaking out *Smile Everything seems to function correctly, it's just foreign and (most importantly) unauthorized by me.

I did add the context menu so it's there in case I ever want to utilize it. Thank you very much.

 

Those would be these all in one tweaking type programs. A lot of them have default settings that can make changes without you knowing, or unclear settings that are mistakenly set.

You're most welcome. *Smile

 

Most of my programs have a specific purpose... I think... but I will be paying much closer attention to my settings now.

 

Hi all,

I know you've resolved this issue by uncompressing things, but I've found out how to remove the icon without having to change compression settings.

For anyone who has ever removed the arrow that appears over shortcuts, this is the exact same process, I just had to work out the ID number for this newly added icon.

You can see how it was done on my blog, or jump straight to the bottom of the post to download a ZIP file with all the bits you need to hide those pesky blue arrows.

Take a look right here => Windows 10 and the Double Arrow icon - Nerdshack

Thanks *Smile
--

 

Thanks, mrwedders! Kudos on your problem-solving skills. I read your blog post (noticed you linked this thread--thanks?) and bookmarked the page in case I change my mind, but for now the remaining compression arrows are on just a few taskbar icons and easy to ignore, especially since they're not hurting anything. Making them invisible looks like a lot of work, and I'm not quite that OCD about it at this point. But thanks! It's good to know someone found a solution should I want to utilize it someday. *Smile