It's the default behavior.
I was searching far and wide for the solution to this issue, and then I realized something:
The file LayoutModification.xml
was simply not there.
So rather than try to look elsewhere for those stubborn icons, you could just remove them by creating your own file:
- Go to the path where the file is supposed to be:
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\
- Open a text editor of your choice and create an empty file with the name
LayoutModification.xml
.
- Paste the following layout in(reference):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LayoutModificationTemplate
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/LayoutModification"
xmlns:defaultlayout="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/FullDefaultLayout"
xmlns:start="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/StartLayout"
xmlns:taskbar="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/TaskbarLayout"
Version="1">
<CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection PinListPlacement="Replace">
<defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>
<taskbar:TaskbarPinList>
<taskbar:DesktopApp DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Notepad.lnk" />
</taskbar:TaskbarPinList>
</defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>
</CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection>
</LayoutModificationTemplate>
Notice the PinListPlacement="Replace"
on line 8. That'll remove the old icons you have(bye bye annoying Edge and Store icons!) and add any you specify in the list(like the Notepad one I have here). Note that this doesn't affect the icons that you explicitly pin to the taskbar(those are controlled by the %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
folder).
Note: If you find the need to add any more icons, don't trust names in Explorer! Go to the General tab of the shortcut(.lnk
file) you want to add and copy the path from there. The Explorer tends to have different names for some folders - mine had a name of "Windows Accessories" for a folder and a path name of just "Accessories". If you put the wrong path in, your icon won't show.