Boost Your Productivity: Ultimate Guide to Customize Edge Browser's Desktop Shortcut
Tired of Microsoft Edge automatically cluttering your desktop with shortcuts? Put an end to the frustration! Discover how to prevent Edge from creating desktop shortcuts, remove it from startup programs, set a different default browser, and disable its tasks in Task Scheduler
Open "Run" by pressing Windows+R, type "regedit", and press Enter.
Navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate
Right-click on the right pane, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and enter "CreateDesktopShortcutDefault" as the name.
To stop Microsoft Edge from automatically creating its shortcut on your desktop, follow these steps:
1. Open the recently created entry.
2. Set the "Value Data" to "0".
3. Click on "OK".
Let's begin and resolve your frustration with Microsoft's web browser cluttering your desktop.
Stop Edge From Creating a Desktop Shortcut Using Registry Editor
To prevent Edge from creating shortcuts on your desktop, you can modify a value in your Windows registry. This value determines whether the browser should create the shortcut or not. By disabling this value, the browser will no longer generate any shortcuts.
Caution: Incorrectly modifying your Windows registry can cause your PC to become unstable. Thus, exercise extreme caution when editing registry values.
To begin, open the "Run" dialog box by pressing the Windows key and the letter "R" simultaneously. Type the following into the box and hit Enter:
regedit
In the “User Account Control” prompt, select “Yes.”
In Registry Editor, using the options on the left, navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate
Create the "EdgeUpdate" path manually by following these steps:
1. Right-click on "Microsoft" in the left sidebar.
2. Select "New" and then choose "Key" from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter "EdgeUpdate" as the key name.
4. Press Enter to create the path.
On the right pane, click anywhere blank and select New > DWORD (32-bit Value).
Create a desktop shortcut and name it "CreateDesktopShortcutDefault." Press Enter to save the entry. Double-click the shortcut to open it. In the open box, click the field that says "Value Data" and type "0". Finally, click "OK".
Close Registry Editor and restart your PC. You’ll notice that Edge doesn’t create its shortcut anymore.
Remove Edge From the Startup Programs List
If the registry edit mentioned above fails to work, you can try preventing Edge from launching automatically on your PC's startup. By removing the program from your startup list, it will no longer create the shortcut.
To accomplish this, simply right-click on the "Start" menu icon and select "Task Manager."
In Task Manager, access the “Startup Apps” section. Here, right-click “msedge” and choose “Disable.”
Windows won’t allow Edge to automatically launch on boot, preventing it from makings its desktop shortcut.
Set Edge as Non-Default Web Browser
To prevent Edge from creating a desktop shortcut, you can change it from being the default web browser if you've already set it as such. If the previous methods have been unsuccessful, you should follow this approach.
Make sure you have a web browser other than Edge installed on your PC. You have different options to choose from, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Brave.
To get started, if you are using Windows 11, go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps. From there, select a web browser that is not Edge from the list and click on "Set as Default."
To change your default web browser on Windows 10, follow these steps. Go to Settings, then click on Apps. From there, navigate to the Default Apps section. In the "Web Browser" category, select "Microsoft Edge" and choose a different web browser to set as your default.
Restart your PC, and that’s it.
Disable Edge’s Tasks in Task Scheduler
Another reason for Edge creating a shortcut on your desktop could be the presence of an Edge task scheduled in the Task Scheduler utility on your PC. If the previous methods did not work, you will need to deactivate this task in order to prevent the browser from generating its shortcut on your desktop.
To do that, open your PC’s “Start” menu, find “Task Scheduler”, and launch the utility.
In the utility’s left sidebar, click “Task Scheduler Library.” On the right pane, find the tasks that say “Edge.” Right-click each task and choose “Disable.”
Restart your PC, and you’re all done.
And that’s how you stop your Edge web browser from placing its shortcut on your Windows desktop. Enjoy!
