Microsoft has spent a lot of work on updating Offline Files in Windows Vista with the new Sync Center. For those of you that do not know or use Offline Files, they are simply a local replica of a file that is on a network share. These replicas allow you to work on files you have set to be available offline even if you are not connected to say your corporate network or home server. You can manage all of the offline file settings in one place, the Sync Center.
The only problem I have with the new offline files is the massive green icon that is appended on top of any file that is setup to sync as an offline file. This provides a nice visual clue but often blocks a big portion or almost the entire icon depending on your explorer view. This is unnecessary and since you can manage your offline file from the new Sync Center, it is no longer really needed to find out what files are setup to be synced.
Follow these steps to disable the offline files logo from appearing on your files:
- Click on the Start Menu, key in regedit and hit Enter.
- Navigate through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, explorer, ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers and Offline Files.
- Set the value of Default from {4E77131D-3629-431c-9818-C5679DC83E81} to "" (nothing).
- Reboot.
