I am interested in setting security rights to a Windows XP desktop icon so that it cannot be deleted, or moved to the recycle bin. The icon should still be able to launch the program, but that’s it in terms of access rights. I have tried right-clicking on the icon, selecting properties, selecting the security tab, advanced, permissions, then selected edit to any one of the system accounts, set delete to deny in the object box, and then apply. After this setting, I can still delete the icon, so I am unsure why this feature is available because it does not seem to work. Setting delete to deny doesn't seem to take any effect. Is there any way to do this?

One way is to create a shell icon. If you follow the instructions at the site, you'd change step 4 to point to the appropriate executable. (I've used freeware that greatly simplifed the process, but I cannot find the program now! I'll post back if I do.)

I will try the shell icon procedure out, but definitely post the freeware utility if you can find it! Thanks for the help!

Found it! http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/ui_shell.html Go to the Conclusions/Downloads section and there is a link to "Shell Object Editor" The program walks you step by step. Of course there *should* be another way to do what you want, but I don't know of any. Hope it works

IMPORTANT: "Shell Object Editor" could lead to system instability! (That explains why I had deleted the program after trying it.) It is much better to create the shell icon manually as detailed at virtualplastic.net

Thanks for the info CyberSlug. I have followed the procedure, but found that you can only create a non-removable icon to either a shortcut to a custom folder, or to an application. I would like to prevent a single file on an XP desktop from getting deleted. For instance, say I have a PDF file, or the shortcut to a pdf file on my desktop. How could I set the icon that represents that file from getting deleted? I tried created a shell object that represented a pdf file. When I try to launch the file, I get a "(null) not a valid win32 application" error. It seems that shell objects only work for applications and folders. Is there any way to do this? Again, thanks for your help!

Hi again. You could try setting the target to your PDF program followed by the file path. For example (make sure to include quotes): "C:\Program Files\Acrobat Reader\Reader\AcroRd32.exe" "C:\someFolderPath \someFile.pdf" If that doesn't work, I recommend rephrasing and posting again. Surely someone knows a solution to this should-be-easy-to-solve problem!