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Office Icons Missing? How to Restore Word, Excel and Outlook Shortcuts

Steven
Jun 28, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Sep 27

You go to open Word, Excel or Outlook, and the icon is gone from your desktop, your taskbar or the Start menu. It's alarming, but in most cases Office is still installed. Only the shortcuts are missing.


A well-known example happened in January 2023, when a Microsoft Defender update mistakenly flagged Office shortcuts as a threat and deleted them from thousands of computers. Microsoft fixed the bug, but the shortcuts didn't come back on their own. Shortcuts can also disappear after a cleanup tool, a Windows update or a new user profile. The fix is the same either way.



Step 1: Search the Start Menu


Click Start and type the app name, like Word. If it shows up:


  • Right-click it and choose Pin to Start or Pin to taskbar.

  • To add a desktop icon, right-click it, choose Open file location, then right-click the shortcut and choose Send to > Desktop (create shortcut) (on Windows 11, click Show more options first).


If the search finds nothing, go to Step 2.



Step 2: Find the Apps Manually


Office apps are stored in this folder on most computers:


C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

If that folder doesn't exist, try:


C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

Office16 folder in File Explorer
The Office16 folder in File Explorer

The apps have slightly different names in this folder:


  • WINWORD.EXE: Word

  • EXCEL.EXE: Excel

  • OUTLOOK.EXE: Outlook

  • POWERPNT.EXE: PowerPoint

  • ONENOTE.EXE: OneNote

  • MSACCESS.EXE: Access


Right-click the one you need and choose Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). You can also choose Pin to Start from the same menu.



Missing Microsoft Edge Too?


Edge lives in its own folder:


C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application

Microsoft Edge application folder
The Edge application folder

Right-click msedge.exe and create a shortcut the same way.



Step 3: Let a Repair Put Them Back


If you'd rather not make shortcuts by hand, or you can't find the Office folder at all, a Quick Repair recreates the shortcuts for you:


  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

  2. Find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office, click the three dots and choose Modify.

  3. Choose Quick Repair and click Repair.


If the Office folder is missing completely, Office really was removed, and you'll need to reinstall it from your Microsoft account at microsoft365.com. My guide to fixing Office toolbar icons walks through Quick and Online Repair in more detail.



Still Stuck?


If your Office apps are still missing, IT-Tech can connect remotely and get everything back where it belongs.


Book a remote support session and we'll get you sorted out.

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