Offline file icons displayed without icon overlay in Windows 10

Offline files is a feature of Sync Center that makes network files available to a user, even if the network connection to the server is not available. Users can use files offline (if enabled) to make their network files always available offline to keep a copy of the files stored on the network on your computer. In today’s release, we will identify the cause and then provide the workaround as well as the permanent solution that you can try to fix the problem of offline file icons displayed without icon overlay in Windows 10.

Offline file icons displayed without icon overlay

In Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019, it may happen that File Explorer does not display offline file icons correctly.

You can identify an offline file by the overlay that shows an “x” character in the lower left corner of the file icon. Instead, offline files can be viewed by having a “normal file” icon. This icon is indistinguishable from a file that is not offline.

You may experience this problem due to a change in the shell that prevents Windows from detecting files as offline files; after which, File Explorer does not display the icon overlay.

If you have this problem, you can correct it using one of the two methods described below:

1]To work around this problem, use a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to open the folder. For example, use server share path.

This method works if “server»Refers to the local computer or a remote computer. Using this workaround, you can verify that the file in question is actually offline.

2]To resolve this problem, install the latest cumulative update for the affected client and Windows server version.

It is also recommended to upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10.

I hope this helps you!