.Docx files are not showing word icon but only white plain icon (Windows 10)

Fix for Blank Docx icon  with Office 2016 and Office 2019

I tried all suggested solutions with no luck. Deleted icon cache, Reinstall office ,fix office none worked. 

So I looked at the Docx registry settings in a working computer using office 2019 .

I copied the files I listed below  and this worked 100% and now my Docx files have a word icon 

Good luck be safe back up your docx registry key just encase 

I wanted the 2019 docx of office 2019 functionality Using Window 10. After upgrading from Office 2013 to 2019 .

I have found out what I had to do to get back the Right-click New Microsoft Word Document function of Office 2019 in Windows Explorer and on the Desktop.

I found that four keys were missing in the registry in comparison with my other computer’s installation of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019.

Remember to back up the .docx key by exporting it to a safe folder so that you could have it if necessary.

I opened the registry to – HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.docx

Steps creating keys are done on the left window pane in the registry.

1)     Below the .docx key I create the first key that was missing by right clicking on the “.docx” key then go down to New, then left click on Key and name it “OpenWithList” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default)  REG_SZ   (value not set)

2)     Inside of the “OpenWithList” create the second key. Right click on the “OpenWithList” key then go down to New, then left click on Key and name this new key “WordPad.exe” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default)  REG_SZ   (value not set)

3)     Right click on the “.docx” key then go down to New, then left click on Key to create the third key and name it “Word.Document.16” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default)  REG_SZ   (value not set)

4)     Right click on the “Word.Document.16” key then go down to New, then left click on Key to create the fourth key and name it “ShellNew” without the quotes.

Inside of that key is the automatically created String Value (default)  REG_SZ   (value not set)

The next thing to do is to create a string value newly created “ShellNew” key but this is done in the window on the right side.

5)     Left click on ShellNew in the left window to select the key. Now in the window on the right side; Right click in the empty space go to New then select String Value. Name the new string “NullFile” without the quotes, Type is REG_SZ Leave the data empty.

6)     Lastly, in the left window left click on key .docx, In the right side window make sure that the data of the (Default) string is Word.Document.16 – To change it, doubleclick on the string named (Default) , a window will open up and you change the data value to Word.Document.16 (My data value was “docx_auto_file”)

You are done. Close the registry.  Test the right click context menu now.

I hope that this will help some people.  

When I saw this list of instructions, my first reaction was, "Not for me;" I am not a computer geek. However, when nothing else worked, I got desperate and gave it a try. It was really easy, and it worked perfectly!! Can't thank you enough!

Thanks so for posting this solution! I have tried every fix I could find and nothing has worked until now.

You are AWESOME! It worked. How did you figure all that setup out? Not precisely intuitive.

Could you please explain what exactly is this setup doing to make it work?

Many thanks!

I had the same problem and tried several solutions, but what really worked was to reset the default applications, under Settings> Applications> Default Applications> Click the Reset Button.

Thanks @Rdmaster!

This worked! Gosh, it was driving me crazy... I tried all these things and it was a simple fix. Much appreciated to find this post!

My issue was the .docx default string was pointing to "docx_auto_file”.

I changed the default to Word.Document.16 and it worked like a charm.

Remember, after you make the change to the registry you must right-click your word document icon, Select Open with, and choose the Word app and make sure to check the Always use this app to open...

Steph