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

This worked for me. I followed from Step 3 as Step 1 and 2 are already in the system. Thanks a lot.

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.  

Out of all the methods, this actually worked for me. Many thanks.

Please help, this did not work for me. Although I might have done it wrong? Even the powerpoints and excel files have white icons only.🥺

Also how do you import registry keys, I only see the option to export. Thank you!

The icon issue signifies there are registry errors with the Office install and while you can patch this specific one, there are significantly more registry errors that need fixing too. The manual fix using Word.Document.16 or Word.Document.12 (12 worked for me) worked for the .doc icon, and you could even do this for each file type (Excel.Spreadsheet.12, etc.), but it is a band-aid for a deep gash.

I have Autohotkey scripts that use some Visual Basic functions (ComObjGet) that were throwing errors - I eventually realized this was due to Office registry errors beyond the missing icons. I ran the Office Quick Repair and Online Repair and they did not fix the registry. A full uninstall/reinstall did not fix the registry.

My Total Solution:

1. Download/install Revo Uninstaller. This free program checks for residual/leftover files that were not properly removed during an uninstall.
2. In Revo, find Microsoft Office and click Uninstall. Acknowledge any warnings.
3. Create a System Restore, then proceed through the uninstall steps.
4. After uninstall, I used moderate search mode to look for leftovers.
5. I selected all leftover registry items, deleted them, and clicked next.
6. I selected all folders/files, deleted them, and finished.
7. Restart your PC
8. Re-install Office 365 (or your version)
9. Restart your PC again
10. Done! This fixed everything for me. Icons and all other registry errors. Surprisingly my OneDrive, Outlook, Word, and Excel settings were all saved and I did not have to reconfigure the programs - just open and run per usual.

Note: It seems like the registry was screwed up from when I cloned my hard drive to a new PC and replaced Office Pro 2019 with Office 365. Somewhere in this process the registry was not properly reconfigured to Office 365. I suspect this may occur for other Office version upgrades.

Hope this helps others!

It helped me. Thanks a lot.