App loading timer

Deni Dismachek 20 Reputation points
2026-06-06T02:19:42.12+00:00

I would like to have some way of telling whether the app that I double clicked on the desktop is loading or not. If there was a rotating circle over the app icon on the desktop while it is loading I would feel better and might not try and double click it again thinking that my first attempt failed.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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AI answer

2026-06-06T02:19:50.2233333+00:00

Windows doesn’t provide a built-in indicator on the desktop icon itself (such as a spinning overlay) to show that an app launched from the desktop is still starting. Once the app is double-clicked, feedback is mainly provided through:

  • The mouse pointer changing to a busy or spinning cursor.
  • The app’s taskbar button appearing and, for some apps, showing progress or other status using taskbar features.

On Windows 7 and later, applications can use enhanced taskbar features to show progress or status directly on their taskbar button (for example, a progress bar or overlay icon) while they’re loading or performing long operations. However, this behavior must be implemented by each application; it isn’t controlled by a user setting and doesn’t affect the desktop shortcut icon itself.

There’s no supported way in Windows 11 to globally add a loading animation on desktop icons when apps are starting. Any change of that kind would require changes by Microsoft to the shell or by individual app developers to their own UX.

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  1. Deni Dismachek 20 Reputation points
    2026-06-06T02:22:53.8+00:00

    If the desktop icon had a shadow around it while it was loading and then once loaded the shadow would disappear. This also would help to know whether the app is loading or not.

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