Windows 10 Pro - Duplicate Pinned Taskbar Icons

I've searched the forums and I couldn't find any similar posts for this topic.

I'm running Windows 10 Pro (1809) on a MSI GE-70 2PE Laptop. I've installed / uninstalled and maintained all my software on the laptop very seamleassly.

However one software that I recently updated (via a clean uninstall and fresh install - it was a complete new version update) is now creating very strange behaviour that other installed software is not displaying.

I always allow my software to create Start Menu icons, and I never keep any shortcuts on my desktop, and prefer to pin the commonly used software pinned to my start menu, and then the most used (as in daily) pinned on the taskbar.

However the software I recently updated now creates a duplicate icon on the taskbar when launched from the pinned icon on the taskbar.

I have tried deleting and recreating the pinned icons from various locations, even from the .exe locations in the Program Files directory, and the behaviour remains the same. I also found some articles online that mention various ways to pin taskbar icons that are doing similar behaviour, but none of these posted solutions have managed to sort this issue out.

I've resorted to not pinning these items and launching them from the start menu instead, as a temporary workaround. I still would like to achieve the same end result as my other installed software.

Can someone perhaps give some ideas on what could be the cause of this one software persistently creating an additional taskbar icon when pinned?

Thanks.

Are you opening more than one document with the software?
Eg Office apps can do this—open 2 Word or Excel docs and you can have 2 Word or Excel icons on the Taskbar.

Control as follows:
Right-click Taskbar, click Taskbar Settings.
Change the 'Combine Taskbar Buttons' setting to your preference.

Lugh said:

Are you opening more than one document with the software?
Eg Office apps can do this—open 2 Word or Excel docs and you can have 2 Word or Excel icons on the Taskbar.

Control as follows:
Right-click Taskbar, click Taskbar Settings.
Change the 'Combine Taskbar Buttons' setting to your preference.

Hi Lugh,

No, it's when I'm opening the first instance of just this one software that I recently upgraded, and it will generate an additional icon on the taskbar, as if there isn't a pinned icon that's already there.

And as I stated, the other installed software, some of which have been updated (some with fresh installs) are not displaying this behaviour. And my taskbar still is not full as yet, since I don't have that many icons pinned to the taskbar, so I still have space for more icons to be pinned, hence I can see the problematic software create an additional (temporary) icon on the taskbar, usually at the very end.

Edit: Oh and just for clarity, I know the scenario you were asking in your post, but Windows usually stacks them almost as if on top of each when its multiple instances of any software (e.g. two MS Words etc.). What I'm having in my scenario is a completely separate icon being created (temporarily) when I launch this one software I use, and its as if there isn't a previously pinned icon. Whereas all other software pinned on the taskbar do not create additional temporary icons when I launch them from the taskbar (or anywhere else).

Hope that clarifies.

f14tomcat said:

You haven't yet said what this "one software" is. Perhaps someone who is familiar with it could shed some light on the double icon appearing (temporarily). The name of it, and a link to the vendor's site would be helpful. Thanks.

Oh my bad. It's Sketchup Pro 2019.

SketchUp Pro Software | Create 3D Model Online | SketchUp

f14tomcat said:

Thanks for posting that back. I have no experience at all with. Hopefully, some will see this and respond. One wild grues, just going by the title... could the second icon in the taskbar be another window generated by some interaction with the "online" part? Title seems to indicate it's software you run on your machine that also does something online. Just a guess.......

The previous version I had installed (v2017), as well as the version I am running now, do not require an online connectivity to run. Meaning that you can use the software without the machine having any kind of internet connection. However, there is an option to log into your online account from within the software package, to access additional content that the software manufacturers make available to users who have opted to create online profiles to use in conjunction with their software.

Sketchup is not the only software that I use that has online account available while using it, and all of the other software can also operate without the user having logged in to their online account. The other software I use do not create additional icons on the taskbar when I launch them, right now it's just Sketchup Pro 2019.

Over Dose said:

No, it's when I'm opening the first instance of just this one software that I recently upgraded, and it will generate an additional icon on the taskbar, as if there isn't a pinned icon that's already there.

I only have one other suggestion I can think of. Unpin it from Taskbar, and then launch the program. How many icons on the Taskbar now?

Just thinking that maybe your pinned icon is for the old version, and the program insists on launching the newer icon.

Lugh said:

I only have one other suggestion I can think of. Unpin it from Taskbar, and then launch the program. How many icons on the Taskbar now?

Just thinking that maybe your pinned icon is for the old version, and the program insists on launching the newer icon.

I did a complete clean uninstall of the old version, so I don't have version 2017 & and version 2019 (the latest) installed together. I made sure there are no remnants of the 2017 version on the machine.

And when there isn't any icon pinned to the taskbar for Sketchup Pro 2019, it only creates the one icon for when it's active, which then goes away when I close the software.

But when I pin just this one, it will add a new icon for it.

Sorry if you have already tried this, but what if after you close the program, remove the taskbar icon (if any), run the program from its original location, right click the running icon and then choose to pin to taskbar ?