Is it remotely possible for ccleaner updates to affect the function of a desktop icon for ms outlook 2016?
It shouldn’t do normally, however it may depend on just what you mean by “affect the function”?
Could you give us more details about how it’s ‘affected’?
Also check that you haven’t put Outllook/Office to sleep using CCleaner Optimiser.
I mean that the icon would not call up the outlook application. This condition was noticed sometime after an update of ccleaner. I am not suggesting anything here. I am trying to rule out the possibility. To be clear, I am not any kind of computer expert. But I recognize the value of ccleaner. And, I do not fiddle with the default settings, so it is not something I would have changed.
Thanks, I will look. But see my reply to Nukecad.
Hazelnut just said what I was thinking, if you had put it to sleep in Performance Organiser then something may have glitched and it isn’t waking up when you double-click the icon.
So have a check of that and if it is set to sleep then wake it up.
If it isn’t that then is your machine Win10 or Win11?
Thank you both for your replies and interest in this issue.
I did check performance optimizer and saw that ms office was in sleep mode. I woke it up. but have not tested the icon, which is in the one click tray at bottom of screen.
I am responding while in webmail access to my account. I went through a chat session with my service provider to reestablish this link, so I now have access this way and communicating with you.
This is a windows 10 machine, unable to acquire w11 due to hardware deficiencies(at least according to ms in an update session). I plan in the near future to get a new machine, but at the moment I have to maintain stability of this machine due to ongoing external matters.
I am getting too verbose. I will close this session once again thanking you and hazelnut for your attention to this matter.
Will try to get back with results.
The sleep mode in Performance Optimizer was the answer. I am able to use the icon and access the email server through Outlook. Thanks again. Have a beer. You earned it.
Great to hear that’s all it was and you have it back again.
Interesting to hear that it was a taskbar shortcut that wasn’t waking it up.
While it shouldn’t make any difference if it’s a Desktop shortcut or a Taskbar shortcut being used it may just be posdible that there is a difference in the PO coding.
It may be something the developers might want to look at. Ping @MrA
Before resolution, I even tried to activate it through Control Panel, even attempted to setup a new outlook. Those actions failed, thank goodness, it might have complicated things even worse. I have been saying for 20 years that Windows has too many curtains in it. 
But I don’t do any black screen console editing, either.
Might be because MSOffice is a suite of applications and the sleep mode grabbed them all. I don’t know.