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How to Add Shortcuts to Windows 10 Desktops
Create time-saving desktop shortcuts
By Julia Borgini Julia Borgini Writer Queen's University at Kingston George Brown College Julia Borgini is a former Lifewire writer and a technical copywriter. She's written for B2B News Network, Kissmetrics, Social Media Examiner, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 10, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Windows The Ultimate Laptop Buying Guide What to Know
Right-click anywhere on desktop. Select New > Shortcut > Browse > select file or app. Name shortcut > Finish.You can use desktop shortcuts to access applications, navigate to a website quickly, or open a file. This article explains various methods for adding shortcuts directly to your Windows 10 desktop so you can quickly access applications, webpages, or files. Create a Desktop Shortcut From the Desktop
Follow these steps to create a shortcut for an application or file directly on the desktop: Right-click a space on your desktop and select New > Shor tcut. Select Browse to find the item you're creating the shortcut for. Select the file or application, then select OK. The location will appear in the Type the location of the item field. Select Next to continue. Type a name for the shortcut. Select Finish to create the desktop shortcut. How to Create a Desktop Shortcut From the Start Menu
To create a desktop shortcut from Start: Select the Windows icon to open the Start Menu. In the app list, select and drag any application to your desktop. Windows creates a shortcut to the application without removing the app from the Start Menu. How to Create a Desktop Shortcut for an Application
If you're a little more tech-savvy or maybe you forgot to add a Start Menu item for the application when you installed it, you can create a desktop shortcut for it through File Explorer. Open File Explorer as you normally would, or press Windows+E. Navigate to C:/ > Program Files. Open the folder for the application you want to create a shortcut for. In this example, we're creating one for Notepad++. Find the .exe file for the application. Here, it's notepad++.exe. Right-click the .exe file and select Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). Your shortcut is created and added to your desktop. Create a Desktop Shortcut in Windows 10 for Files and Folders
Creating a desktop shortcut for a document or folder from File Explorer is the same as doing so for an application, but involves an extra step. Press Windows+E to open File Explorer. Right-click the file or folder name. Select Create shortcut. Windows creates a shortcut in the same folder as the original file or folder. Select and drag, or copy and paste, the shortcut to your desktop. How to Make a Desktop Shortcut for Any Item From the File Explorer Menu
In the previous methods, you created desktop shortcuts using the right-click menu and keyboard shortcuts. Here, we'll explain how to create them using the File Explorer menus Press Windows+E to open File Explorer. Navigate to the location of the file or folder you wish to create a shortcut for. Select the address bar to reveal the location of the file or folder. Press Ctrl+C to copy the location to your clipboard. In the New section of the Home ribbon, select New Item > Shortcut. Press Ctrl+V to paste the location in the Type the location of the item field, then select Next. Type a name for the shortcut, then select Finish. Your shortcut is created. Select and drag the shortcut to your desktop and you're done. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Create a Desktop Shortcut on Windows How to Modify the Mac Finder Sidebar How to Open File Explorer in Windows 11 How to Delete Temporary Files in Windows How to Create a New Folder in Windows The Best Windows Keyboard Shortcuts in 2022 How to Create a Printer Shortcut in Windows 11 How to Add Programs to Startup in Windows 10 How to Lock a Folder in Windows 10 How to Open the Task Manager in Windows 10 How to Create a Printer Shortcut in Windows 10 What Is a Mapped Drive? What's Conhost.exe in Windows? What Does it Do? How to Connect to a Server How to Add or Remove Shortcuts on Facebook IObit Uninstaller v12 Review Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies