How to create a Windows shortcut

Shortcuts are a great way to quickly access programs, files, folders, and even web pages. They can be conveniently placed on your desktop or in certain directories or folders. There are a few methods used to achieve these results. To proceed, make your selection from the list below.

Create a shortcut using Microsoft’s wizard

This method allows users to create shortcuts on the Windows desktop or in a folder.

1. Right-click a blank space on the Windows desktop, a folder, or in a directory.
2. Move your mouse cursor over New in the drop-down menu that appears.

1. On the Create Shortcut window, click the button.
2. Locate the program you’d like to use for the shortcut ( A ), and then click OK ( B ).

1. Click the button.
2. Type in a name for the shortcut, then click the button.

You can pin a desktop shortcut for a program to the taskbar by dragging and dropping it there.

Create a shortcut from a folder

1. Open the Windows File Explorer by pressing Windows key + E at the same time.
2. Browse to the folder containing the program you want to use for the shortcut.
3. Right-click the program and select Create Shortcut from the drop-down menu that appears.

1. Doing so creates a shortcut named » — Shortcut» in the current directory.

If you want to rename this shortcut, right-click the file and select Rename.

How to create shortcut windows

Desktop shortcuts are a quick link to a particular file found inside the complex directories and drives on our Windows operating systems. Applications can be opened easily with only one click through desktop shortcuts. We can create desktop shortcuts for any type of file. Moreover, using desktop shortcuts reduces the valuable time of the user.

Ways of creating Desktop Shortcuts

Desktop Shortcuts can be created in multiple ways as per the user’s choice. Following are some of the methods of creating Shortcuts:

Method 1:
Follow the steps given below to create a Desktop Shortcut:

Step 1: Go to the folder which contains the file.
Step 2: Right click on the file and go to Send to .
Step 3: Click Desktop(create shortcut) .

Method 2:
Follow the steps given below to create a Desktop Shortcut:

Step 1: Right click and go to New .
Step 2: Click Shortcut and a pop up window will open.
Step 3: Click Browse and set the path of the application, then click Ok .
Step 4: Click Next .
Step 5: Rename the desktop shortcut.
Step 6: Click Finish .

Method 3:
Follow the steps given below to create a Desktop Shortcut:

Step 1: Go to the folder which contains the application file.
Step 2: Right click on the file and click Create shortcut .
Step 3: Now drag the file to desktop.

Method 4:
Follow the steps given below to create a Desktop Shortcut:

Step 1: Go to the folder which contains the application file.
Step 2: Right-click on the file and click Copy .
Step 3: Now come to the desktop and right-click.
Step 4: Click Paste shortcut .

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How to Create Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10

Any time you open a Windows app by rolling your mouse pointer over to an icon or lift your finger up and tapping on a tile, you’re wasting time and putting unnecessary strain on your shoulder. The fastest and least physically-taxing way to launch any program is with a keyboard shortcut you can hit without even lifting your hands off of the homerow. Windows 10 allows you to create custom shortcuts for any program, whether it’s a traditional «desktop» app, a new-fangled «universal app» or one of Windows 8’s «metro apps.» Here’s how.

Method 1: Create a Desktop Shortcut

1. Open a command prompt window. You can get there by typing «cmd» into the Cortana / Search box and then right clicking on Command Prompt and selecting «Run as administrator.»

2. Type «explorer shell:AppsFolder» (without quotes) at the command prompt and hit Enter. A window with a list of all your apps appears.

3. Right click on an app and select Create shortcut. It may be easier to find your app if you change the view setting to «detailed list» so you can see all the icons in a single column.

4. Click Yes when asked if you want the shortcut on the desktop. A new shortcut icon appears on your desktop.

5. Right click on the new shortcut icon and select Properties.

6. Enter a key combination in the Shortcut key field. The combination must be CTRL + ALT + a letter / number.

7. Click OK.

Note: Remember not to use the same key combination twice. Also note that some programs use CTRL + ALT + keyboard shortcuts that would also launch if you were in their windows. For example, in Photoshop Elements, CTRL + ALT + I brings up the resize menu.

Method 2: Use the Start Menu

If you’re creating a keyboard shortcut for a «desktop app,» any application that installs via direct download rather than Windows Store alone, you can create the shortcut directly from the Start Menu. By using this method, you can avoid creating a separate shortcut icon on the desktop.

1. Open the Start Menu.

2. Navigate to the icon or tile for the app you want. If the app is not pinned as a tile, you can find it by clicking on the All apps and scrolling through the alphabetical list.

3. Right click and select Open file location. A window opens with a shortcut icon. If Open file location doesn’t appear on the menu, this is a modern or universal app and you’ll have to follow method 1 above.

4. Right click on the shortcut icon and select Properties.

5. Enter a key combination in the «Shortcut key» box.

How to create a Desktop Shortcut in Windows 10

While this may sound very basic to some users, others may find it useful. I received a couple of mails in the last few months asking me to prepare a basic tutorial on how to create shortcuts. So in this post, we will see how to create a desktop shortcut in Windows 10/8/7, for your favorite application, program, website, etc, and place it on your Desktop or any other folder, for easy access.

Create Desktop Shortcut in Windows 10

1] The simplest way to create a desktop shortcut for your favorite program is to right-click on its .exe file and select Send To > Desktop (Create shortcut). You will see that its shortcut has been created on your Windows desktop.

If you instead select Create shortcut, its shortcut will be created in the same location. You can then drag and drop into your desired folder location.

2] There is another way, and that is by right-clicking on your desktop and then selecting New > Shortcut. You will see the following box open.

You have to enter the path of the program executable file, for which you want to create the shortcut.

If you know the path enter it, else click on the Browse button and browse to the .exe file and select it.

As an example, I have taken FixWin, a free tool that helps you fix Windows problems in a click. Once you have selected it, click om OK.

Now click on Next to open the following window. You may keep the same name or modify it.

Clicking on Finish will create a desktop shortcut. But you will notice that it takes the default icon.

To give the shortcut a proper icon, right-click on it and select Properties.

When the Properties box opens, click on the Change icon button.

The following box will open. You may select one of the system icons or you may click on the Browse button and browse to the folder where you may your personal stock of .ico files.

Select the icon you want and click on Apply. Your shortcut will get the cool icon, you wanted.

Incidentally, if you wish to, you can always cut-paste and move this shortcut and place it in any other folder of your choice.

If you do not like it, you can remove the Shortcut to text & the Shortcut Arrow using a registry tweak or our freeware Ultimate Windows Tweaker, which is available for Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista.

You can also use our freeware Handy Shortcuts to create many other shortcuts. Our Create-A-Shortcut Tool will let you create shortcuts anywhere on your computer easily. Do take a look at them.

How do I create a shortcut via command-line in Windows?

I want my .bat script (test.bat) to create a shortcut to itself so that I can copy it to my windows 8 Startup folder.

I have written this line of code to copy the file but I haven’t yet found a way to create the said shortcut, as you can see it only copies the script.

Can you help me out?

10 Answers 10

You could use a PowerShell command. Stick this in your batch script and it’ll create a shortcut to %

f0 in %userprofile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup :

If you prefer not to use PowerShell, you could use mklink to make a symbolic link. Syntax:

See mklink /? in a console window for full syntax, and this web page for further information.

In your batch script, do:

The shortcut created isn’t a traditional .lnk file, but it should work the same nevertheless. Be advised that this will only work if the .bat file is run from the same drive as your startup folder. Also, apparently admin rights are required to create symbolic links.

Cannot be done with pure batch.Check the shortcutJS.bat — it is a jscript/bat hybrid and should be used with .bat extension:

With -help you can check the other options (you can set icon , admin permissions and etc.)

The best way is to run this batch file. open notepad and type:-

Save as filename.bat(be careful while saving select all file types) worked well in win XP.

Rohit Sahu’s answer worked best for me in Windows 10. The PowerShell solution ran, but no shortcut appeared. The JScript solution gave me syntax errors. I didn’t try mklink, since I didn’t want to mess with permissions.

I wanted the shortcut to appear on the desktop. But I also needed to set the icon, the description, and the working directory. Note that MyApp48.bmp is a 48×48 pixel image. Here’s my mod of Rohit’s solution:

Nirsoft’s NirCMD can create shortcuts from a command line, too. (Along with a pile of other functions.) Free and available here: