| Windows 7 Index >>> A
| B
| C
| D
| E
| F
| G
| H
| I
| J
| K
| L
| M
| N
| O
| P
| Q
| R
| S
| T
| U
| V
| W
| X
| Y
| Z
<<< Windows 7 Index |
| |
|
| Windows 7 |
| |
| Install/Remove |
| Slipstream / Image |
| Virtual Machine
Installations |
| System |
|
| Backup - Restore -
Recovery |
|
|
|
| User Interface |
| Registry |
|
| Microsoft Resources |
|
Has The Elder Geek
site been useful? |
|
Consider A Donation |
| |
TEG is hosted by:
Hosting Matters |
| |
 |
| |
|
How to Create a
Shortcut
|
| A shortcut is nothing
more than a link that when clicked or invoked by a
hot-key designation launches a specified item. The
most common use of shortcuts is to launch items like
browsers, files, and other programs. Just about any
application you install will want to put a shortcut
to it on the desktop or in the system notification
tray at the lower right of the monitor. Some users
have shortcuts scattered everywhere you look on the
desktop and others have virtually none at all. I
fall into the latter group, but I do keep a select
number on the taskbar for commonly used items. Too
many shortcuts becomes unwieldy and creates a
cluttered work atmosphere, so create ones that suit
your style of work and eliminate those that will
seldom or never be used. |
| |
| Create The
Shortcut |
| 1 - Right
click an open area of the desktop, click [New], and
click [Shortcut]. |
 |
| 2 - The
Create Shortcut dialog box opens and at the same
time a blank, unnamed shortcut is created on the
desktop. If you know the path to the item that is
the focus of the shortcut you can type it in
manually as shown by the blue highlighted text in
the screen capture below. It's easier to use the
Browse button, navigate to the item in the Browse
for Files and Folders dialog box and select it in
that manner. Once the location of the item has been
selected, click [Next] button to continue. |
 |
| 3 - Enter a
name for the shortcut and click the [Finish] button. |
 |
| 4 - Once
[Finish] is clicked in the previous step the
shortcut is available for use from the desktop.
Depending on your style of work the desktop may not
be the ideal shortcut location. Shortcuts can be
moved to just about any location you find
convenient, including the taskbar or inside other
folders. |
 |
| |
| Customize
the Shortcut |
| As you can see from
creating the shortcut, there really aren't any
customization steps other than selecting the
shortcut name. However, once the shortcut has been
created a number of options are available. Shown
below are three shortcuts I created that are
currently on the desktop; Internet Explorer,
Notepad, and Registry Editor. Any of them can be
modified. For this discussion, I'll modify the
Registry Editor shortcut. |
 |
| 1 - Right
click on a shortcut to be customized and the context
menu shown below will appear. From here you can pin
the shortcut to the Start Menu or the Taskbar, use
Send To to send it to an alternate location, create
a duplicate of the shortcut, Rename or Delete the
shortcut, or open the location of the file the
shortcut references. The referenced application can
also be run with Administrator privileges after
confirming that intention via User Account Control
(UAC). |
 |
| 2 - For a
bit more control and customization, click
[Properties] on the context menu to open the
Registry Editor Properties dialog box with the focus
on the Shortcut tab. While Pin to Start Menu and
Taskbar aren't available here, there are a few new
customizations. |
- Target: -
Obviously you 'can' change this item, but it
will change the entire shortcut. Of course, if
it's an old out of date shortcut, change it to
something useful.
- Start In: - This
is another one that unless you have a good
reason for changing it and understand why you
might want it changed, leave it alone.
- Shortcut Key: -
Assign a shortcut key sequence to eliminate
using the mouse to double click the actual
shortcut.
- Run: - Use the
drop down menu to select whether the item
associated with the shortcut will launch normal,
minimized, or maximized.
- Comment: - Enter
whatever you have to say about the shortcut or
to document creation date.
- Open File Location
Button - Takes you directly to the location in
Windows Explorer where the file or application
referenced in the shortcut is located. In this
case, C:\Windows\Regedit.exe.
|
 |
- Change
Icon... Button - If you want to change the icon,
use the [Change Icon] button to open the Change
Icon dialog box. If there are any icons
associated with the shortcut application they
will be displayed in the icon list. If you don't
see anything suitable or that you like, use the
[Browse...] button to find and alternative
location that contains icons. There are many
icon locations available, especially in .dll
files, with %SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll
being an especially popular location.
|
 |
- Advanced... Button
- If a shortcut is created to a program that
normally requires administrator privileges for
access, the shortcut will have the UAC shield
overlaid on the icon as you can see in the
Registry Editor shortcut. It isn't necessary to
use the [Advanced...] button in that case.
However, if you wanted to set the Notepad
shortcut to require administrative privileges,
place a checkmark next to the [Run As
Administrator] option and click [OK].
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
- Important Information -
The Elder Geek sites contain many articles and suggestions for
modifying the Windows operating system. I've tried these
tweaks and tips on many systems. Sometimes they work,
sometimes not. The point is, ensure you have a current,
tested backup of all system and data files and understand
how to restore the system in case something goes very wrong.
You can still yell at me, but I assume no responsibility for
your actions and use of the information and disclaim any
legal responsibility for any consequences of such actions. |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
