Adding Shortcuts

What is a Shortcut?

A shortcut offers a way of doing a task more quickly such as starting a program or accessing a document. The shortcut icon has a small arrow in the left corner to help you distinguish it from the actual icon that represents programs and files.

The icon above is a desktop shortcut for the Things to Do document that's actually stored in this particular user's My Documents folder.
When you delete a shortcut, the original item still exists on your computer in its original location.

Adding a Shortcut

In this lesson, you will learn three ways to create a shortcut. Choose the one that works best for you.

To add a shortcut to the desktop using Windows Explorer or My Computer:

• Open Windows Explorer or My Computer.
• Double-click a drive or folder.
• Click the file, program, or folder for which you want to make a shortcut. The item darkens when you select it.
• Choose FileCreate Shortcut.
• Resize the window so you can see the desktop.

• Hover the mouse pointer over the shortcut icon and hold down the left mouse button and drag the shortcut onto desktop (in the left pane).
• Release the left mouse button and a shortcut is moved to the desktop.

Alternatively, press Ctrl + Shift while dragging the file to the desktop to create a shortcut.

Right-click to Add a Shortcut

One shortcut creation method works in both My Computer and Windows Explorer. This method requires you to right-click.

To add a shortcut by right-clicking:

• Open Windows Explorer or My Computer.
• Double-click a drive or folder.
• Right-click the file, program, or folder for which you want to make a shortcut.
• A pop-up menu appears. Choose Create Shortcut.
• Resize the window so you can see the desktop.

• Hover the mouse pointer over the shortcut icon and hold down the left mouse button and drag the shortcut onto desktop (in the left pane).
• Release the left mouse button and a shortcut is moved to the desktop.