How to Create a Desktop Shortcut on Windows 10

It is a common practice to create shortcuts on the desktop for the applications and folders that are frequently needed by the user. A shortcut is an icon with a small arrow on the bottom left. Clicking this shortcut gives you access to the original file stored in the system.

The shortcuts let you open a particular file in just one click instead of going deep into different drives in search of that file. In addition, shortcuts save a lot of time.

You can create a shortcut for any application, file or folder, and web page as well in Windows 10.

Steps to create a shortcut for an application/file/folder in Windows 10

Let us assume you want to create a shortcut for an application say Paint on the desktop. Now we begin the procedure.

Step 1: Go to the Start menu.

In Windows 10, the start menu contains a list of ‘Most used’ applications at the top, which is followed by an alphabetically sorted list of all the applications installed in your computer. You will find the applications in these lists.

You can also search a particular file using the search box present on the taskbar.

Step 2: Left click and hold the application whose shortcut is to be created.

If the application is present in the list, you can directly click on it. In case an application is residing inside a folder in the list, then you can click on the small arrow present beside the folder name (as shown in the image below). This will open a drop-down list which may contain the application. Here, you can left click & hold the application.

Step 3: Drag & drop the application on the desktop.

Now drag the selected application to the desktop and drop it. This will create the shortcut for the application.

Steps to create a shortcut for a Web page in Windows 10

Step 1: Open the web page whose shortcut is to be created.

Step 2: Click & hold the padlock icon of the web page. You will find this icon on the URL bar as shown in the image below. It is the used to view the information about the site regarding security.

Step 3: Drag and drop the icon to the desktop.

Drag the padlock icon to the desktop and drop it. This will create the shortcut for the webpage. You may need to restore down the browser window so that you can drop the icon on the desktop.

There is one more way to create a shortcut in Windows 10.

Step 1: Right-click anywhere in the empty area of the desktop.

Step 2: Select New > Shortcut.

This will open a self-explanatory wizard for creating a shortcut. You can create shortcuts for files, folders, web pages, network programs etc. This wizard will ask you to enter the path/location of the item to create the shortcut.

Step 3: Enter the path manually or Click on the Browse button, a list of files and folders will be given to you.

Step 4: Select the item whose shortcut is to be created and click the OK button.

Step 5: The path of the file will appear on the screen. Click on the Next button now. This will take you to the next step.

Step 6: Here, you will be asked to change/enter a name for the shortcut. After entering the name, click on the Finish button.

That’s it! The shortcut is created successfully on the desktop.

A shortcut is basically a small file which points to the original file. It is not the duplicate copy of the original file but it holds the location of the item. As soon as you click on the shortcut, the original file is opened.