How to Add Shortcuts to Windows 10 Desktops

Create time-saving desktop shortcuts

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Updated on May 10, 2022

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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 > Shortcut.
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.

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