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1. Create a shortcut

There are two types of shortcuts:

• Program shortcuts (apps and software)

• File and folder shortcuts

• To create a shortcut for a program in Windows 11, search for the program using the Start menu. Once you find the program, right-click on it and select Open file location. Then copy the program shortcut that appears in the File Explorer window. Finally, paste the shortcut onto the desktop.

  Let’s look at this step by step. Feel free to enlarge the screenshots. Open the Start menu by clicking the Windows icon in the taskbar, at the bottom left of the screen.

Search for the program or app you want to add as a desktop shortcut. You can click All apps or use the search bar at the top of the Start menu.

On the app or program you want to add to the desktop, right-click on it and select “Open file location”.

Next, right-click again on the program that appears in the Windows File Explorer window :

Then, click Copy. In the example below, I have selected several programs at once. I want to add shortcuts to Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on my desktop. If you are completely new to computers, learn how to copy and paste in Windows, or check out our computer courses. Here, I select multiple items and copy them.

Now, on the desktop, simply right-click and select Paste :

Your shortcuts to your programs, software, or apps are now in place!

• To create a shortcut for a folder or file, you will need to create it manually, as explained in this lesson. To create a desktop shortcut in Windows, open File Explorer and right-click on the file or folder you want to create a shortcut for to open the context menu. Then select Send to → Desktop. Finally, you can rename and move the shortcut.

Path: Show more options → Right-click on a file or folder → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut)

Let’s look at this step by step with images.

In the example below, we will create a shortcut for a folder located in the Pictures folder, accessible via File Explorer. You can create a desktop shortcut for any file or folder! Right-click on the file or folder of your choice, then select Show more options.

Then click Send to → Desktop (create shortcut).

Shortcuts to my most-used websites? Yes, but not on the desktop!

You can create shortcuts to your favorite websites on the desktop, but we recommend using your browser’s Bookmarks Bar instead, to avoid cluttering your desktop. The bookmarks bar in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox is designed for this purpose, allowing you to create shortcuts for hundreds of web pages, which you can organize as you like: recipes, personal, work, children, etc.

If you still want to create this type of shortcut, right-click on the desktop, select New → Shortcut, then enter the URL* of the page or website. Click Next to give the shortcut a name, and then confirm.

*Example URL: https://www.google.com

2. Rename a shortcut

You now need to give a custom name to the newly created shortcut, simply to give it a name that makes sense to you. To do this, click on the icon’s text. Once it is highlighted, type the new name using your keyboard and press Enter. You can also rename desktop shortcuts by right-clicking on them and selecting Rename.

Let’s look at this with images. In this example, the shortcut is called “Documents – Shortcut”. Let’s remove the “– Shortcut” part, which is unnecessary. To do this, select an icon on your desktop and click on its text. The text will be highlighted. Type the new name for the folder and press Enter.

3. Move a shortcut

To move a desktop icon, click on the icon, hold the mouse button, and drag it to the desired location. Release the mouse button to place it.

To delete a desktop icon (shortcut) that you no longer use, click on it to select it and press the Delete key on your keyboard. You can also use the context menu: right-click the shortcut → Delete. Even easier, you can drag the shortcut to the Recycle Bin.

We recommend pinning your favorite programs directly to the taskbar. This way, you won’t need to access the desktop to open them! This is exactly what we will cover in the next lesson.