Tutorial: Creating shortcuts to your Desktop
download this tutorial as a pdfIn your early days of computing you will probably be opening programs by clicking on the Start button, selecting Programs and finally clicking on the desired icon. This is fine for infrequently used programs, but after a while, you will be using a number of programs on a regular basis and this method becomes tedious.
The way round it is to create a shortcut on the Desktop which you simply double click to open the program. So how do we do this?
First of all make sure that your screen shows the Desktop – then, as before use the Start button and navigate your way to the program in question. But, this time, instead of left clicking on it, Right click on the program, keep holding down the right button, ‘drag’ the program icon onto the Desktop and then release the mouse button.
A dropdown menu will appear offering the opportunity to Create a Shortcut here or Copy Here. Left click on the shortcut option and the programs icon will be placed on the Desktop. It is as simple as that. All shortcuts created in this way will be identified by a crooked arrow on the shortcut icon.
It is not just programs that can be converted into shortcuts. You can create shortcuts to frequently used files, your printer or a hard disc. Simply navigate your way to the item you want easy access to and right-drag it onto the Desktop. You will probably have to reduce the size of the navigated window so that you can see the Desktop behind it.
If you find that your Desktop is getting cluttered with too many icons you can delete those no longer needed by right-clicking on the icon and choosing Delete from the dropdown menu. This action does not delete the program itself simply the icon.
*Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
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