Personal Computer Fundamentals
Organizing Shortcuts in Windows
In this lesson, you will learn:
This lesson shows you how to identify and organize your disk shortcuts for Files, Folders,
Disk Drives and Printers. In fact, these techniques work for any shortcut on any Windows
computer. You will also learn how to organize your shortcuts in folders, how to customize
the properties of program shortcuts, and how to repair program shortcuts that have failed
to work as expected.
Organize Shortcuts on your Desktop
The desktop is a great place to put shortcuts to programs you access often, but placing
a lot of shortcuts on your desktop can make it very cluttered and confusing. One way to
avoid clutter is to place folders on the desktop and then move different shortcuts and
objects inside the folders. For example, you could create a personal folder, and a business
and a tools folder.
The advantage of putting shortcut folders on the desktop is that you can organize programs
and information the way you want, and you don't need to rummage through other folders in
WIndows Explorer or My Computer to find the information. You can even create temporary
folders to store shortcuts to files for short-term projects. The shortcuts will be available
in the folder until you finish the project. When the project is done, you can delete the
folder and shortcuts to de-clutter the desktop.
The disadvantage of placing too many shortcut folders on the desktop is that it is harder
to see what is available at a glance, and it is harder to remember which folder the program
is in that you need. In that case you would have to open each folder until you find what
you are looking for.
Placing Shortcuts into Folders
If you're going to store personal files in a 'Personal' desktop folder, you might as well
create shortcuts in another folder called 'Programs' for the programs you use to create
those files.Then you can just open the folder and start programs you need and open files
all at once. When you are more proficient with the Windows environment, you can delete
the shortcuts that are no longer needed.
Remember that you can create multiple shortcuts to the same program and assign different
startup settings to each. This section shows you how to change the properties of program
shortcuts so that you can specify exactly which folder you want the program to save files
to by default.
This lesson examines 3 ways for creating a program shortcut within a folder. If you try
each technique you will have a feel for how to do it first time every time. When you are
finished with this lesson your Program folder will contain three shortcuts: NotePad, WordPad
and Paint.
Double click the 'Personal' Folder to open its window. (If you don't have one, create one
in My Documents > Students > Your Name )
The Shortcut Wizard method guides you through the creation process. To create the WordPad
shortcut and place it in your 'Personal' Folder, first you have to make sure you are in
the Personal Folder. Then choose File > New > Shortcut. Refer to the section on the
Shortcut Wizard for help.
Another method is using the Drag and Drop method: Use Window Explorer to open the program
folder for Notepad, which is the Windows folder on C:\ Drive. Right click the file and
drag it onto your Personal Folder. Select 'Create Shortcuts Here'. (hint: You have to tile
windows to do this.)
The third method is by copying the Shortcut to WordPad. Right click and drag the shortcut
from your desktop Start Menu ( Start > All Programs > Accessories ) onto the Personal
Folder and release the mouse. Choose "Copy Here" from the menu. The Shortcut is placed
in the folder, copying the existing shortcut. Another method to copy is to right click
the shortcut and choose "Copy", then right click inside of the Personal Folder and select
"Paste".
Repeat the same process for Paint and Notepad using the method that is easiest for you.
A good way of learning is to use a different method for each program shortcut you make.
Change How You Want Shortcuts to Work
There should now be three shortcuts in your Personal Folder. You can personalize your system
even more by changing the properties of the shortcuts. Open your Personal Folder, Right
Click the WordPad Shortcut to display the context menu and choose 'Properties'.
The properties dialog box opens showing the "Target", "Start In", "Shortcut
Key" and more.
"Find the Target", Target Location and Target Fields show the folders and filen ame of
the original file the shortcut points to. When shortcuts do not work, simply find the file,
note the path and then copy the path here.
Start In is where WordPad program (this shortcut) will automatically open or save files.
Click this field and type C:\Personal, or the path to the Personal Folder you created.
(Not this shortcut). If you are not sure of the path, open the folder and copy the path
from the address bar at the top of the page and paste into this box.
Now, when you save files, WordPad will recommend the Personal Folder as the place to save
the files. This is where you point the program for saving and opening your files. You can
still choose other locations by using the drop down arrow.
Shortcut Key or Hot-Keys is where you can specify a key combination to press that will pop
open the program. To specify a key combination like Cont-Alt-W for WordPad, press the Control
Key then type W. Cont - Alt is inserted into the field. Note that Alt is automatically
inserted for you. You cannot simply specify the Control key plus a letter. Also, if a program
does not save files, the 'Start In' field can remain empty.
Run is how you want the program to start, either in maximized or normal windows, or as a
minimized icon on the Taskbar.
Repeat the above for the Paint and Notepad shortcuts, but be careful to use different hot-key
combinations
Testing the Shortcut
To test a shortcut or diagnose why it is not working follow these steps.
Double click the shortcut to make sure that it opens. If it doesn't, right click and check
the path. To repair it, open Windows Explorer and find the program it points to, navigate
to it and copy the path from the address bar. Paste the path into the Target: field.
Double click on the shortcut and open the program. Type a few words and select File > Save
As. The Personal Folder should be either listed or opened for you. Type "Test" in
the 'File Name' field. Click 'Save'.
Test your Shortcut Key combination to make sure it works. If not, resubmit the keys in the
properties page for the shortcut.
Your Personal folder should now contain the Test file as well as the three shortcuts. If
not, repeat the above steps.
Deleting Shortcuts
Removing shortcuts is just as easy as deleting any other object. Either right click and
select 'Delete' from the menu, or drag it into the trash bin. This will not remove the
program, just the shortcut path to that program. If you do not want the shortcut on your
desktop, simply right click and choose 'Delete' from the object menu.
Note: Make sure that the Icon has the shortcut arrow in it or else you are actually deleting the object and you will have to restore it from another location. Deleting a Program or
System File in this manner can cause serious problems with the Program or the computer!