S.J. Quinney College of Law

Celebrating 100 Years of
Legal Education (1913-2013)

Creating shortcuts

A quick way to open files or folders or start your programs is to use a shortcut icon.

To place a shortcut icon on the desktop

  1. Right-click on your desktop, select New, Then Shortcut
  2. Find the location of the item that you want to create a Shortcut to
  3. Example:
  4. (Internet Explorer): C:/Program Files/Internet Explorer/ieexplore.exe
    (Mozilla Firefox): C:/Program Files/Mozilla Firefox/firefox.exe
  5. Click Next
  6. Type a name for the shortcut
  7. Click Finish
  8. Your new shortcut should now appear on your desktop

Another way to add shortcuts to your desktop:

  1. Right-click Start, and then click Explore.
  2. Locate the folder, file, or program in the Folders directory, and then click the item to open it.
  3. Click the icon representing the item.
  4. Click File on the toolbar, and then Create Shortcut on the drop-down menu that appears.
  5. Right-click on the shortcut icon that is created.
  6. Choose Send To from the drop-down menu, and then click Desktop (create shortcut) on the submenu that appears.

Adding My Computer, My documents, Recycle Bin, etc to the desktop

  1. Right-click on the Desktop, and then click Properties.
  2. Click the Desktop tab at the top of the window
  3. Click the Customize Desktop button at the bottom of the window
  4. Check the Desktop Icons that you would like displayed under Desktop Icons
  5. Click OK
  6. Click Apply
  7. Click OK
  8. Your newly selected Desktop Icons should appear on your Desktop

How to create a shortcut to a website on your desktop

  1. Open the web site in your web browser
  2. Drag your browser icon in your address bar to the Desktop
  3. Your new website link should now appear on your desktop

How to create a shortcut on the Quick launch bar

  1. Follow the instructions above to add a shortcut to your desktop
  2. Verify that your taskbar is unlocked
  3. Right-Click on the taskbar located at the bottom of the screen
  4. Note: Don’t click on a program but on a blank area towards the bottom of the screen.
  5. Unselect Lock the Taskbar
  6. Go back to your desktop
  7. Hold and drag the icon you created a shortcut for into the bottom left of your screen
  8. Drag it into the quick launch bar where the other icons are located right besides start
  9. Now Right-click the taskbar again and selectLock the taskbar
  10. This will prevent you from making unwanted changes again
  11. Your new icon should now show up in your quick launch bar