Make a Shortcut

As with most everything else, there are several ways to make a shortcut to file, folder, program or what ever you want to make a shortcut to and you can make as many as you want, they're free.

I prefer to use the "Right Click" menu in the right window of Windows Explorer. This way I am right where I can put it where I want it right while I am right there. You will find that I am right about this.

You can rename a shortcut to something you will better associate with what you have the shortcut to. If you have a lot of programs and stuff on your PC, it is easy to forget what a shortcut is reffering to. By renaming it to something you can better relate it to, it will make your life a little easier.

The preferences of a shortcut can be altered a little with the use of a program usually not installed but can be found on your Win-98 CD. This is a plug-in called "Tweak UI" and you can find it in a folder called "Power toys" in "Tools".

You still have your folder in C: drive so go to Start/Programs/windows explorer/C: drive. this will put the contents of C: in the right window. Right click your folder. From the pop-up menu, select "Create Shortcut". The shortcut will be created at the bottom of the list of files. Right click your new shortcut. Select, "Rename" from the menu. Now, the shortcut is highlighted and has a solid line around it. This means it can be edited at this time by just typing what you want it to be called. Type in a name. If you can't think of anything just type, "To Mine" then hit "Enter" or select in an open area.

Right Click your renamed shortcut. From the pop-up menu, select "Cut". Now, in the left window scroll down to "Windows" and expand it (+). Scroll down to, "Start Menu" and expand it (+).

Right Click "Programs". From the pop-up menu select "Paste".

"X" out of windows explorer. Go to, Start/Programs. You should now see your shortcut to your folder in the list of Programs. If not, just shut down and reboot to set the shortcut.

 If you already have a shortcut (Icon) and you just want to add one elsewere, Right Click the Icon. In the pop-up menu select "Copy". Remember that copy sends it to the Clip board. Now, you can go to where ever you want to put the extra shortcut and right click to get the pop-up menu then select "Paste". Another method is,

Go to "Start"/"Programs" and pick out a program. Try to find one that is not on your desktop but you can use anyone of them. Right click the one you chose and select "properties". The Properties window usually has two tabs at the top, main and shortcut. either or both will confirm that this is just a shortcut we are looking at. The reason we are confirming that the file we are working with is just a shortcut is, I have found on several PCs that someone has mistakenly installed a small program in their program menu.

Once you have confirmed that it is a shortcut, cancel or X out of that window. Again go to "Start"/"Programs" and right click the program. From the popup menu select "Create Shortcut". The shortcut will appear at the bottom of the menu and you may have to scroll it down a little to see it. Right click on the new shortcut. From the popup menu, select "Send to". From that menu select "Desktop as Shortcut". Now you have a the shortcut on your desktop. If it is a second or you don't want it, just right click the shortcut and select "delete" from the popup menu and it is gone.

To make a shortcut to a program, you must locate the ".exe" file that opens the program. Or some programs have a ".com" to open that program. Go to Windows Explorer and locate the program that you want to make a shortcut to. First look under C: drive for a folder named what the program is or sometimes they use the name of the manufacture. If you don't see either, expand the Program Files folder. If still no folder, select Program Files to put it's contents in the right window. Scroll down and search for the name of the program with a file extension of .exe or if none there may be a .com after the name. To confirm that you did find it, double click it. If the program opens normally then that is the file that you want to make the shortcut to. Just right click that file and select "Create Shortcut". The shortcut apears at the bottom of the list of files. If the name is acceptable just click in an open space or hit Enter. then use Cut & Paste to put it where ever you wanted it.