You can place shortcuts in a convenient place, such as on the desktop or in a commonly used folder, for quick access to files or folders. You can distinguish a shortcut from the original file by the arrow that appears on the icon.

A typical file and its shortcut

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To create a shortcut

Open the location that contains the item to which you want to create a shortcut.
Right-click the item, and then click Create Shortcut. The new shortcut appears in the same location as the original item.
Drag the new shortcut to the desired location.

Tip

You can also move the new shortcut to the desired location by cutting and pasting. To do this, right-click the shortcut, and then click Cut. Then right-click within the location where you want to move the shortcut, and then click Paste. The shortcut appears in the desired location.

To delete a shortcut

Right-click the shortcut you want to delete, and then click Delete. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Note

When you delete a shortcut, only the shortcut is removed. The original item is not deleted.

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Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.

See also

Create or delete a shortcut

To create a shortcut

Tip

To delete a shortcut

Note