Creating Shortcuts in Windows XP

Sometimes life's easier with shortcuts. (As long as the shortcuts work, anyway.) So, too, in the Windows XP realm, where shortcuts point to things that can be started. You may set up a shortcut to Word and put it on your desktop. Double-click the shortcut, and Word starts, the same way as if you chose Start --> All Programs --> Microsoft Word.

You can set up shortcuts that point to the following:

• Programs of any kind

• Web addresses, such as Microsoft.com

• Documents, spreadsheets, databases, PowerPoint presentations, and anything else that can be started in Windows Explorer by double-clicking it

• Specific chunks of text inside documents, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, and so on (they're called scraps)

• Folders (including the weird folders that are inside digital cameras), even the Fonts folder and others that you may not think of

• Drives (hard drives, floppies, CDs, Jaz drives, the works)

• Other computers on your network, and drives and folders on those computers

• Printers (including printers attached to other computers on your network), scanners, cameras, and other pieces of hardware

• Dialup network connections

Shortcuts can do many amazing things. For example, you can set up a shortcut to a specific network printer on your desktop. Then, if you want to print a file on that printer, just drag the file onto the shortcut. Windows XP takes care of all the details.

There are many different ways to create shortcuts. Say you use the Windows calculator all the time, and you want to put a shortcut to the Windows calculator on your desktop. Here's an easy way to do it:

1. Right-click any blank spot on the desktop.

2. Choose New --> Shortcut.

The Create Shortcut Wizard appears (see Figure 1).

3. Click Browse.

4. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, click My Computer, click the C: drive, click Windows, and then click system32.

Scroll way down to calc.exe (if you haven't told Windows that you want to see filename extensions, you see only "calc").

5. Click calc.exe and click OK.

6. Click Next; type a good, descriptive name like Calculator; and click Finish.

Any time you double-click the Windows Calculator shortcut on your desktop, the Calculator comes to life.

You can use a similar procedure for setting up shortcuts to any file, folder, program, or document on your computer or any networked computer.

Often, the hardest part about setting up a shortcut is finding the program that you want the shortcut to refer to. In the preceding example, you saw how the Windows Calculator is located in the system32 folder, which in turn sits inside the Windows folder (techie shorthand is C:\Windows\system32). Many other Windows programs are in the system32 folder. If you're looking for the Microsoft Office XP programs, they're probably in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10, while Office 2000 programs are most likely in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office. The Fonts folder sits in C:\Windows. In general, if you're looking for programs, your best bet is to look in the Program Files folder first and then in Windows.

You have many other ways to put shortcuts to good use. When you're working in Windows Explorer, you can right-click many types of files and folders, drag them to new locations — other folders, the desktop, even the Start menu or the Quick Launch Toolbar — release the mouse button, and click Create Shortcuts Here.

Windows thrives on shortcuts. They're everywhere, lurking just beneath the surface. For example, every single entry on the Start menu is a (cleverly disguised) shortcut. The icons in the Quick Launch Toolbar are all shortcuts. Most of Windows Explorer is based on shortcuts — although they're hidden away where you can't reach them. So don't be afraid to experiment with shortcuts. In the worst-case scenario, you can always delete them. Doing so gets rid of the shortcut but doesn't touch the original file.

Here's yet another way to create a shortcut. Say you want to put a shortcut to a network printer on your desktop. Follow these steps:

1. Choose Start --> Control Panel and click Printers and Other Hardware.

2. Click View Installed Printers or Fax Printers.

3. Right-click the printer that you want to be shortcutted.

4. Click Create Shortcut.

Windows displays the dialog box shown in Figure 2. You'll find that "Create Shortcut" is a common option when right-clicking almost anything in Windows XP.

5. Click Yes, and the shortcut that you wanted appears on your desktop.