Working with Shortcuts

Sometimes you want a file to be in two places at once: the place where it really belongs and on the desktop where you can easily get to it. Sometimes your filing system has two logical places to put the same file. Shortcuts enable you to deal with these situations, without the disadvantages that come from having two independent copies of the same file (see "What Is a Shortcut?" earlier in the chapter).

Making Shortcuts

Shortcuts are created when you do any of the following:

• Drag-and-drop certain applications to a new folder or to the desktop.

• Hold down the right mouse button while you drag any object to a new location, and then select Create Shortcut(s) Here from the menu that appears when you drop the object.

• Invoke the Create Shortcut Wizard either by selecting File New Shortcut in an Explorer window or by right-clicking an open space on the desktop or in an Explorer window and selecting New Shortcut from the shortcut menu.

In the first two cases, the original file or folder stays in its old location, and a shortcut to that file or folder is created in the drop location. In the third case, the shortcut is created in the folder from which the Create Shortcut Wizard was invoked.

Windows makes shortcuts automatically in certain circumstances. When you add a web page to your list of Favorites, for example, a shortcut is created and put in the folder C:\Users\yourMseraame\Favorites.

We find that drag-and-drop techniques are the easiest way to create shortcuts. But if you prefer, you can use the Create Shortcut Wizard as follows :

1. Open the destination folder, the one in which you want to create the shortcut. If you want the shortcut to be on the desktop, make sure part of the desktop is visible on your screen.

2. Choose File New Shortcut in the destination folder's window. Or, if the desktop is the destination, right-click an empty place and select New Shortcut. Either of these techniques launches the Create Shortcut Wizard.

3. If you know the address of the file or folder to which you want to create a shortcut (the target), you can type it into the Type The Location Of The Item box on the wizard's first page. If you have the address written in another file, you can cut-and-paste it into the Type The Location Of The Item box by using CTRL-V to paste. If you use the Type The Location Of The Item box, skip to Step 7.

4. Click the Browse button. A Browse For Files Or Folders dialog box appears.

5. Use the Browse For Files Or Folders dialog box to find the target file.

6. Select the target file or folder, and then click OK. The Browse For Files Or Folders dialog box disappears. The first page of the Create Shortcut Wizard now contains the target's address.

7. Click Next. The second page of the Create Shortcut Wizard appears. If you don't like the suggested name for the shortcut (usually the same as the original object), type a new one in the Type A Name For This Shortcut line.

8. Click Finish.

Shortcuts can also point to web pages on the Internet. These shortcuts have filenames that end with the extension .url , and you can also make them with the Create Shortcut Wizard. The procedure is the same, except in Step 3 you type the page's Internet address or URL (see "What Are Addresses?" in Chapter 8).

Using Shortcuts

For almost all purposes, a shortcut to a file or folder behaves just like the target file or folder. Opening the shortcut, dragging-and-dropping the shortcut, or dragging-and-dropping something onto the shortcut produces the same result as performing the same action with the target file or folder.

The most convenient place to put shortcuts is on the desktop. Documents you are currently working on can reside in the appropriate place in your filing system, yet a shortcut on the desktop can make them instantly available. Programs you use frequently can remain in the folders they were installed into, yet be accessible with a single click. For programs you use frequently, you can add an icon to the Quick Launch toolbar on the taskbar (see "Editing the Quick Launch Toolbar" in Chapter 11).