How To Create Desktop Shortcuts To Programs In Windows 10

Desktop shortcuts offer easy to way access files, programs, and folders. In Windows 7 and earlier versions of Windows, we could create a shortcut to a program on the desktop by right-clicking on the program in the Start menu, clicking Send to option, and then clicking Desktop (create shortcut).

In Windows 10, you don’t get the Send to option when you right-click on a program on the Start menu. Because of this change, many users who upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 are finding it challenging to create program shortcuts on desktop.

In this guide, we will see all the ways out there to create desktop shortcuts for programs in Windows 10.

Method 1 of 3

Create a program shortcut on the desktop by dragging and dropping

Like Windows 7, Windows 10 also supports dragging and dropping program shortcuts from the Start menu to desktop to create desktop shortcuts. The same method can also be used to create app shortcuts on the desktop.

Step 1: Minimize running programs, and make sure that you can see the desktop.

Step 2: Either press the Windows logo key on the keyboard or click the Start button on the taskbar to see the Start menu.

Step 3: In the Start menu, look for the program that you would like to see on the desktop as a shortcut, click on the program entry, and then drag-and-drop it to the desktop to create a shortcut of the program on the desktop.

 

 

The shortcut should now appear on the desktop. If you can’t see any icons on the desktop, please show desktop icons by right-clicking on the desktop, clicking View, and then clicking Show desktop icons option.

Method 2 of 3

Create a desktop shortcut by creating a shortcut to executable

If, for some reason, you are not comfortable with the above method, you can use this method to create a desktop shortcut of a program.

Step 1: Open Start menu either by pressing the Windows logo key or clicking the Start button.

Step 2: Click All apps option, and find the program that you want to create a shortcut to.

Step 3: Right-click on the program, click More and then click Open file location.

Step 4: Finally, right-click on the program shortcut, click Send to, and then click Desktop (create shortcut). That’s it!

Method 3 of 3

Another way to create a desktop shortcut by creating a shortcut to program executable

Step 1: Open the drive where Windows 10 is installed. If Windows 10 is installed on the “C” drive, open up the same.

Step 2: Open up Program Files and Program Files (x86) folders one after another and look for the folder containing the program that you want to create a desktop shortcut to. In most cases, the folder will have a label of the application or label of the company/developer behind the program.

NOTE: Program Files (x86) folder appears only in the x64 type of Windows. If you’re on x86 Windows 10, all programs must be under Program Files unless you changed the default installation directory or moved a program to another drive.

Step 3: Look for the executable (.exe file) of the program, right-click on it, click Send to, and then click Desktop (create shortcut) to create a shortcut of the program on the desktop.

Desktop shortcuts to programs can also be created using the New Shortcut wizard, but we are not discussing it here as it’s more complicated than the methods mentioned above.