I have a bunch of shortcuts on my Windows Desktop (Win8) and want to find out where the originals are located on my system. Is there a way to follow Windows shortcuts easily?
One of the things that I most dislike about Windows is the bad habit of apps dropping shortcuts on your Desktop without even asking. After a few months, just about every Windows system is littered with 10, 20 or more of these shortcuts, meaning that whatever pretty image you have as your desktop wallpaper barely peeks out from between all the darn icons. Especially in Windows 8 — and Win 8.1 — the search system is so improved that you really can skip them entirely and just type in the name of the app you want to use each time. Quick and easy.
But no, app developers (including Microsoft) keep dropping those darn shortcuts onto your Desktop and it’s up to you to either delete them, organize them or let them “win” and take over the space. Honestly, all those shortcuts just make me anxious when I look at them. 🙂
Fortunately, you can at least test the shortcuts to see if they work and find the original file or program that’s linked easily enough. THen you can decide if you want the program and/or need the shortcut.
And remember, you can delete shortcuts without affecting the program itself. It’ll still run, you can still get to it from the Start Tiles (in Win8) or through search.
Here’s a typical Windows 8 Desktop shortcut:
You can always tell by the arrow on the lower left of the icon itself, in case you haven’t realized that yet.
Right click on a shortcut and the context menu pops up:
Choose “Properties” from this list to learn more about the shortcut itself.
The result:
You can see the target of the shortcut listed if you want to modify it (yes, you can make your own shortcuts!) or explore further, but an easier way to go to the folder that contains the app that this shortcut points to is to click on the “Open File Location” button on the lower left.
Click on Open File Location and you’re in the File Manager:
There’s the app itself, conveniently highlighted.
You can also see what else is in this particular folder, of course. If you want to remove the program, however, I recommend you use Add/Delete Programs through the Control Panels interface, aka PC Settings > Search and Apps > App size, to point you in the right direction in the brave new Windows 8 world. 🙂
Yeah, no. The “target” field in my window is greyed out and does not show a file path. When I right click the shortcut file (.lnk) it takes me to where the .lnk file is.
I want to know where the .exe file is for Excel 2007 and my computer will not show me.
Sorry but you do not answer the Question, which is also the Title of this Article.
” Find the source file for a Windows Shortcut. ”
If I press CTRL + ALT + S from my Desktop, a new Window pops up, in my case Windows Explorer, to a Directory with Firefox Downloads. The Problem is Firefox is not running\active.
When I check for Shortcuts in Firefox Options the shortcut mentioned above IS NOT listed anywhere. So now lets answer the question:
How do I ” Find the source file for this Windows Shortcut?”
Actually, that’s an issue with your configuration, Stephen, so not sure why you’re being so snarky. Firefox has intercepted and remapped that keyboard shortcut so you can’t use it as a systems shortcut for finding the source to an alias. In that case, right-click to open the Properties window instead and look at the “Shortcut” tab. It’s listed as the “Target”. Easy enough.
And next time, perhaps an ounce of politeness would be a nice addition to your commenting.
I share Stephen’s frustration.
The question that is relevant to me, is I might have a shortcut, say CTRL + ALT + S
Where do I find the “Shortcut” tab? Where do I find the “Target”. If I knew the answer I wouldn’t be asking the question.
I like the way you present things simple and with a picture. Bravo! A must for computer handicap people like me. I am trying to subscribe but it won’t take my email address? Hopefully you will email and tell me why. Looking forward.
Thanks, very helpfull