What is a shortcut: basic types and properties of an object. Label

Useful tips

We use various computer programs every day to perform a wide variety of tasks. Some of them have a large number of settings and capabilities, and in order to use them all, you need to perform a lot of manipulations. For example, you regularly use several operating modes of the application, enter your username and password, or use special modes. In addition to office workers, computer game lovers often need such opportunities. All these manipulations can take a significant amount of effort and time, and are simply annoying.

Reflecting application start conditions in a shortcut simplifies working with programs.

It is worth noting that such a need, which was mentioned above, arises extremely rarely, and for the most part is solved effortlessly by the application or game settings themselves.

Based on this, the whole issue should be considered only as an additional opportunity for extended software launch, because the feasibility of such actions is questionable, and they certainly will not save time for the user.

The Windows operating system provides each user with the opportunity to specify launch parameters in the program shortcut. As part of the issue under consideration, instead of switching between menu items, you can create several shortcuts with the necessary parameters once, place them on the desktop or taskbar, and in Windows 8 and 10 on the start screen, and launch the program with the necessary parameters with one click buttons.

All these parameters are written in shortcuts, which are special files with a link to the executable file. You do not need to go to the folder where the software is installed each time and look for the launch file. In this article, we will look at how to significantly expand your capabilities when working with software and learn how to enter launch parameters in the command line of the desktop shortcut. We will divide the entire procedure into two stages.

Stage 1. Select the executable file and transfer the shortcut to the desktop

Despite the fact that in the vast majority of cases, when installing software, the launch icon is placed on the desktop, in some cases this does not happen. Then you need to find the executable file yourself. How?

When installing an application, pay close attention to which folder the installer prompts you to select. Typically this is C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86). Most developers provide the opportunity to independently select the default folder, but if you do not change the proposed option, the program will be installed in the specified folder.
Using Windows Explorer, go to the directory where the software is installed and find the startup file. It has the extension exe. Often its name coincides with the name of the software itself. If you can’t decide, try to find out this information on the developer’s official website in the help section or in technical support.
Right-click on the file name and select the “Create Shortcut” function.
Confirm the system prompt “Windows cannot create a shortcut in this folder. Should I place it on my desktop?”

If you don’t remember in which folder the software is installed, you can do the following:

Go to the Start menu, find the software you need in the list (you can even use the search function to speed up the process).
Right-click on the name and select Send - Desktop (create shortcut).

If you use Windows 10, the procedure will be slightly different:

Go to the start screen by clicking the Start button.
Find the program launch icon in the list of all applications or on the home screen.
Right-click, select Advanced - Go to file location.
After the Windows Explorer window opens, copy the icon to your desktop via the context menu or simply by dragging it to the desired location.

Step 2: Specify startup options

After we have successfully transferred the icon to the desktop, we will begin specifying the necessary parameters in its properties. To do this you need:

Right-click on the icon and select “Properties”.
In the menu that opens, go to the “Shortcut” tab and find the “Object” line. You will see that the input field in it is active. This is where we will enter the necessary commands.
After entering the required data at the bottom of the window, click Apply - OK.

What commands to write

Having figured out how to write launch commands, let's try to figure out what exactly to write. Unfortunately, there are no universal commands that work for absolutely all programs. Therefore, if you want to create shortcuts for quick launch with the specified parameters, you will have to study the program help or contact the developer technical support service.

Very often such information is indicated on the official forums of the application or game. More experienced users or representatives of developers or copyright holders publish detailed information there.

Returning to what was said at the beginning of this article. Specifying parameters became most relevant during the period of mass interest in the game called “Counter-Strike”. Why this interest has become so widespread specifically in “CS” is an ambiguous question; some used it solely for entertainment, others (like, for example, some professional players) in order to individualize the gameplay as much as possible.

For example, here is a list of options for the game "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" that some users use when starting:

Parameter	Meaning
-novid	Disabling the intro video
-w 640 -h 480	Installing the extension
-console	Console activation
-freq 120	Setting a screen refresh rate limit
-high	Run with higher priority
-condebug	Saving logs
-low	Run with reduced priority
-noaafonts	Disable antialiasing
-nosync	Deactivating Vsync
-fullscreen	Run in full screen mode
-language English	Setting the language

Conclusion

To what extent the given procedure is appropriate and relevant for the middle of 2019 is up to everyone to decide for themselves, and in the comments we invite you to discuss this topic, as well as talk about what programs you are launching, indicating the launch parameters. This data may be useful to someone.

As you know, in a store, labels are attached to clothes so that you can quickly determine the size, price, manufacturer, recommendations for washing and ironing, etc. for any model of clothing. If such a label is removed, the clothing does not lose its properties and can be worn.

You can handle shortcuts in Windows 7 in the same way: use them to quickly access files, folders, and programs on your computer.

What is a shortcut

You shouldn’t worry or get upset if there is some problem with the shortcuts, for example, they disappeared or when you click on them you can’t open a file or program. If there are problems with shortcuts, files, folders and programs for which Win 7 shortcuts were created, as a rule, remain safe and sound.

How to distinguish a shortcut from a regular icon?

A shortcut has the same name as the object it points to. The object can be a program, folder, or file. It turns out that by name it is usually impossible to distinguish a program shortcut from the program itself.

How can we understand when we have a label in front of us and when the object itself? Moreover, the shortcut can be safely deleted. But you should delete the object itself only after thinking carefully.

Rice. 1 The shortcut icon differs from the object icon by the presence of a navigation arrow.

You can distinguish a shortcut from an object by its icons.

The shortcut icon typically has a navigation arrow in the lower left corner (Figure 1). But the object icon does not have such an arrow. In Fig. 1 shows examples of three icons:

A shortcut icon for the Yandex.Disk program (there is a navigation arrow, which means this is a shortcut for the Yandex.Disk program),
A shortcut icon for the Skype program (there is a navigation arrow, so it is a shortcut for the Skype program),
Trash icon (no navigation arrow, this is not a shortcut).

Windows 7 shortcut properties: shortcut type, size and location

If you right-click on any shortcut (right-click), the “Properties” window will open. Click on the “General” tab (number 01 in Fig. 2) and look at the general properties of the shortcut.

Rice. 2 File type, location and file size of the Skype shortcut

The shortcut file has (or type, format) .lnk (number 1 in Fig. 2).

Labels take up little space. In Fig. 2 shows that the shortcut file size is 2-4 KB.

Also in Fig. 2 you can see the location of the shortcut. It can be seen that the shortcut for the Skype program is located on the Desktop, or rather, here - C:\Users\Public\Desktop (number 2 in Fig. 2).

How to create a shortcut: the first method

Shortcuts are useful because they can be placed in a convenient place, for example, on the Desktop. By clicking on a shortcut on the Desktop, you can quickly open the desired program, file or folder. Below we will look at two ways to create a shortcut for a program, file or folder.

1) You need to find an object (program, file or folder) on your computer for which you need to create a shortcut - number 1 in Fig. 3.

Rice. 3 How to create a shortcut in a folder and drag it to the Desktop

2) Now you need to right-click (Right Mouse Button) on the object (program, file or folder) that needs a shortcut.

3) A menu will appear in which you should select the “Create shortcut” command - number 2 in Fig. 3. That's all, the new shortcut will appear in the same place, in the same folder where our object is located.

4) There is no point in storing the shortcut along with the object in the same folder. Therefore, you should drag the shortcut to the desired location, for example, on the Desktop.

To do this, using one of the three buttons in the upper right corner of the window (number 3 in Fig. 3), you should reduce the window so that the Desktop is visible.

Then you need to move the mouse cursor to the shortcut, click on the LMB (Left Mouse Button) and, without releasing it, drag the shortcut to the Desktop (number 4 in Fig. 3). After dragging the shortcut to the desired location, you can release the mouse button.

How to create a shortcut: second method

Create a Windows 7 shortcut directly from the Desktop. For some it will be easier than the first method, but for others it will be more difficult.

1) Click on an empty space on the Desktop with RMB (right mouse button) (number 1 in Fig. 4).

Rice. 4 Create a shortcut on the desktop

2) Select the “Create” command in the menu that appears (number 2 in Fig. 4), and then “Shortcut” (number 3 in Fig. 4).

The “Create Shortcut” window will appear (Fig. 5):

Rice. 5 We look for the folder where the object for which the shortcut is created is located

3) You need to fill in the “Specify the location of the object” field. To do this, you need to find the object (program or file, folder) for which the shortcut is created. To do this, you can click on the “Browse” button (Fig. 5). The “Browse files and folders” window will appear, where you need to find the required program or document and click on it. The “Specify the location of the object” field will be filled in, then click “OK”.

4) A new window will appear where you can enter a name for the shortcut or agree with the proposed name, after which you should click on the “Done” button.

5) Now you can look for a new shortcut with an arrow in the left corner on the Desktop of your computer.

How to create a Mail.ru shortcut on your desktop?

Shortcuts can be created not only for files or programs that are located on your computer's hard drive. A shortcut can also be created for a website located on the Internet.

Let's look again at the above creation of a shortcut on the Desktop using a specific example - the Mail.ru shortcut (icon) on the Desktop.

1) Right-click (right mouse button) on an empty space on the Desktop.

2) In the context menu that appears, select “Shortcut” – “Create” (Fig. 4).

3) The “Create shortcut” window pops up (Fig. 5).

4) In this window, enter http://mail.ru/ (Fig. 5.1).

Rice. 5.1. How to create a MailRu shortcut?

6) The “Create Shortcut” window will appear, in which you need to enter the name of the shortcut. In Fig. 5.2 I entered the name “Mail.ru”, but you can enter any other name, including in Russian, in Cyrillic.

Rice. 5.2. Enter a name for the shortcut on the Desktop

7) Click on “Done”, go to the Desktop to look at the new shortcut with the name that we just set.

How to give a shortcut a different name (rename)?

You can rename a shortcut an unlimited number of times. To rename a shortcut, you need to right-click on it (Right Mouse Button). A menu will appear in which we click on the “Rename” command (number 1 in Fig. 6).

Rice. 6 How to rename or delete a shortcut

After this, the field containing the shortcut name will become available for editing. Using the keyboard, enter a new shortcut name or edit the old name.

How to remove a shortcut?

1st method. Select the shortcut and press the Delete key.

2nd method. Click on the shortcut RMB (Right Mouse Button). A menu will appear in which you click on the “Delete” command (number 2 in Fig. 6).

In the 1st and 2nd methods, in order to avoid misunderstandings when deleting a shortcut, the Windows operating system will ask you to confirm your decision regarding deleting the shortcut: “Do you want to move this shortcut to the trash?” (Fig. 7)

Rice. 7 Confirm deleting the shortcut to the Trash

If you click on the “Yes” button, the shortcut will be deleted to the Trash.

If the Trash has not been emptied by the user, then the shortcut can be returned from the Trash back to its original place. To do this, you will need to go to the Trash, right-click on the previously deleted shortcut. A menu will appear in which you need to click on the “Restore” command. The shortcut will be restored to the folder and location from which it was deleted.

Windows 7 shortcut icons

Shortcut icons can be changed to others. How to do it?

Rice. 8 How to change the shortcut icon

To change the shortcut icon, right-click on it.
In the menu that appears, click the Properties command,
open the Shortcut tab (number 1 in Fig. 8),
Click the “Change icon” button (number 2 in Fig. 8).

The Change Icon window appears, allowing you to select an icon from the provided set of icons. Select an icon, select it with a mouse click and click OK. The icon will be changed to the selected, new icon.

Windows 7 shortcuts won't open

The appearance of the shortcut (color, size, presence or absence of an arrow in the left corner of the shortcut icon) does not affect its operation in any way. Moreover, the appearance of the labels can be customized to your liking.

What affects the performance of shortcuts? Viruses, unsuccessful Windows updates, careless user actions.

Rash user actions include, for example, moving a program to another folder. As an option: the user was putting things in order on the computer, moved the program and forgot. Then the shortcut to the program transferred to another folder will immediately stop working. The reason is simple - the old file location does not work, it is worth replacing it with a new one.

What can you do if the shortcut stops working?

Scan your computer for viruses.

You can roll back the operating system to a working version if points have been made.

Without thinking twice, you can try to remove the shortcut. First, you should make sure that it is really the shortcut that is being deleted, and not the program itself for which the shortcut was created. Then create a new shortcut. This is easier than checking the properties of the shortcut, looking for the cause there and eliminating it.

Check the shortcut properties. Let's look at this reason in more detail.

If the Shortcut Properties indicates the location of the program is different from its actual location on the computer, then, of course, the shortcut will not work.

Where can I find it? RMB on the shortcut – Properties – “Shortcut” tab – “File location” button (number 5 in Fig. 8). If, after clicking on this button, the file is not found, then you should look at it in the “Object” window (number 6 in Fig. 8). Compare this path with the actual location of the file on the computer and, if necessary, correct it, especially since the field marked 6 in Fig. 8, available for editing.

Computer literacy exercises:

Find a photo (or program) on your computer and create a shortcut for the photo on your desktop. Click on the shortcut on the Desktop and make sure it works.

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Users, in general, have a very clear idea of what a shortcut is in an operating system of any type. The question is: how much do they understand what properties objects of this type have and what actions can be performed with them. But sometimes it may depend on this, for example, the removal of viruses or the launch of an associated program with additional rights or privileges.

What is a shortcut in Windows: general concepts

But let's start with the simplest thing. Most often, users believe that shortcuts in Windows are some kind of icons depicting a smaller logo of programs or files. Generally true, but not entirely.

Here you need to clearly understand that the shortcut itself is a regular file ranging in size from ten to one hundred kilobytes, which contains information on binding to the program, file or any other object for which it was created, so that access to them can be obtained in the fastest possible way (usually This is a double click if the default opening setting has not been changed). But what information is present in this file?

Work shortcuts and their types

Here you need to distinguish between the types of labels. For example, standard shortcuts created in Windows systems for files (including executable program objects) have the LNK extension, which is derived from the English word link, that is, “link”.

When opening its properties, such a file contains information related to indicating the full path to the location of the object to which it is bound. In this case, to call a file, you do not need to enter the specified path in the same “Explorer” or in another file manager.

There are other types of such objects. Depending on the operating system, extensions can be completely different. But for Internet pages, for example, saved on the “Desktop”, uniform standards have been adopted, and the shortcut itself has a URL extension.

What a shortcut is is a little clear. But how to determine its type, since in Windows systems the extension is hidden by default?

First, you should use the file manager view customization tool and set the display of hidden directories and files, as well as uncheck the box for hiding extensions for registered file types. After this, whether in Explorer, on the Desktop, or in any other place, it will not be possible to determine the type of shortcut and the object of labor associated with it.

Creating shortcuts using the simplest methods

Let's look at the question of how to create a shortcut using any version of Windows as an example. To do this, in “Explorer”, right-click on the selected object (file) and select the “Send ...” line from the menu and go to the option of creating a shortcut on the “Desktop”.

For Internet pages, the question of how to make a shortcut for the desired resource is solved by highlighting the address in the browser and dragging it into the free space of the “Desktop” or “Explorer”. Sometimes such manipulations may require simultaneous use of the Ctrl key.

File Associations and Basic Options

As for the parameters, the main emphasis here is, of course, on quick access to the desired object without physically searching and launching it.

An interesting feature in the latest versions of Windows is to set the option to run as administrator, so as not to have to use the RMB menu every time. You can also perform some additional actions on the properties tab. For example, it is no secret that many computer games can be launched in the mode of using the console to enter special commands (for example, to enable the so-called god mode, obtain additional weapons or bonuses). In this case, after specifying the link to the final executable file of the program, an additional command is written.

Using shortcut properties to eliminate virus threats

All this is good, but many viruses (especially advertising ones) exploit this very vulnerability. Even complete removal of the threat in the form of a software applet that can replace default search engines and home pages does not always have an effect. Why? Yes, only because in the link to the browser file there was a postscript indicating the link to the page to which the virus initially linked.

To fix the problem, review the properties of the browser shortcut and make sure that there is nothing more after the name of the browser executable file with the EXE extension. In the case of using most browsers (say, Chrome), the object type reference line should end with Chrome.exe, and for Opera it could be the Launcher.exe launch file. By deleting the additional postscript and saving the changes, the situation can be corrected quite simply.

Brief summary

What a shortcut is, I think, is already clear to any user. But as for the actions performed with such objects or the settings used, be careful, since the link to the desired object being opened may not always relate specifically to viral effects. Such links can be created even when a virtual machine is installed on the system. Of course, ordinary users are unlikely to use such software products, but such situations cannot be discounted.

To summarize, it can be noted that shortcuts are not mandatory objects in the sense of being present in the operating system. This is rather a kind of means of accelerating access, because initially you can simply open the desired file or service through a file manager. And in this situation, there is simply no need to search for the file, since the link to it is precisely indicated in the shortcut to which the file or even a page on the Internet is associated.

You can create a shortcut for programs, folders, and documents that you access regularly. Label is a link to an object, a means of quick access to an object located in a folder on the computer’s disk or on the network to which the computer is connected. Usually the shortcut is placed on the desktop, but it can also be placed in a folder. Double-clicking a shortcut icon allows you to open a document or run a program regardless of where it is located - on the user's computer's hard drive, on a network drive, or on a Web site.

By default, a shortcut has the same name as the object it points to. The shortcut icon, as a rule, differs from the icon of the object for which it was created only by the transition arrow located in the lower left corner of the picture (Fig. 4.31). The shortcut file has the extension .lnk and takes up little disk space (about 1 KB). It is a special communication file. When you double-click a shortcut, Windows uses the information stored in the link file to find and open the object associated with that shortcut (Figure 4.32).

Rice. 4.31. A shortcut to open a Word document

Rice. 4.32. General Shortcut Properties

To make it easier to access any object: a program or document, you can create one or more shortcuts and place them in different places: on the desktop and in frequently used folders. For example, if a Word document contains help information that the user constantly views, then by placing a shortcut to it on the desktop, he can open the file without accessing the menu.

You can place a shortcut inside a document or email message. By dragging the file icon onto the floppy disk shortcut, you can copy the file to the floppy disk. Placing a printer shortcut on your desktop allows you to speed up the printing process and make it easier to control. When you delete a shortcut, the file it is associated with is not deleted. If you rename a folder/file, the name of the shortcut will not change, but the connection between them will remain.

You can create a shortcut to a disk, program, folder or document using one of the methods below.

1. Select the object for which a shortcut is being created in the window My computer or explorer and select from the menu File team Create a shortcut.The new shortcut will appear in the lower corner of the window of the folder in which the item is located. Then you need to drag the shortcut with the mouse to the desired location, for example on the desktop.

2. Select the object for which a shortcut is created in the window My computer or Explorer, then activate the command Copy on the menu Edit. After going to the window of the folder in which the shortcut is supposed to be placed, select the command Insert shortcut on the menu Edit.

To delete a shortcut, select it, press the Delete key, or right-click the shortcut and select the command from the context menu Delete. In both cases, to avoid accidentally deleting an object, Windows will require confirmation of the specified action.