OverviewShortcuts
A shortcut is a very small file in the Windows operating system that points or "links" to a web site or another file.
Here's what a shortcut to notepad.exe looks like:
Notice the little curly arrow on the icon that tells you this is a shortcut.
Each shortcut file contains information about where the file or web site that it "points" to is located. When a user double-clicks on a shortcut file, the file or web site that it points to is opened instead.
Shortcut files have a .lnk, .url or .pif extension that is hidden by the Windows operating system:
.lnk
- shortcuts to files and folders
.url - shortcuts to web sites
.pif - shortcuts to DOS batch files
It's easy to forget that shortcuts are files. Normally the only indication you have that an item is a shortcut is the little curly arrow on its icon, or the fact that it's located in the Start menu or on the Quick Launch desktop toolbar. The fact that shortcuts are actually regular files is very well hidden by Windows.
In fact, the items in your Favorites menu and the "programs" in your Start menu are all shortcuts. Adding a shortcut to the Start menu is nothing more than copying a shortcut file into the designated "Start menu" folder on the user's system.
Next: Shortcut Folders