Windows 8 : Customizing the Desktop and the User Interface - Working with Desktops and Startup Applications

In File Explorer, you can create shortcuts for the desktop, folders, and startup applications by logging on to a user’s computer and creating shortcuts in the appropriate locations. In Group Policy, you can create shortcuts for desktops, startup applications, and more by using Shortcuts preferences, and these preference items are applied automatically to all users and computers that process the related Group Policy Object.

To configure Shortcuts preferences, follow these steps:

Figure 1. Create a shortcut using a preference item.

In the Location list, you’ll see a list of special folders that you can use with shortcuts. Table 1 provides a summary of these folders.

Shortcuts can point to local and network files, as well as to remote Internet resources. Shortcuts for working with local or network files are referred to as link shortcuts. Shortcuts for working with remote Internet resources are referred to as URL shortcuts.

Link shortcuts are usually used to start applications or open documents rather than access a URL in a browser. Because of this, link shortcuts have different properties than URL shortcuts. The properties are summarized in Table 2. If you set any property incorrectly or set a property that isn’t supported by a linked application, the shortcut may not be created or may not work as expected. In this case, you need to correct the problem and try to create the shortcut again.

One of the most valuable options is the Arguments property. You can use this property to set arguments to pass in to an application that you are starting. Using this property, you can create a shortcut that starts Microsoft Word and opens a document by setting the target path for Word and the argument for the document to open.

When you add shortcuts to the desktop or menus, you can set a hotkey sequence that activates the shortcut. The hotkey sequence must be specified with at least one modifier key and a key designator. The following modifier keys are available:

Modifier keys can be combined in any combination, such as Alt+Ctrl or Shift+Ctrl, but the combination shouldn’t duplicate key combinations used by other shortcuts. Key designators include the alphabetic characters (A–Z) and numeric characters (0–9), as well as End, Home, Page Up, and Page Down. For example, you could create a shortcut that uses the hotkey sequence Shift+Alt+G.

When you create shortcuts for applications, the applications normally have a default icon that is displayed with the shortcut. For example, if you create a shortcut for Windows Internet Explorer, the default icon is a large E. When you create shortcuts to document files, the Windows default icon is used in most cases.

If you want to use an icon other than the default icon, you can use the Icon Location property. Normally, the icon location equates to an application name, such as Iexplore.exe or Notepad.exe, and the icon index is set to 0. Windows has to be able to find the executable. If the executable can’t be found in the path, the icon can’t be set. Because of this, be sure to enter the full path to the executable.

The working directory sets the default directory for an application. This directory is used the first time that a user opens or saves files.

URL shortcuts open Internet documents in an appropriate application. For example, webpages are opened in the default browser, such as Internet Explorer. With URL shortcuts, you can’t use the Arguments, Start In, Run, or Comment properties.

Administrator-installed or user-installed applications that run in the background can be managed through the Startup folder. Startup programs that are made available only to the currently logged-on user are placed in the Startup folder that is located within the profile data for that user (%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs), and startup programs that are available to any user that logs on to the computer are placed in the Startup folder for all users (%SystemDrive%\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs).

To add or remove startup programs for all users, follow these steps:

To add or remove startup programs for a specific user, follow these steps:

Using Group Policy preferences, you specify applications that should be started after a user logs on by creating shortcuts in the AllUsersStartup and Startup folders. The AllUsersStartup folder sets startup applications for all users that log on to a system. The Startup folder sets startup applications for the current user.

When you create a shortcut for startup applications, the only options you need to set in most cases are Name, Target Type, Location, and Target Path. Occasionally you may also want to set a working directory for an application or specify startup arguments.

If you later want to remove a startup application, you delete it by creating a preference with the action set to Delete.