Adding Windows App Shortcuts to the Desktop

In the Free Windows class today, we discovered you can’t create a Desktop shortcut to a Windows app in the Windows Start Menu.

This, of course, intrigued me. I did my due diligence and am happy to explain how to add a Windows App shortcut to the Windows Desktop!

Follow these steps:

Open the Windows Apps folder in the Run dialog

• Open the Run dialog (Windows Key-R)
• Type: shell:AppsFolder
• Press ENTER

The Windows Apps Folder opens with an icon view. You can change the view in the View menu:

• Open the View menu (ALT-V)
• Press UP and DOWN ARROW to select an alternative view
• Press ENTER on a view
  • I suggest “List”

Navigate the icons with Windows list view navigation:

• ALL FOUR ARROW KEYS
• PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN
• HOME and END
• First letter navigation
• First several letter navigation

Focus on an application for which you want to create a shortcut.

One note on Mail! If you have Apple iCloud installed, there are two mail apps. One takes you to the Apple Mail online interface. The second is the Windows Mail app.

Copy and paste the shortcut to the Windows Desktop:

• Focus on the application for which you want to create a Desktop Shortcut
• Copy the shortcut to the Windows Clipboard (CTRL-C)
• Close the Windows Apps folder (ALT-F4)
• Focus on the Windows Desktop (WINDOWS KEY-D)
• Paste the shortcut to the Windows Desktop (CTRL-V)

The shortcut is available for immediate use!

You can also use the Windows Application Menu to pin the app to the Start Menu or Taskbar:

• Focus on an app
• Open the Windows Application Menu (WINDOWS APPLICATION KEY or SHIFT-F10)
• Activate:
  • Pin to Taskbar
  • Pin to Start Menu

Close the Apps list (ALT-F4).

You’re done!

Thanks to all who attended the Free Windows Training Course, you’re encouraging me to learn new things as well!