Adding Shortcuts to the Start Menu (part 1)
How can you quickly open your most commonly used programs? Here is an option that can help you open your favourite programs faster.
First, you'll need to know how to create a shortcut. To do this, you need to browse to the folder that contains the .exe file that boots the program you want a shortcut to. Once you have found this file, right click on the file and select the "create shortcut" option. If you will be creating several shotcuts, create a folder on your desktop called something like "temp shortcuts" and then drag and drop your newly created shortcuts into this folder.
Shortcuts will likely have the words "shorcut to" in the file name, which takes up unnecessary space. I like to delete these words from the shortcut names, which I do by right-clicking on the shortcut icon, selecting the rename option, and then highlighting and deleting these words. Once you have the name you want, click off the shortcut or hit enter to make the new name take effect.
Once you have a folder of shortcuts to your favorite programs, it is time to position them for easy accessibility. There are three places where they will come in handy: in a custom folder on your start menu, on the actual taskbar, and on your desktop. In this tech tip I will explain how to add the shortcuts to your start menu.
Placing shortcuts in a custom folder on your start menu
When you click on the Start button on your computer, a menu pops-up that contains many options, including Run, Find, Settings, and Program. A thin, horizontal bar divides different groups of items, with Shut Down and Log-off at the bottom; Run, Find, Programs and others in the middle, and an assortment of things at the top of the menu.
You can add a folder to the top of the menu that contains shortcuts to your favourite programs. I like to call this folder 'main apps' (without the quotes).
To create a 'main apps' folder, first click on the Start button, scroll up to the Settings option, and select Taskbar & Start Menu.. from the pop-out menu. Clicking here will open a Taskbar Settings window; you now want to click on the Start Menu Programs tab and select the Advanced button.
Warning: be very careful not to delete any critical files or folders during this action. I regularly delete things that I don't want to run, such as shortcuts to program smart updates, but I don't suggest you do this unless you are very comfortable with your computer system and know how to run these files apart from the Start menu.
In the split window that opens up, right click within the right-hand window and select New>folder. Type in a name such as 'main apps' for this folder.
Now double click to open the folder. The next step is to copy the shortcuts you have collected from your temporary folder into this new folder. To do this you need to browse to the folder that contains your shortcuts, select the ones that you want to copy, and hit the keys Ctrl-C simultaneously.
Now go back to the newly created folder, click within the folder, and hit the keys Ctrl-V to paste the shortcuts into this folder. You should see the shortcuts appear within the new folder after doing this.
To complete the process, first choose File>close from the menu on the new file window, or click on the X in the upper right corner. Now, on the taskbar properties window, click Apply or Okay to make the changes take effect.
Now it's time to test your shortcuts to see if the process worked properly. Click on the start button; you should see the name of the folder you created at the top of the menu. Scroll up to this folder, and a menu should pop-out with a list of your newly created shortcuts.
Clicking on a shortcut should now open up your application of choice!
Be sure to join us next month as we explain how to add shortcuts to your taskbar.
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