A shortcut is a special icon that can be placed, for example, on the desktop (or in any Windows folder) and allows you to quickly launch the desired program, open a file or folder.
Let's consider in order how to create shortcuts in different areas of Windows.
First, open the Start menu to see what the Quick Launch area in the Start menu generally looks like. She looks like this:
The icons on the right are shortcuts for quickly launching programs. You may initially have completely different labels there.
Let's learn how to create new shortcuts there. Suppose you run some programs on your computer every day and want to open them quickly, that is, you only need to open the Start menu and then open the icon the desired program.
As an example, I cleared the Quick Launch area so there are no shortcuts and as I show different examples, this area will be filled in:
Let's look at a few examples.
Open the “Start” menu - “All applications” and find in the list the program that you use very often, for example, every day. For example, I constantly use a text editing program - Microsoft Word and this is where I’ll show an example.
Just right click ( right click mouse) on the icon of the desired program and select “Pin to home screen»:
Now, in the Quick Launch area of the Start menu (on the right), check for a shortcut to launch your selected program to appear:
As you can see, the program has appeared and now you can always quickly launch it by opening the Start menu.
You can also add shortcuts to the Start screen from any other area of your computer, not just from the All Apps section of the Start menu. For example, you have a shortcut on your desktop and you want to place it on the Start menu's Start screen at the same time. To do this, right-click on the desktop icon and select “Pin to Start Screen”:
Check the result by opening the Start menu:
And in the same way, you can place shortcuts in the Start menu from absolutely any area of the computer. Simply right-click on the icon and select “Pin to Start Screen.” It's simple! :)
Also, do not forget that shortcuts can lead not only to programs, but also to folders that you often use.
As an example, I'll now create a shortcut on the Start menu screen for the frequently used Work folder:
Let's check the result:
Now in the Start menu in the quick launch area I have added a shortcut to the “FOR WORK” folder, which can be located anywhere and searching for it without a quick shortcut would take a long time :)
This way, you can place shortcuts to your Start Menu for any folder or file!
Panel Windows tasks located at the very bottom of the Windows interface. Here she is:
As you can see, in my example, there are several icons on the taskbar - search, display of open tasks on the computer, and the Microsoft Edge browser icon (icon “e”). You can add other shortcuts to this same panel to launch programs that you often use. Usually there is a shortcut to launch a browser, a shortcut to launch Windows Explorer, and possibly a text editing program (for example, Microsoft Word).
The principle of placing shortcuts on the taskbar is exactly the same as on the start screen of the Start menu (see above).
All you need to do is right-click on any file, folder or existing shortcut and select “Pin to taskbar”. For example, I will place a shortcut to launch on the taskbar text editor Microsoft Word:
As a result, a new shortcut has appeared on the taskbar with which I can quickly launch Microsoft program Word:
Keep in mind that you can only place shortcuts to launch programs on the taskbar! Those. You cannot place a shortcut on the taskbar to quickly jump to a folder or your file!
The desktop is perhaps our main place of work on the computer :) Some computer users store everything they do on the desktop... On the one hand, this is reasonable, because you don’t need to go anywhere else, everything you need for personal purposes and for work, it is located right at hand - on the desktop. But on the other hand, this is a rather bad habit, since a desktop with a lot of all sorts of folders, files, and shortcuts becomes inconvenient for work, because you won’t find anything quickly.
For example:
As you can see, my desktop is not filled to capacity with all sorts of icons :) Here is only what I constantly need, namely: the main programs that I often use, a shortcut to a folder with work documents and a temporary folder for storing recorded videos. All! No extra trash. This way I can quickly find what I need, rather than digging through dozens of icons on the desktop :)
Now let's get down to business - how to place shortcuts to launch the necessary programs, files and folders on the desktop?
To make it easier for you to see my examples, I will clear the desktop and leave only a couple of shortcuts on it.
The simplest solution for placing program shortcuts is as follows...
If you want to place a shortcut to a program on your desktop, then you first need to find this program through the Start menu > All applications. In the list, right-click on the desired program and select “Open folder with file”. For example, I want to place a shortcut on my desktop to launch Avast antivirus. So I find this antivirus in the list, right-click on it and select “Open folder with file”:
A folder will open with ready-made shortcuts that you just saw in the list of all Start menu applications. All that remains is to copy the desired shortcut to the desktop. To do this, right-click on the shortcut of the desired program (for me it’s Avast antivirus) and select “Copy”:
Now we return to the desktop, right-click on any free space on it and select “Paste”:
Ready! Now you will see a new shortcut on your desktop, like mine:
You can quickly create a shortcut to any element in Windows Explorer, for example, to a file or folder. To do this, you no longer need to go to the Start menu. You just need to find the required file or folder in Windows Explorer, right-click on it and select “Create shortcut”.
For example, I have an important “For work” folder on my computer, which I use every day. It would be convenient for me to place a shortcut to quickly open it directly from the desktop. The folder itself is located deep inside the computer, namely in the “This Computer” - “Documents” - “For Work” section.
I right-click on the folder and select “Create Shortcut”:
As a result, the created shortcut will appear in the same Explorer folder. All that remains is to transfer it to the desktop. Simply left-click on the shortcut and, while holding this button, drag the shortcut to the desktop.
Don't forget that the shortcut can always be renamed like any other file. To do this, simply right-click on it and select “Rename.”
This way you can easily create shortcuts to quickly launch any programs, files and folders on your desktop!
The new Windows 10 operating system has another option to quickly open important and frequently used folders. Now this can be done using special bookmarks in Windows Explorer.
The area in Windows Explorer where you can add bookmarks is called the “Quick Access Toolbar” and is located on the left side of the window:
You can add any folder to this panel in order to open it quickly, without the need to climb and search throughout the computer. A pushpin icon appears next to pinned folders. If you have the Windows 10 operating system installed on your computer, then I think you will find this feature very useful. Also in the same panel will appear the folders that you opened last.
Pinning a folder to the Quick Access Toolbar is very easy! You need to find the folder on your computer that you want to pin to the Quick Access Toolbar, right-click on it and select “Pin to Quick Access Toolbar”:
After this, the selected folder will immediately appear in the Quick Access Toolbar in Windows Explorer:
Notice the pushpin icon next to pinned folders. Those folders on this panel that do not have this icon are not pinned, but simply the latest open folders, which will constantly change.
In order to do network folder in Windows XP, create a folder, for example "Network Folder", right-click on it and select " Properties".
In the properties window, go to the " tab Access" and check the boxes next to " Open general access to this folder", if it is necessary that network users can change (add, delete) files in this folder, check the box - " Allow modification of files over the network".
At this point, the creation of a network folder (called a “share”) can be considered complete. As you can see, a hand has appeared at the bottom of the folder, this means that the folder is network.
In order for other users to see it on the network, you need to go to network , choose " Show computers working group ", find the computer on which the network (shared) folder is located, click on it and see there shared folder networks.
You can click "Start" - "Run" or keyboard shortcut "Win" + "R", enter //<имя или IP компьютера> , For example //comp, press the Enter key, all shared folders on the computer will open.
network drive .
Properties".
In the properties window, go to the "tab" Access" and press " General access".
Now you need to add the necessary users and give them the appropriate access, in in this example Everyone will have full access (the ability to change and delete files) to the folder. In the Add field select " All", in column Permission level select " Read and Write", press " General access".
Ready".
After that, go to " Start" - "Control Panel" -" or click on the button Network connection on the taskbar and select "Network and Sharing Center".
In the window that opens Network and Sharing Center look at what network is being used (in this example - Work) click on "".
In the profile you are using (home, work or general), make the necessary changes, namely:
Scroll down and:
Save your changes.
At this point, setting up a network folder in Windows 7 can be considered complete.
Computer, on the right click " Net", select the computer on which the network folder is located, all shared folders on the computer will open on the right.
Another way is to click "Start" or keyboard shortcut "Win" + "R" and enter //<имя или IP компьютера> , For example //User-PC.
For ease of use, you can connect a network folder network drive .
In order to make a network folder in Windows 7, create a folder, right-click on it and select " Properties".
In the properties window, go to the "tab" Access" and press " General access".
Now you need to add the necessary users and give them the appropriate access; in this example, everyone will have full access to the folder (the right to change and delete files). In the Add field select " All" and in the column Permission level select " Read and Write", press " General access".
A message window will open indicating that the pack has become online. Click " Ready".
After that, go to "Control Panel" - "Network and Sharing Center"" or click on the button Network connection on the taskbar and select "Network and Sharing Center".
In the window that opens, look at what network is being used (in this example - Public) click on " Change advanced sharing options".
In the profile you are using (private, guest or public), make the necessary changes, namely:
Enable network discovery;
Turn on file and printer sharing;
Go to the "tab" All networks":
Enable sharing to allow network users to read and write files in shared folders.
Disable password protected sharing.
Save your changes.
At this point, setting up a network folder in Windows 8 can be considered complete.
To use the network folder, go to Computer, on the right click " Net", select the computer on which the network folder is located, by clicking on the required computer, all its shared folders will open on the right.
Another way is to press the keyboard shortcut "Win" + "R", enter //<имя или IP адрес компьютера> , For example //pk2. By pressing Enter, a window with shared computer folders will open.
For convenience, the shared folder can be connected network drive .
I hope you are now independent from the operating room Windows systems XP/Windows 7/Windows 8, you can share the folder without any problems.
Often users find themselves in a situation where they need to hide the contents of a folder or file from prying eyes, so the question arises about how to put a password on the folder.
Unfortunately, the developers operating system Windows did not provide such a function as setting a password for individual user files and directories.
The OS can only be configured to prohibit certain users from using or viewing a specific type of directory, file or program.
Setting a password for a folder is necessary if:
Using this method, you can password-protect a folder with any type of file, while it is possible to hide the very fact that the archive contains files of a certain format.
The window for entering the code will pop up even before the archive opens, so it is impossible to find out about its contents if the user does not know the combination. A password for an archive without programs is the easiest way to protect folders.
Advice! The function of setting a password for an archive does not require preliminary installation of an additional software, you just need to have preinstalled free programs WinRAR or 7-ZIP.
To add the desired folder to the archive and password protect it, follow the instructions below:
After this action, a small input window will immediately appear. The new code must be entered twice (to ensure correct entry). You can also check the box next to the option to encrypt file names.
Thus, third-party users will not be able to find out anything about the type of files being hidden.
The process of setting a password for an archive
After trying to open the archive, we see that you first need to enter the code and only then can you view and edit its contents.
This method Installing the code is the simplest and quite effective. However, to implement it you will need to have one of the archivers on your computer.
Also, if the code is forgotten or lost, restoring the contents of the archive will become quite a difficult task for the user. This is why you should keep backup copy protected files, for example, on cloud storage.
Using the above method, you can also password-protect an archive on a flash drive.
On the Internet you can find a huge amount of third-party software that can cope with the task of installing code on the system object you need.
A large proportion of such programs, unfortunately, can harm your files rather than protect them from unauthorized access by other users.
This article presents the most popular and common types of software that have been tested by a large number of users, so these programs will not harm your computer and files that need to be password protected or hidden.
This program is available for download and installation on PC and is compatible with Windows 10.
PasswordProtect USB allows you to password protect folders and remove the previously installed encryption. The application has an intuitive user interface, so working with this utility will not be a difficult task for the user.
You can start the code installation process not only using the main program window, but also using the computer desktop.
After you have installed this software on your operating system, the installation function will be displayed in the menu of each folder, you just need to right-click on it, as shown in the figure:
This program can protect a folder on a laptop or PC. Supported operating systems: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10. The utility encrypts the folder itself, without an archive.
You can put the code on a folder with absolutely any content: files, photos and documents.
To install it on a folder using this program, follow the instructions:
You can also password-protect a network folder. For this you can also download individual programs, For example:
You can also use the program Folder Guard(
One of the useful features of the Windows 8 and 8.1 interface was the appearance in the Computer section of user directories located just above the disks. Some of the users who switched to Windows 8 considered this unnecessary, while others, on the contrary, found this innovation very attractive and even necessary. For the most part, this concerns “Seven” users, especially those who are in no hurry to upgrade to the eighth version, but still want to have its advantages, in particular to see these same folders in the My Computer section. The only question is how to implement it. It turns out to be very simple.
Use the free utility created by domestic programmer Sergei Tkachenko. With this simple utility you can easily change appearance section My Computer, as well as the navigation area of Explorer, adding “standard” user folders there. By the way, the utility’s capabilities are not limited to this. Using This PC Tweaker, you can add any folders to My Computer, as well as system locations, such as links to Control Panel or Action Center. Let's look at how the utility works using a specific example.
After launching the utility and accepting the agreement, an empty window will open with a toolbar on the right side. Immediately go to settings, select Russian language, and then restart the program.
As you can see, the toolbar contains six buttons - Add your folder, Add system folder, Restore defaults, Delete selected. The options for changing the icon and renaming will become available after the folder, your own or the system one, is added. Actually system folders- these are the same locations that were mentioned just above. There are more than seventy of them in the program. Let's add, for example, "Recovery", "Control Panel" and "Search".
We tick them and press the add button.
Now let's see what happened.
Folders have been added. Unfortunately, they ended up at the bottom, under the disks, and not at the top as in Windows 8. We hope that in the next versions the developer will fix this, but for now, move the block with folders to top part windows can be used using standard sorting. To do this, click on the empty space of the section with the right mouse button and select Sort in descending order from the context menu. You can add custom folders in the same way. They are located at C:/Users/Your name account . By default they have English names, but as you can see, we can rename them. To ensure that the directories (or locations) you select are also displayed in Explorer, check the “ Pin to Navigation Pane».
The folders will be added, only they will have the same icons. Let's fix this too. In the This PC Tweaker window, select the desired folder, click the " Change icon»
If you frequently work with any documents, it may be more convenient to create a folder on your desktop for quick access to them. This is not difficult to do, however, this operation may be difficult for novice users. In this tutorial we will look at how to make a folder directly on the Windows desktop.
An example of this operation will be considered using the Windows 7 operating system as the most popular at the time of publication of the material. In other versions Windows process will be similar. So:
Due to inexperience or accident, the user may, at the moment of assigning a folder name, press Enter without renaming it, or click the mouse on the desktop, then it will be fixed with the default name - “ new folder" No big deal, it just needs to be renamed.
Renaming can be done in two ways:
Many users store documents on their desktop in folders or even as separate . Undoubtedly, this approach speeds up access to the necessary documents, because you do not need to open Explorer and search for the desired object on the disk. However, not all users (even experienced ones) know that you can simply display folders stored on local disk, to your desktop and get fast access to her without opening Windows Explorer. That is, the folder itself is located on the disk, and not on the desktop, and its shortcut is used to open it directly from the desktop. This approach is considered the most correct from the point of view of organizing storage and working with documents.
Open Windows Explorer or browser " Computer" and find the desired folder on your computer's hard drive.
For those who have forgotten: Explorer can be opened by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting “ Open File Explorer"or by left-clicking on the Explorer icon in the taskbar on the left.
Right click on the desired folder to call context menu, where select “ Create a shortcut».
As a result of this operation, the shortcut “ name of the selected folder-Shortcut»,
which, by clicking with the left mouse button (LMB on the shortcut and not releasing), you need to drag it to the desktop.
