Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

Shortcut properties - setting and preserving

Sep 23, 2015 7:46AM PDT

I am working with a fresh W10 install. I am used to W7.

One old (x86) application I run requires that I configure the Start in setting for the shortcut that launches it. The shortcut that was placed on the desktop did not let me change that. The shortcut in the New list does not let me change that. The shortcut in the All Programs list does not let me change that. Right-click does not offer Properties.

I created a new shortcut on the desktop. That lets me open Properties, so I was able to make the required change to Start In. That shortcut launches correctly. However when I right-click in that shortcut and Pin to Start, launching from the Start menu does NOT launch correctly (which is to say, the program is not started using the Start In value). Apparently the property I changed is lost when the shortcut is move to the Start menu.

How can I control the Properties of this in the All Programs, Start menu, and other places where right-click does not give the the Properties option? How can I keep a change to Properties from being lost when an item is pinned to Start? Is any of this even possible?

Thanks!

RH in CT

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Answer
Could be true. How?
Sep 23, 2015 7:56AM PDT

Let's say I make a shortcut in the Start Menu. Done. Works, and done.

Now I copy that to the desktop but it isn't working like you noted. I wonder if you didn't copy it but it was a "link" to the item in the menu. That could result in what you noted.

-> ANOTHER area I found was the folder the app starts in changed if it was on the desktop or on the start menu. It's a lot to ask users today but small things like that can break this.


But you ask how to control and fix all this. I think you'll have to dive in and write an app to correct what you find wrong with the shortcuts, remove links and place shortcuts instead. That is you become a software developer.

- Collapse -
Not exactly
Sep 23, 2015 8:43AM PDT

You refer to a shortcut created in Start that doesn't work when copied to the desktop. My problem is the reverse, a shortcut that works on the desktop but fails when pinned to Start.

Unrelated... At some point I created a desktop shortcut - can't recall how or what - and when I looked at the Properties there was gobbledygook in the Target and Start in fields. I assumed it was pointing to another shortcut, or otherwise using some level of indirection. But that gobbledygook is not part of this problem.

Program my own fix? That's not going to happen! 8-)

- Collapse -
I can't duplicate the issue
Sep 23, 2015 9:06AM PDT

So I can't dive any deeper. If you are the support staff for some app or company, when you reach the end of what you do, you call in a consultant or programmer to look into it and give an estimate on the fix or app to fix it.

As my shortcuts work fine I can't diagnose why yours failed. You may have to let a consultant+programmer get on your PC to see why this happens.

My bet is this app's author or company may know this issue.

- Collapse -
Lost functionality
Sep 23, 2015 9:17AM PDT

Thanks for looking at this.

I am just a user. The application, Forte Agent, is old. Agent is an email / usenet tool. It can easily be used against multiple independent sets of data simply by changing the Start in: setting of the shortcut. So, one shortcut to point to my email, another shortcut to point to usenet. But only if the Start in: value is set. No problem on the desktop, not currently possible in the Start menu or anywhere else.

Bottom line: Microsoft makes it possible to adjust attributes of a desktop shortcut that it hides (removes?) from a Start menu shortcut. I found no such limitation anywhere in W7.

- Collapse -
There are Forte Agent forums.
Sep 23, 2015 9:44AM PDT

So you may be missing out on something they know about.

As to writing this is lost functionality, my workaround last year with a batch file, well, I wonder what that proves. That is, we got it to fly where other consultants failed.

- Collapse -
Answer
Remember I'm not there.
Sep 23, 2015 9:22AM PDT

This could be a side effect of the OS, the Antivirus, and other.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/windows-7-wont-show-target-path-of-dos-shortcuts/a8b5ec00-077a-4d7a-9f4b-fe989c849f12?auth=1 dives into an old DOS launch issue but I'll share how I fixed one just last year. Ready?

Instead of launching the app directly I made a batch file to CD to the folder then set the environment variables the app wanted then started the app in that shell. Remember this is old school DOS which has been around since before 1995. It's not that technical and given the 2 decades we've been using Windows I think folk that need such things should have dived into the command line, batch files and more.

By using a batch file to launch we remove the start in folder issue.

- Collapse -
BAT's not bad
Sep 23, 2015 11:17AM PDT

I like it! I'm probably more comfortable with DOS batch files than I am with what W-10 has done to me. I might give that a try. For the moment I guess I will just use desktop shortcuts.

- Collapse -
Answer
What I do is find the file in
Sep 24, 2015 5:15AM PDT

windows explorer and right click on the Executable (example firefox.exe). Then I select sendto Desktop (Create Shortcut) and it sets up everyhting for me.

- Collapse -
Not what my problem was
Sep 24, 2015 1:09PM PDT

Creating the shortcut as you describe has never been the issue. Making changes to the shortcut on the desktop, and then adding that shortcut to the Start menu where the changes disappear, that is the problem. Also not being able to find Properties when right-clicking on a Start menu (or All Programs list) entry.

- Collapse -
Answer
Let's say you have 10. The release version.
Sep 24, 2015 1:29PM PDT
- Collapse -
Great stuff!
Sep 24, 2015 3:53PM PDT

Thanks!

- Collapse -
That fixed everything!!!
Sep 24, 2015 4:02PM PDT

When I find the shortcut in All Apps I can not change the Properties, as Right-click does not offer Properties.

BUT, when I view them using the paths you provided I CAN right-click, get the Properties, make and save the changes. Then when I go in through the Start menu and Pin to Start it opens with the changes applied.

Thank you so much, this case is closed! 8-)