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Resolved How save desktop shortcuts in Win7 in case of loss?

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by robls99, 2017/12/17.

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  1. 2017/12/17
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    How can I save all of my Win7 desktop shortcut icons so I can individually restore 1 or many if they get lost?

    I already have a save/restore for the entire desktop but if some get accidentally deleted I found that the full restore does not always bring them back.
     
  2. 2017/12/17
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member

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    I'm trying to figure out what to do with the overload of icons on my Windows 7 desktop. :D

    Frankly, not sure if I've had your problem much, Robls99, but one thing I like to do before reinstalling Windows is to take a screen shot of the desktop (and start menu) for a future guide of sorts. I doubt this is answering your question though.
     

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  4. 2017/12/18
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    The thread has been marked as solved, which was the solution?
     
  5. 2017/12/18
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    James,

    I already take a screen shot.

    I found the source folder that contains each individual shortcut icon that is on the desktop so I copied it to my backup hd in case I need it.

    c:\Users\name\Desktop
     
  6. 2017/12/18
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Christer,

    Oops, maybe I didn't hit the Post button but it did retain my answer??


    As I mentioned, I just found and copied this folder which holds all the shortcuts:

    c:\Users\{name}\Desktop
     
  7. 2017/12/18
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Understand desktop "objects" are loaded in memory. So the more objects on your desktop, the more resources you consume. I say "objects" because if you have other files like PDF files, images, etc. they are loaded into memory too.

    If you like to have all these shortcuts handy, I recommend you create a couple folders and put related shortcuts in those folders. Then only the folder information is loaded with Windows.
     
    Bill,
    #6
  8. 2017/12/18
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    robls99, thanks for posting back!

    On my Windows 7 system, the desktop shortcuts end up in different folders depending on who created them (I'm the single user).

    Shortcuts created by a program installer end up in C:\Users\Public\Desktop.

    If I manually create a shortcut it ends up in the folder you specify.

    Maybe you should check what you have in C:\Users\Public\Desktop, just to make sure that you don't miss any?
     
  9. 2017/12/18
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Bill,

    Thanks.
    95%+ of my desktop is all shortcuts so I guess I should be ok.

    Rob
     
  10. 2017/12/18
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    It depends on how many.
     
    Bill,
    #9
  11. 2017/12/18
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member

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    They ain't no such animal in my Public folder.

    Is it missing because I have no standard accounts? Then again, maybe that (account type) has nothing to do with the Public folder.

    Great thread, by the way.
     
  12. 2017/12/18
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I have no idea but I have seen reference to C:\Users\Public\Desktop being the default location, as I understand it, used by installers for programs to be accessed by all users. Shortcuts created by a specific user logged in to his/her account end up in the C:\Users\{name}\Desktop folder.
     
  13. 2017/12/18
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Good catch!

    I have 4 shortcuts in Public and about 65 in (user name) which are missing the 4 (all appear on the desktop).

    Is there any reason I can't move the 4 in Public to user name so they are all together?

    PS: all 4 in Public were originally installed by me from a vendor's site so I assume the vendor used Public as a default. I'll watch for that in the future installs to see if there is an option?
     
  14. 2017/12/19
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I don't think so, links would not be broken but should you want to uninstall the program, the uninstaller would no longer find the link to remove it.

    If there is an option, it would be a choice to install in a different location than the default (some people install programs on a separate partition or drive), not where to put the shortcuts.
     
  15. 2017/12/19
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    It is hidden by default.
     
  16. 2017/12/19
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks guys for the addl info.

    Everybody have a great holiday and a happy New Years.
     
  17. 2017/12/20
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member

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    I found this before seeing your post...

    Missing windows 7 public desktop folder

    It's there. Not sure if I missed it last look, but it's not listed as a hidden folder on my laptop. Not sure about the desktop PC just yet.

    I have just a few shortcuts in that folder as I usually opt to install programs with me as the only user. Some installers don't give you that option I presume.
     
  18. 2017/12/20
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member

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    I just checked the desktop PC, and its public desktop folder was indeed hidden.

    Inside were about 1/2 dozen shortcuts, so I un-hid the folder via the check box on the General tab of the public desktop folder. I then reverted and re-hid the folder, and afterwards, a box popped up asking me if I wanted to hide the folder contents as well - which I did, and all of a sudden those same shortcuts were missing from my username desktop, so I had to reverse the process and hide the public desktop folder, only, which returned my missing username desktop shortcuts.

    I learned something new today.
     

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