You can create shortcuts on your desktop that enable you to open your favorite files and folders by simply double-clicking your mouse.

To add a shortcut from a file to your desktop:

1) Browse through your My Documents folder, and find the file that you want to create a shortcut to.

2) Right-click the file that you want to be able to open from your desktop, click Send To, and then click Desktop.

You’ll see the shortcut on your desktop.

Note: The shortcut icon has an arrow in the lower-left corner to indicate that it’s a shortcut rather than the actual file. You can open a shortcut just like you would any other file by double-clicking it. However, if you delete the shortcut, you won’t remove the file itself.

Published on Microsoft.com: September 7, 2006