7 Shut down Windows
While it doesn’t take too many clicks to shut down, restart
or put Windows to sleep via the Start menu, there is a quicker way
- a desktop shortcut! Create a new shortcut that points to
“%windir%\System32\shutdown.exe /s /t 0” (without the quotes)
and you can shut down your computer with a double click – or a
single click if you turn this into a taskbar shortcut.
8 Access your favourite websites
It is, of course, possible to create bookmarks to provide easy
access to your other favourite sites, but you can also use desktop
shortcuts to jump to sites without even having to open your
browser first. Right click the desktop, select New > Shortcut and
enter a URL, such as “http://www.techradar.com”. Double clicking
the shortcut will now open the site in your default browser. Q5
God Mode
There are many settings and options to be found within
Settings and the Control Panel – what if you could see them all in
one folder? Create a new folder on the desktop called “GodMode.
{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}” (“GodMode” can be
replaced with anything, it names the folder). Double-click, and
you’ll access a folder full of settings for you to tweak.
3 Quick email
There’s probably one person or company you email a great
deal, so why not create a shortcut that speeds things up? Create
a new shortcut that points to “mailto:[email protected]”
(changing the email address as required). When you double click
the shortcut, a new blank email will be created in your default
email client, ready for you to fill in the subject line and message.
6
Switch Wi-Fi networks
Another tool from Nirsoft lets you easily switch between
wireless networks. Download, unzip and launch WifiInfoView
(nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html) and you will see a
list of available networks. Right click one, and select Create
Desktop Shortcut > Connect access Point By Name and click Yes.
You can then double click an icon to switch to that network.4 Control Panel
While the Control Panel has been largely replaced by
Settings in Windows 10, there are still some adjustments that
can only be made there. If you find you use it a lot, click the Start
button, type Control Panel, right click the Control Panel icon and
select “Open file location”. You can then copy the shortcut from
the Explorer window that opens onto the desktop.Explore
Use desktop shortcuts
March 2020 | |^31