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Finding Desktop Icons Print
Wednesday, 02 June 2004
Ever stared at a desktop for several minutes trying to find a specific shortcut? Even if that desktop isn't yours, here's an easy way to pinpoint the shortcut you need.

I find desktop icons extremely useful. Like many people, I arrange my desktop in a manner that suits my purposes. In teaching, I'll often see a desktop covered with icons and not in any order. Although I want to right-click on the Desktop and choose the "Arrange Icons By" menu, I refrain. After all, I'm a visitor and what might not seem like order to me, may make perfect sense to the owner.

Instead, to quickly find a program's icon, I start typing the first letter of the program I need. For example, if I need to find Microsoft Word, I type "m". This will highlight the first shortcut that starts with that letter. The name of the shortcut will also be highlighted. For Microsoft Word, I may have to type "m" several times to cycle though all the Microsoft entries.

I've found this tip saves me from searching through several layers of menus. The only problem I've encountered is when people label every icon with "shortcut to". In these situations, I suggest people rename the desktop icons and remove the extra text.

Related Article:

How to Create a shortcut on the Desktop (Microsoft KB)
Last Updated ( Saturday, 26 August 2006 )
 
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