Solved How to create shortcut for the “paint” in the desktop?

I always make executable shortcuts in the top root for all objects...,
that way, they're always right there on first click.
I can't be bothered dickin around with sub-sub-sub menus!

TBugReporter said:

That's good for some Microsoft apps (like Notepad and Paint) but not others (like WordPad).

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Notepad and Paint are now 'UWP apps' and those %localappdata%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\ .exe files seem to just be stubs put there so you can make shortcuts. Wordpad on the other hand is still a perfectly normal Win32 app and can be be found at:
"C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe"

I always make executable shortcuts in the top root

Click to expand...

If I did that, my right click menu would almost be tall enough to justify Microsoft's "simplified" W11 alternative.

Bree said:

Wordpad on the other hand is still a perfectly normal Win32 app and can be be found at:
"C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe"

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Ridiculous the number of places that apps "can be be found at" these days.

Even write.exe from old versions of the OS still exists in C:\Windows, opens the newer Wordpad.

Right clicking to create shortcuts is simple. Don't know what the fuss is about or I'm missing something.

I'm actually surprised no one mentioned this.

Using the run dialog, enter shell:appsfolder:



And it opens the Applications folder, which contains the majority of the items that you find listed in the app list, including Microsoft Store apps.



Find the app you want, right click it and select create shortcut



You'll then get the following popup.



Click yes and you're done.

Regarding the method suggested by Slinky in post #15 to create a "new folder" on your desktop and then set its target to
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}
And then Blasirl in post #15 reports that it isn't possible for him/her to do that and s/he wonders if you need to be admin, and then Slinky replies in post #17 that maybe you do, s/he doesn't know because s/he always works in admin mode:

I also had the same impasse as did Blasirl, so I suspect that yes, you need to be admin.
However I found an easy workaround to still use Slinky's method without using admin, and that is instead of creating a "new folder" on the desktop, I created a "shortcut" on the desktop, and as part of that process I was able to set the shortcut's target at the time I created the shortcut and that worked just fine.

Conventional wisdom is to only use admin to the extent necessary and to work as a non-admin user at other times. Slinky's "I'm always admin" is going against that conventional wisdom, so unless you are confident that's something you want to do, you'd be better off not always being admin.

jamal numan said:

Windows 11: How to create shortcut for the “paint” in the desktop?

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LarryBrown said:

I also had the same impasse as did Blasirl, so I suspect that yes, you need to be admin.
However I found an easy workaround to still use Slinky's method without using admin....

Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

This is an easy task now in 23H2 and later. Simply find Paint in the Start Menu's All apps list, then click and drag it to the Desktop.

LarryBrown said:

Regarding the method suggested by Slinky in post #15 to create a "new folder" on your desktop and then set its target to
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}
And then Blasirl in post #15 reports that it isn't possible for him/her to do that and s/he wonders if you need to be admin, and then Slinky replies in post #17 that maybe you do, s/he doesn't know because s/he always works in admin mode:

Click to expand...

Actually, since you're making it a folder (based upon the instructions), it needs to have a DOS8.3 compliant name - and the 3x ":" in that name will not let that folder be named as such. Paths (filenames and folder names) cannot have that character at all. It simply is not allowed in Windows to begin with.

But, since the instructions say to change the `target` I suspect that instead of folder, shortcut is what he actually meant to say in the first place, and thus when you used a shortcut it actually worked - as there is a direct target field in the shortcut's properties that you can place that string in.

As Bree mentions, though, drag and drop shortcuts are now a thing, directly from the Applications folder.