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

jamal numan · Feb 5, 2022

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

I observed that the “paint” has no “open file location” option so that one can add its icon in the desktop.

Is this by design? What is the point of offering less functionalities that are available in earlier releases?

Lokien · Feb 5, 2022

The mspaint.exe file is hidden away in the Program Files > WindowsApps folder, which is a hidden folder. So in order to see the folder, you need to set Windows Explorer to show hidden files. Moreover, you probably need to take ownership of the WindowsApps folder in order to view the contents. On my laptop, the mspaint.exe file is residing in the folder Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Paint_11.2110.0.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\PaintApp. So you could create a desktop shortcut from there (by right clicking on the mspaint.exe file and choosing copy to -> desktop (create shortcut).

z3r010 · Feb 5, 2022

Open file explorer and paste the following into the address bar and hit enter.

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

A folder will open with lots of app icons including paint, you can right-click and make a desktop shortcut from there.

Lokien · Feb 5, 2022

z3r010 said:
Open file explorer and paste the following into the address bar and hit enter.

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

A folder will open with lots of app icons including paint, you can right-click and make a desktop shortcut from there.

That's much easier. :)

z3r010 · Feb 5, 2022

Lokien said:
That's much easier. :)

There is a great list of these in the tutorial section.

List of Windows 11 CLSID Key (GUID) Shortcuts

This tutorial will show you a complete list of GUIDs from the CLSID key in the registry that can be used to create shortcuts to directly open items with in Windows 11. A CLSID is a globally unique identifier that identifies a COM class object. For more information about a CLSID key and the...

www.elevenforum.com

Lokien · Feb 5, 2022

z3r010 said:
There is a great list of these in the tutorial section.

List of Windows 11 CLSID Key (GUID) Shortcuts

This tutorial will show you a complete list of GUIDs from the CLSID key in the registry that can be used to create shortcuts to directly open items with in Windows 11. A CLSID is a globally unique identifier that identifies a COM class object. For more information about a CLSID key and the...

www.elevenforum.com

Brilliant, thanks!

Fabler2 · Feb 5, 2022

Just drag and drop from the All apps list.

jamal numan · Feb 5, 2022

Thank you guys for the help. The just made our life harder

jamal numan · Feb 5, 2022

Fabler2 said:
Just drag and drop from the All apps list.

View attachment 20844

View attachment 20845

Right. Drag\drop is much easier. Thank you

blasirl · Feb 5, 2022

I did not think it was hard at all to do this, before I read this thread. Maybe I missed something.

I just left clicked on the Search glass
typed in "pa" and paint was brought up
then I right clicked on the app
then selected pin to task bar.

Slinky · Feb 5, 2022

@blasirl

blasirl said:
I did not think it was hard at all to do this, before I read this thread. Maybe I missed something.

I just left clicked on the Search glass
typed in "pa" and paint was brought up
then I right clicked on the app
then selected pin to task bar.

Yes you missed something.., the OP was asking how to create a shortcut on his desktop, not the task bar

Slinky · Feb 5, 2022

z3r010 said:
Open file explorer and paste the following into the address bar and hit enter.

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

A folder will open with lots of app icons including paint, you can right-click and make a desktop shortcut from there.

An even simpler solution is to create a 'New Folder' on the desktop and in it's properties change it's Target Location to
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

Then rename this folder to Hidden Applications, that way you will always have access to that folder without the need to keep pasting that directory in the address bar. I find having access to this folder on a regular basis is invaluable.

If you want to get really creative you can also change the icon to something more fitting.

jamal numan · Feb 6, 2022

The method suggested by Fabler2 (#7 above) is the easiest

thomaseg1 · Feb 6, 2022

All I did was open explorer to c:\windows\system32 scroll down to mspaint.exe
right click on it and choose create shortcut on desktop.

oops forgot I have win 11 set to win 10 context menu..... so it may not be there in 11

blasirl · Feb 6, 2022

Slinky said:
An even simpler solution is to create a 'New Folder' on the desktop and in it's properties change it's Target Location to
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

Then rename this folder to Hidden Applications, that way you will always have access to that folder without the need to keep pasting that directory in the address bar. I find having access to this folder on a regular basis is invaluable.

View attachment 20892

If you want to get really creative you can also change the icon to something more fitting.

Do you need to be in Admin mode to do this? This is what I see:

Slinky · Feb 6, 2022

jamal numan said:
The method suggested by Fabler2 (#7 above) is the easiest

Yes that works too but where you're not understanding the usefulness of the 'Hidden Applications' folder is that it contains shortcuts to every application on your computer, the 'All Apps' list does not. For example there are 34 Windows Tools that aren't shown in the 'All Apps' list however they are shown in the 'Hidden Applications' folder which obviously makes it easier to create shortcuts to those tools if needed. I like having access to ALL apps in one place as opposed to several.

Slinky · Feb 6, 2022

blasirl said:
Do you need to be in Admin mode to do this? This is what I see:

Quite possibly, I can't say for sure, I only ever use Admin mode myself. You can create an Admin account, there's plenty of tutorials online

TBugReporter · Mar 14, 2022

Shortcuts created in this manner don't show up when placed in the SendTo folder, so does anyone have another alternative?

Bree · Mar 14, 2022

Welcome to Eleven Forum @TBugReporter

You should be able to use a shortcut to....

%localappdata%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\mspaint.exe

TBugReporter · Mar 14, 2022

That's good for some Microsoft apps (like Notepad and Paint) but not others (like WordPad). It's no help for third party programs, either, but most of them should have old style shortcuts somewhere in the old Start Menu folders. (I dread the day when I find some "Modern" app that I need to do this for.)

Also, these crazy shortcuts are missing the proper icons; I'm trying to find and add them now.

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

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