Windows 10: How to programmatically create a desktop shortcut link via Powershell or batch file command...

Currently the *.appxbundle installs into the StartMenu, which is fine, but I'd also like to include a shortcut link on the destkop.


I see from this link that it's possible to create a short-cut manually for a sideloaded or Windows Store application.

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/5328/windows-10-tip-create-shortcuts-for-universal-apps


So how can I automate the steps from the above article?

More specifically how can I find out what is the unique identifier Windows uses to create that shortcut?



Thanks!

:)

 

Creating Shortcuts with Batch File

Tried both of the VB Scripts that you provided and adding the 9 switch to the batch file but neither was able to create a shortcut to my desktop.

 

Creating Shortcuts with Batch File

I've created a Batch file which calls on the following VB Script to be able to create a shortcut to my desktop:

VB Script (named createLink.vbs):
Code: set objWSHShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") set objFso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") ' command line arguments ' TODO: error checking sShortcut = objWSHShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings(WScript.Arguments.Item(0)) sTargetPath = objWSHShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings(WScript.Arguments.Item(1)) sWorkingDirectory = objFso.GetAbsolutePathName(sShortcut) set objSC = objWSHShell.CreateShortcut(sShortcut) objSC.TargetPath = sTargetPath objSC.WorkingDirectory = sWorkingDirectory objSC.Save[/quote] Batch File Example (for Windows Notepad):
Code: @Echo off cscript createLink.vbs "C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\Notepad.lnk" "C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe"[/quote] But after creating the shortcut using this method, I'm not able to assign a custom icon for the shortcut. I get the following error message when trying to do so:





Any help and ideas on what I need to put into the VB Script and/or Batch File to be able to do this would be greatly appreciated! *Big Grin

Also, I know that I can simply do this by going to Start Menu\All Programs\Accessories\ right-clicking on Notepad and selecting Send to\Desktop (create shortcut). Easy enough for creating a single shortcut. But I need to create several multiple shortcuts and using this Batch/VBS method would really save me a lot of time in doing so.

 

Creating Shortcuts with Batch File

Hmm, I just tried it and it worked fine. Maybe try running the batch as administrator? Also, right click on the desktop after the shortcut is created and click Refresh.

If the file in the third parameter doesn't exist, it assumes the icon is in the application.