Have you ever wondered how those third party tweaking programs allow you to add custom shortcuts to the Computer dialog? It’s actually really easy.

Note: this should work in at least Windows 7 and Windows 8, but it might work in Vista. Maybe.

How to Add Shortcuts to the Computer Dialog in Windows

Press the Win + R keyboard combination to bring up and run box, then type the following.

%appdata%\microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts

Then hit enter.

That should have opened the location where Microsoft looks for any additional shortcuts to display in the Computer dialog. So all we need to do is create a new shortcut to whatever we want to be displayed. This can be a file, a folder, or even a program.

When the Create Shortcut wizard opens, simply type in the location of the item you wish to create a shortcut to and click next.

Then give your shortcut a suitable name and click finish.

Voila! That is really all there is to it.

Profile Photo for Taylor Gibb Taylor Gibb
Taylor Gibb is a professional software developer with nearly a decade of experience. He served as Microsoft Regional Director in South Africa for two years and has received multiple Microsoft MVP (Most Valued Professional) awards. He currently works in R&D at Derivco International.
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