Article ID: 244677 - Last Review: August 27, 2007 - Revision: 3.6

How to create a desktop shortcut with the Windows Script Host

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SUMMARY

The Microsoft Windows Script Host (WSH) is a tool that allows you to run Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition and JScript natively within the base Operating System, either on Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0. It also includes several COM automation methods that allow you to do several tasks easily through the Windows Script Host Object Model. The Microsoft Windows Script Host is integrated into Windows 98, Windows 2000, and later versions of the Windows operating system. It is available for Windows NT 4.0 by installing the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack. To download this tool, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms950396.aspx (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms950396.aspx)

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MORE INFORMATION

This program demonstrates how to use the Windows Script Host to create a shortcut on the Windows Desktop. In order to run this example, you must have the Windows Script Host installed on your computer. To run one of these examples, copy the code below into a new program file and run it.

Example 1

WshShell = CreateObject("Wscript.shell")
strDesktop = WshShell.SpecialFolders("Desktop")
oMyShortcut = WshShell.CreateShortcut(strDesktop + "\Sample.lnk")
oMyShortcut.WindowStyle = 3  &&Maximized 7=Minimized  4=Normal 
oMyShortcut.IconLocation = "C:\myicon.ico"
OMyShortcut.TargetPath = "%windir%\notepad.exe"
oMyShortCut.Hotkey = "ALT+CTRL+F"
oMyShortCut.Save

Example 2

(Add a command line argument)

WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
strDesktop = WshShell.SpecialFolders("Desktop")
oMyShortCut= WshShell.CreateShortcut(strDesktop+"\Foxtest.lnk")
oMyShortCut.WindowStyle = 7  &&Minimized 0=Maximized  4=Normal 
oMyShortcut.IconLocation = home()+"wizards\graphics\builder.ico"
oMyShortCut.TargetPath = "c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VFP98\vfp6.exe" 
oMyShortCut.Arguments = '-c'+'"'+Home()+'config.fpw'+'"'
oMyShortCut.WorkingDirectory = "c:\"
oMyShortCut.Save

Note Depending on the version of Visual FoxPro that you are using, you may need to change the name and the path of the Visual FoxPro executable in Example 2.

Example 3

(Add a URL Shortcut to the desktop)

WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
strDesktop = WshShell.SpecialFolders("Desktop")
oUrlLink = WshShell.CreateShortcut(strDesktop+"\Microsoft Web Site.URL")
oUrlLink.TargetPath = "http://www.microsoft.com"
oUrlLink.Save

Note For the shortcut to be created, valid parameters must be passed for all methods. No error appears if one of the parameters is incorrect.

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