Why doesn’t a file shortcut work in a ‘Links’ folder?

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I am Win10/Pro 22H2.

BACKGROUND:
When you right-click on the Taskbar and select Toolbar, you can turn on “Links”.
As a consequence, ‘Links >>’ will show up on the right side of the Taskbar. See Taskbar-Toolbar-Links.JPG

If you click on the raised “>>” to the right of ‘Links’, a menu will pop up. The menu selections for ‘Links >>’ come from Personalfoldername>Favorites>Links. See ‘Links’ menu.JPG

Now here is where I have discovered something very curious. Here are all of the entries in the ‘Every Day Links’ folder; all but one are shortcuts to folders, but there’s one that is a shortcut to a file. It got there by holding down the right button on my mouse, dragging the file to this ‘Every Day Links’ folder, and selecting ‘create a shortcut here’ from the context menu that pops up when I release the right-button of the mouse. See Entries in ‘Every Day Links’.JPG

PROBLEM:
If I then click on the file shortcut to open the file, I get this screen, which I have learned from other situations occurs when you are trying to open a file that has been downloaded from the web and it has the Mark of the Web in it. But, this doesn’t come from the web; it was created on the same device and resides on the same device where the “Every Day Links” folder resides. Besides that the file is not an app. And when I look at the properties of the file, there is no Mark of the Web to unblock. See Not a MS-verified app.JPG

I have also discovered that if I go to the location where this file resides and create a shortcut for it in that same folder, and then drag the shortcut to the ‘Every Day Links’ folder, I will not encounter the Mark-of-the-Web barrier and the clicking on the file will open it.

It doesn’t make any sense that creating a shortcut to a file using Method 1 will not let the file open, but creating a shortcut using Method 2 will allow the file to open.
Method 1: selecting ‘Create a shortcut here’ after dragging the file to the ‘Every Day Links’ folder (file doesn’t open)
Method 2: dragging a shortcut to the ‘Every Day Links’ folder from a location where the shortcut was originally created. (file opens)

Given that the file has never originated from the web but was instead created on and resides on the same device as the “Every Day Links” folder, can someone explain why Method 1 will not open the file, but Method 2 will??

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I don’t know why your file shortcut is sometimes treated as an app depending on where created, but that warning screen is a result of your app recommendation settings (which I think is independent of Mark of the Web for file origins).

If you never want to see that warning, you could click the link at the bottom of the warning screen and select Anywhere for Choose where to get apps.

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1483 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Choosing ‘Anywhere’ will trigger this dialog box. See Anywhere warning before opening.JPG

And it will pop up every time there is an attempt to open the file. So, yes, I won’t see the ‘not a MS-verified app’ warning, but I will get a warning, nevertheless, even though the file originated from and resides on my device.

Creating the shortcut via Method 2 causes no problem – the file just opens. No matter what, creating a file shortcut via Method 1 will trigger some kind of warning. Yet, they are both shortcuts to the same file. Furthermore, creating a folder shortcut (and not a file shortcut) opens with no warning at all using either method.

It takes nuanced, inside info to know that creating a file [emphasis on ‘file’] shortcut won’t trigger a warning, IF you do it via Method 2.

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The New York Times.PDF was created by you, not downloaded?

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1483 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Yes, it was an article that came up on my screen and I clicked on File>print and made a pdf file of it.

It happens with shortcuts to other files, too — anything that is a shortcut to a file, whether it be .xlsx, .xls,.docx, .doc, .txt, .jpg, or .png — all created by me, as well.

Doesn’t happen to shortcuts to folders, just shortcuts to files.

Doesn’t happen to files themselves that are in Favorites\Links\Every Day Links, just to shortcuts to files that are created by depressing the right button on the mouse, dragging the file to the ‘Every Day Links’ folder, releasing the right button, and selecting ‘Create a shortcut here’.

1 user thanked author for this post.

b

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The reason the shortcuts to files that you move to the “Links” folder on the taskbar cause the UAC window to open has to do with how you are adding the shortcuts to that “Links” folder and how that affects the security settings of the shortcut. If you move that shortcut from the “Links” toolbar to another location you will see it still causes the UAC security window to open. That is caused by the security setting caused by moving a shortcut from the Desktop or other folder directly into the “Links” toolbar. The UAC window doesn’t open on shortcuts to a folder because a folder does not have a file extension recognized by the DEP security software and does not engage the UAC window. The system sees these shortcuts moved to the Links toolbar as from an unknown source because the toolbar may display a folder from File Explorer but does not have the functions of File Explorer.

The fix is in how you add these shortcuts to that Links toolbar, which really isn’t the Links folder. That Links toolbar is the contents of the Favorites Bar folder in the Favorites folder for that user….C:\Users\Username\Favorites\Favorites bar.

To add working shortcuts to Links toolbar:
Create a new shortcut for that file. Don’t try to use the current shortcuts as their security settings are already set.
Move that new shortcut directly into the Favorites Bar folder.
The new shortcut will appear in the Links toolbar and now will work without the UAC warning. Moving the shortcut into the folder with File Explorer allows File Explorer to know the source and apply the right security to the shortcut.

HTH, Dana:))

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Sounds almost plausible … but the warning is not a UAC window:

The UAC User Experience

And I don’t think DEP is involved either:

What is Data Execution Prevention (DEP)?

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1483 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Drcard:))
Let me see if I get your explanation straight.

Method 1 and Method 2 refer back to my original post at the top of this thread.

1. When you position the mouse cursor on a file, hold down the right button on the mouse, drag the file to the “Links” folder, release the mouse button, and select ‘Create a shortcut here’ (i.e., Method 1), this is NOT adding the file shortcut to the “Links” folder via File Explorer (which would know the source of the file), but instead is adding the file shortcut in a way that does not know the source of the file and that is why clicking on the shortcut to open the file brings up the “unknown source” dialog box.
2. When you create a file shortcut inside the folder where the file exists and then you move the shortcut to the “Links” folder (Method 2), File Explorer puts ‘known source’ security settings in the shortcut at the time of shortcut creation and then when you move the file shortcut to the “Links” folder, you are adding it to the “Links” folder via File Explorer (which knows the source of the file), and so clicking on the shortcut to open the file will not bring up the “unknown source” dialog box.

Am I following you?

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Drcard:)) wrote:

The fix is in how you add these shortcuts to that Links toolbar, which really isn’t the Links folder. That Links toolbar is the contents of the Favorites Bar folder in the Favorites folder for that user….C:\Users\Username\Favorites\Favorites bar.

Yes, that Links toolbar is the contents of the Favorites Bar folder in the Favorites folder. That has always been very confusing to me. Why is it the Links toolbar but it is the Favorites bar folder?? Shouldn’t they both be the same name, i.e., if Links toolbar, then Links folder? Maybe, because there is also a system-based Links folder under C:\Users\Username!!

When I first starting using Windows 10 and started to try to figure out what the “right-click-on-Taskbar>Toolbar> check on Links” would do, I saw the term “Links” appear on the Taskbar. And somehow I figured out that when I put files, folders or shortcuts in C:\Users\Username\Favorites\Favorites bar, those items appeared in a little pop-up above “Links” on the Taskbar.

The name ‘Favorites bar’ didn’t have any meaning for me and I wasn’t sure I could remember that name and figure out where to look for it again if I wanted more items to appear in the pop-up, So, I gave ‘Favorites bar’ a more descriptive name ‘(Taskbar) Links (under Favorites)’ (e.g. I renamed it) and put it in Quick Access to find it more easily.

Interestingly, when I type ‘Favorites bar’ in Taskbar’s Search Box, the ‘Favorites bar’ folder comes up in the Search flyout, but when I right-click on it and select ‘Open file location’, it takes me to the Desktops folder and highlights This PC. I thought it would take me to (Taskbar) Links (under Favorites). So, although Search recognizes the folder name ‘Favorites bar’ and knows its time stamp, it doesn’t know its new name nor does it know where it is.

In addition, this laptop insists that the name ‘Links’ be reserved for the system-based folder under C:\Users\Username. So, that’s another reason the Links toolbar folder is named ‘(Taskbar) Links (under Favorites)’. My other laptop (also a Windows 10/Pro from the same vendor, only a newer model) is happy having two Links folders — one being C:\Users\Username\Favorites\Links (the contents of the Links toolbar) and the other being the system-based C:\Users\Username\Links (a folder, not associated with the Links toolbar, with a bunch of other links in it). And Search does not find a ‘Favorites bar’ on this other, newer laptop.

Confusing, I know, both in explaining and in why I can’t have two Links folders on one laptop, but I can have two Links folders on the other laptop.

I probably should have left the Links toolbar folder with the name ‘Favorites bar,’ but I confess that the name ‘Favorites bar’ still makes no sense because the name has no connection to the name ‘Links,’ despite the fact that the toolbar and the folder DO actually function together.

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Toolbars are so logical that Windows 11 just eliminated them 😕

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1483 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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WCHS wrote:

Method 1 and Method 2 refer back to my original post at the top of this thread.

When you position the mouse cursor on a file, hold down the right button on the mouse, drag the file to the “Links” folder, release the mouse button, and select ‘Create a shortcut here’ (i.e., Method 1), this is NOT adding the file shortcut to the “Links” folder via File Explorer (which would know the source of the file), but instead is adding the file shortcut in a way that does not know the source of the file and that is why clicking on the shortcut to open the file brings up the “unknown source” dialog box.
When you create a file shortcut inside the folder where the file exists and then you move the shortcut to the “Links” folder (Method 2), File Explorer puts ‘known source’ security settings in the shortcut at the time of shortcut creation and then when you move the file shortcut to the “Links” folder, you are adding it to the “Links” folder via File Explorer (which knows the source of the file), and so clicking on the shortcut to open the file will not bring up the “unknown source” dialog box.
Am I following you?

Yes, that is correct.

WCHS wrote:

Why is it the Links toolbar but it is the Favorites bar folder?? Shouldn’t they both be the same name, i.e., if Links toolbar, then Links folder?

The reason for Links for the toolbar name instead of Favorites Bar is the amount of space the toolbar name takes up on the taskbar.

The Links on the taskbar is a toolbar and is not a folder that actually holds files, folders, and shortcuts. A toolbar is a taskbar shortcut to a folder that actually does store other folders, files, and shortcuts and as a shortcut does not store files and shortcuts in that taskbar shortcut.  The Links toolbar being available with other toolbars is just a premade toolbar to use and chose the Links name for the toolbar to be short and kind of indicate what the toolbar displays.

Yes, you can have 2 toolbars named Links on the taskbar (see attached image). One of the Links toolbar points to the Favorites Bar folder and the other Links toolbar points to the actual Links folder. The image also shows my custom toolbars UT, KS, & DATA(D:). I named these folders with short names to take up less space on the taskbar (like the Links name for the Favorites Bar folder). The UT is short for Utility apps which is a folder of shortcuts open the various utilities in Windows I use (see second image). KS is a folder with reminders of Keyboard Shortcuts used in Windows. The Data(D:) is access to all folders and files on my D: drive where I keep my data files.

Yes, you can edit the name of the Links folder in C:\Users\username. Just make sure your logged on with Admin rights and do this in File Explorer.

Just keep in mind that a toolbar may display files and shortcuts “like” File Explorer does, but the toolbar is NOT a folder and does NOT store files, folders, or shortcuts.

HTH, Dana:))

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Drcard:))
I’m glad that you understood my questions!! The explanation and the tidbits on terminology are extremely helpful. Your examples have given me some ideas on how I can navigate more easily and get to my little knowledge bases without a lot of clicking.

I have a folder named “HOW TO –” and it contains various subfolders of instructions on how to do things. I’ve attached a screenshot of the “Taskbar list” and of the sublist for “Toolbars” (what do you call these black-backgrounded ‘thingys” – lists? menus? Or what?). See Taskbar list and Toolbar sublist.JPG. You can see that I’ve added to the Taskbar the “How-TO –” toolbar/aka “HOW-TO –” Taskbar shortcut, which is a link to the HOW-TO — folder.

I’ve also attached a screenshot of the pop-up showing the items in the HOW-TO folder. See HOW-TO pop-up.JPG. As you can see, it is a very long list and I’ve noticed the “up” arrow at the top and the “down” arrow at the bottom, which allows me to see the entire list in the pop-up. (I’ll probably be adding instructions on how a Taskbar Toolbar works and how to make a Taskbar “Link”/aka “Taskbar shortcut” in the HOW-TO for Windows 10 folder!!)

Now how do I shorten the name “HOW TO –” on the Taskbar to “HT”?? Do I have to rename the “HOW-TO –” folder to “HT”? Or is there some way to rename only the Taskbar shortcut and not the folder it’s pointing to?

Do I understand that all of the entries in the UT toolbar are shortcuts? I don’t see any ‘shortcut’ symbol in the corner of the icons and I don’t see them on my “Links” or “HOW-TO” icons either, but for my “Links” entries the name has “—Shortcut” in it because they originated as shortcuts in some folder somewhere (before I moved them to the folder for “Links” toolbar) See Links pop-up.JPG.

What is the entry at the very top of the UT toolbar? There is no name there. But, there is an arrow to the right. If I put my cursor on the arrow as it shows up on display of the AskWoody page (not in the screenshot itself), a little info box pops up that says “UT”. Is this some clue as to how to shorten the Taskbar toolbar name?

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b wrote:

Sounds almost plausible … but the warning is not a UAC window:

I’m sorry that I misidentified that security window as UAC and not the Open file security warning for files downloaded (aka: from an unknown source) as shown in my attached photo.

It is still a security setting invoked because the shortcut of a file was added to the toolbar and not the folder that the toolbar displays. Test it out and you will find that a new shortcut to a file added via File Explorer to the Favorites Bar folder and click that shortcut from the Links toolbar will open without that security warning window. Also move one of the shortcuts in the Links toolbar to anywhere else and it still causes the security warning to open. This indicates that the security setting was placed in the shortcut when it was created by moving directly into the Links toolbar but did not create that security setting when move to the folder via File Explorer. Hence my conclusions.

At least WCHS now knows how to add those shortcuts to that folder without causing the security warning window.

HTH, Dana:))

1 user thanked author for this post.

b

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WCHS wrote:

(what do you call these black-backgrounded ‘thingys” – lists? menus? Or what?)

Toolbars are shortcuts to an Explorer view of a folder or drive, so the “lists” are the contents of a folder or a drive. A toolbar is a temporary Explorer view of a folder/drive that doesn’t require File Explorer to open.  This allows you access to your often used files without having to open and close File Explorer.  Think of them as special Explorer windows.

WCHS wrote:

(I’ll probably be adding instructions on how a Taskbar Toolbar works and how to make a Taskbar “Link”/aka “Taskbar shortcut” in the HOW-TO for Windows 10 folder!!)

Create the folder with all your shortcuts you want and then add that folder as a custom toolbar to the taskbar. Works best in that order.

WCHS wrote:

Now how do I shorten the name “HOW TO –” on the Taskbar to “HT”?? Do I have to rename the “HOW-TO –” folder to “HT”?

The toolbar’s name will always be the name of the folder, so rename the folder to “HT” to have HT as the name on the taskbar.

WCHS wrote:

Do I understand that all of the entries in the UT toolbar are shortcuts? I don’t see any ‘shortcut’ symbol in the corner of the icons and I don’t see them on my “Links” or “HOW-TO” icons either, but for my “Links” entries the name has “—Shortcut” in it because they originated as shortcuts in some folder somewhere (before I moved them to the folder for “Links” toolbar)

Yes, all the entries are shortcuts , each opening the utility named. There are no shortcut arrows on any of my shortcuts due to a Registry modification I made to my system (an enhancement I like when I make icons of photos) . The no shortcut arrows and the use of _Shortcut only applies to the security settings for that Favorites Bar folder (actually it is inherited from the Favorites folder).  Toolbars of other folders with shortcuts will show the shortcut arrow on those icons.

WCHS wrote:

What is the entry at the very top of the UT toolbar? There is no name there. But, there is an arrow to the right. If I put my cursor on the arrow as it shows up on display of the AskWoody page (not in the screenshot itself), a little info box pops up that says “UT”. Is this some clue as to how to shorten the Taskbar toolbar name?

The entry icon without a name at the top is the God mode icon. The arrow to the right will expand to every setting in Windows (that’s what God mode is). The UT you see is AskWoody site identifying the name I gave the image (UT).

If you want How To’s on adding toolbars, removing the shortcut arrows, adding God Mode, any many more topics and enhancements for Windows I suggest you download a copy of my book (in PDF form)- Windows 10 Homer Users Companion. It’s free with no ads or anything else. The link below is to my free hosting site , so you might see an ad popup when go to download… ignore the ad and download the PDF file.
Windows 10 Home Users Companion

HTH, Dana:))

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Drcard:)) wrote:

Yes, all the entries are shortcuts , each opening the utility named. There are no shortcut arrows on any of my shortcuts due to a Registry modification I made to my system (an enhancement I like when I make icons of photos) . The no shortcut arrows and the use of _Shortcut only applies to the security settings for that Favorites Bar folder (actually it is inherited from the Favorites folder). Toolbars of other folders with shortcuts will show the shortcut arrow on those icons. {My boldface}

‘HOW-TO –‘ Taskbar toolbar.JPG is an image of the contents of the “HOW-TO –” Taskbar Toolbar. The top two entries were created using Method 2. The first of the two is a File Explorer-moved shortcut pointing to a folder. The second of the two is a File Explorer-moved shortcut pointing to a file. There is no shortcut arrow in the icon of either of these first two entries. Neither are there any arrows in the corner of all of the other icons, which are pointing to subfolders in the How TO – folder (i.e., they are shortcuts, too, but the name does not say ‘Shortcut’). This Taskbar Toolbar is not the default “Links” Taskbar Toolbar, so, if I understand you in this quote, all of the entries should have shortcut arrows. But, I don’t see any. I have made no Registry modification to eliminate the arrow in the icon.

‘HOW-TO –‘ folder.JPG is an image of the HOW TO – folder itself. Here there IS a shortcut arrow in the corner of the icons for the first two entries. As I said above, these are shortcuts that were moved to this folder via File Explorer. Of course, here in this folder (and not the toolbar) all of the other entries do not have shortcut arrows in their icons, because those entries are NOT shortcuts, and so I wouldn’t expect to see arrows on these icons, but I thought you might like to see what the content of the HOW-TO — folder looks like.

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Drcard:)) wrote:

oolbars are shortcuts to an Explorer view of a folder or drive, so the “lists” are the contents of a folder or a drive. A toolbar is a temporary Explorer view of a folder/drive that doesn’t require File Explorer to open. This allows you access to your often used files without having to open and close File Explorer. Think of them as special Explorer windows.

So THIS is called the Taskbar Toolbar?

And THIS (the left panel) is called the Taskbar Toolbar Toolbar (i.e., a toolbar within a toolbar)?

And THIS (the left panel)is called the Taskbar News-and-Interest Toolbar?

And THESE are called Taskbar Links? Or are they called Taskbar Toolbar Links?

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Drcard:)) wrote:

… every setting in Windows (that’s what God mode is).

Only Control Panel.

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1483 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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I have had that no arrow on shortcut icons registry modification since Windows 7, so I going on memory of how it was before those modifications. I tested on my Windows 10 laptop that I had not made that modification to. I too found that a shortcut with the arrow displayed in the folder in File Explorer did not show the shortcut arrow when viewed in the toolbar for that folder. I had not noticed or remembered that and I don’t have an explanation as to why the shortcut displays differently. The registry modification not only removes the arrow on the shortcut icon but also removes the -Shortcut added to the shortcut’s name as in the folder that holds all those utility shortcuts (attached image).

However, the shortcuts placed in the Favorites and Favorites Bar folders have the -Shortcut added to the shortcut’s name (as shown in the 2nd image) but still no shortcut arrow on the icons. These two folders are the only folders on my system where a shortcut has the -Shortcut added to the name even with the registry modification. This points to the uniqueness of these 2 folders which have different settings than other folders. Since I don’t use these Favorites folders (don’t use Edge) I had not noticed that before.

I misunderstood what you were referring to as “what do you call these black-backgrounded ‘thingys” – lists? menus? Or what?” and was referring to the expanded list of the preset toolbars. That menu that shows the Toolbar is the Taskbar context menu for various modifications for the taskbar which Toolbars is one of those modifications. The expanded list when you click Toolbars is a list of preset and currently in use custom built toolbars. The other items in the taskbar context menu (News and interests) are not toolbars. These are different settings for other objects that can be added or removed from the Taskbar. The Links and HOW TO in the taskbar are toolbar names or just referred to as the Links toolbar or the HOW TO toolbar.

 

One more tip to make editing the contents of a folder of a toolbar easier.

Place the mouse pointer over the toolbar’s name (not the double arrow next to the name) and right click.  The Taskbar context menu will open with Open Folder at the top above Toolbars.  Click this Open Folder and File Explorer will open to that folder that the toolbar represents.  Makes it easy to properly add shortcuts to that folder and thus the toolbar.

HTH, Dana:))

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Thanks for help on the terminology.

OK. So, the first image in #2533297 shows the ‘Taskbar context menu’, the 2nd image shows a ‘Toolbar list’ (i.e., in your words, the the expanded list when you click ‘Toolbars’), the 3rd image shows ‘News and interest’ settings, and 4th image shows ‘Toolbar names’.

There’s something peculiar about ‘Support Assist’ showing up on the Toolbar list. I have a Dell laptop, and Dell put that on the list a long time ago (2016 through 2018). The SupportAssist icon would show up in the area where other Toolbar names show up, sometimes indicating with a symbol that Dell updates were waiting. It’s now some Dell detritus left after Dell made some changes to how SupportAssist interacts with the Window 10 system. I have no idea what folder the SupportAssist name in the Taskbar list is pointing to. It looks like the system doesn’t know either because that entry in the Toolbar list doesn’t work anymore, off or on. My other Dell laptop (a newer one from 2019) has never had ‘SupportAssist’ in its Toolbar list.

Thanks for the tip on more easily editing the contents of a Toolbar folder. I always wondered how anyone would know where to find especially the “Links folder” if they hadn’t memorized where it is, because its foldername by default is ‘Favorites bar’. That’s why I renamed it ‘(Taskbar) Links (under Favorites)’ — so I could always find it. I had not noticed the ‘Open Folder’ before in the Taskbar context menu, probably because I have always only clicked on the double arrow above the Toolbar name.

Drcard:)) wrote:

Just keep in mind that a toolbar may display files and shortcuts “like” File Explorer does, but the toolbar is NOT a folder and does NOT store files, folders, or shortcuts. {post #2533147}

I’ve found, though, that within a Toolbar folder I can create a folder (i.e., not a shortcut to a folder) and then create a folder within that (so the created folder is 2 deep). When I click on the 1 deep folder, another pop-up will appear with the contents of 2-deep folder. I’ve tried a 3-deep folder, too, but that doesn’t work out well – the pop-ups start overlapping.

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