How to put an app on the Windows 10 desktop

As time goes by, you are learning how to make the most of the Windows 10 PC that was given to you a few months ago. Now, however, you have the need to customize your desktop even more, adding links to the programs and applications you use most often: for this reason, you immediately opened Google in search of valid information on topic, happening right here on my site.

Did I guess? Yup? So let me tell you right away: you've come to the perfect place to approach this topic. In fact, below I will teach you how to put an app on the Windows 10 desktop in a simple and, above all, fast way! In this case, I will take care to show you the steps to take to create, on the desktop, links to UWP applications (the so-called “integrated apps), to“ classic ”programs and to Internet sites. Finally, I will give you some good "tips" to add these shortcuts to the Start menu and the Windows taskbar as well.

So, without waiting an extra minute, take a few minutes of your free time for yourself and read very carefully everything I have to explain on the subject: I'm sure that, at the end of this guide, you will have acquired the necessary skills to obtain the desktop customization you like best. Having said that, there is nothing left for me to do but wish you good reading and good work!

How to put an app on the Windows 10 desktop

While it's not entirely straightforward, putting an app on the Windows 10 desktop is much easier than it might seem.

If the icon of the app you want to add to the desktop is already present in the Start menu , then the game is quickly done: you simply have to take the icon in question with the mouse, drag and drop it to an empty spot on the desktop.

Otherwise, you can follow an equally simple procedure: press the key combination Win + R , to open the Windows Run screen, type the command explorer shell: AppsFolder in the text box that appears on the screen and press the key Enter keyboard.

If everything went well, a File Explorer window should open containing the icons of all the apps installed in the system ( Applications folder ): right-click on the one you are interested in, choose Create shortcut from the menu that comes up proposed and agrees to create a shortcut on the desktop by answering Yes to the warning window that appears. Alternatively, you can grab the icon with the mouse and drop it on the desktop.

How to put a program on the Windows 10 desktop

The steps to add a “classic” program icon to the Windows 10 desktop are quite simple to put into practice: even in this case, you can follow different paths to achieve your goal, including the procedures described in the previous chapter .

Alternatively, you can get a completely identical result using the Windows shortcut wizard: first, right-click on an empty spot on the desktop and choose the New and Shortcut items from the context menu.

Now, press the Browse button , go to the folder that contains the program of your interest, using the File Explorer panel that appears, and double-click on its icon. Finally, click the Next button , enter a name for the new icon and press the Finish button , to add it to the desktop immediately. Easier to do than to say, don't you think?

How to put a web app on the Windows 10 desktop

Do you need to add the link to a web app or website on the Windows 10 desktop, so you can quickly reach it in case of need? Also in this case, you can succeed in the enterprise in a very simple way.

You should know that, in general, the procedure valid for almost all web browsers is to drag the URL of the website present in the address bar to the desktop. This will create a file with the .url extension that can be opened with any browser.

Also through the wizard that I showed you in the previous chapter , you can indicate the URL of the website of your choice in the screen for creating a shortcut on the desktop. The icon thus generated will not refer to an app but to a website, starting the web browser set as the default software for navigation .

Alternatively, some of these allow you to create real Web apps (complete with a shortcut on the desktop or in the Start menu or on the taskbar), which are created directly from the Web browser (if it is equipped with the appropriate functionality). In the next few chapters, I'll explain just how to create them for any website with Edge and Chrome browsers .

Edge

In the browser pre-installed on Windows 10 (and Windows 11

If you use Google Chrome , you can create desktop shortcuts on your favorite websites. How? I'll explain it to you immediately. To get a result similar to that seen in the chapter on Edge , you need to use a special built-in function.

To use it, visit the website of your interest, click on the button (⋮) at the top right and select the items Other tools> Create shortcut from the menu that is proposed to you. To finish creating the link, assign a name to the icon you are about to create and press the Create button .

 ), Microsoft Edge , you can create shortcuts for any website on the desktop , in the Start menu or on the taskbar . This operation is managed through two different functions.

To create a website link in the Start menu or on the taskbar, launch Edge and type the URL of the website so that it appears. At this point, click on the icon (...) at the top and select the items More tools> Pin to Start (to create a shortcut in the Start menu) or Other tools> Pin to taskbar (to create a shortcut on the taskbar) .

Alternatively, you can create a real Web app of a website: after reaching the website with Edge, click on the icon (...) at the top and select the App items> install the site as an app . Then click on Install and, in the new screen that is shown to you, choose whether to generate an icon on the desktop or in other areas of Windows (the Start menu or the taskbar ).

Chrome

If your need is to add quick links to apps, programs and websites to the Windows 10 Start menu , know that you can proceed in several different ways, which lead to practically the same result.

• Using the icons created on the desktop - after creating the icon of your interest on the desktop using one of the methods I mentioned earlier, right-click on it and choose the item Add to Start from the context menu.
• Using the icons in the Applications folder - press the Win + R key combination, type the explorer shell command: AppsFolder and press the Enter key on your keyboard. Identify, in the window that is proposed to you, the icon of your interest, right click on it and choose the item Add to Start .

By doing so, the icons of your interest will be added to the part of the Start menu that contains the "tiles" relating to the most used programs. If you wish, you can reposition the icons to your liking by simply dragging them with the mouse.

If, on the other hand, you intend to add links to the elements of your interest to the section of the Start menu where the icons of the installed programs reside (the one on the left, containing folders and smaller links), you must, instead, work on the folder of Windows which physically contains the latter.

To do this, press the key combination Win + R on the PC keyboard and type, in the Run window that appears on the screen, the shell command: Start Menu , and then press the Enter key , to open the folder that contains Start menu items.

At this point, you can create the link of your interest using the Windows wizard: right-click on an empty spot in the previously opened window, select the New> Link items from the context menu that is proposed to you and add the link to the program or to the website you want, following the steps I have already described to you above. If necessary, you can create additional sub-folders to sort the added items.

How to put an app on the Windows 10 taskbar

You did not find the information provided above useful, as you love to access the apps, programs or websites you use most often directly from the Windows 10 taskbar (or taskbar ) (to understand, the black bar at the bottom of the screen , the same on which the Start menu and the clock reside)?

Then I have some great news for you: you can "pin" your favorite icons onto it in just a few seconds! If it is your interest to add the icon of a program or an app , after starting the latter, right-click on the icon that appears in the taskbar and select the item Add to the taskbar from the menu that is proposed to you.

If, on the other hand, it is your interest to put a Web app on the Windows 10 taskbar, add its icon to the desktop using the steps I indicated earlier , then take the newly created icon with the mouse and drag it directly to the bar of applications. No sooner said than done!