file system Microsoft Corporation's term for a symboliclink, stored as a file with extension ".lnk". Shortcuts

first appeared in 1996 in the Windows 95 operating system.

Windows shortcuts can link to any file or directory

("folder"), including those on remote computers, using UNC

paths. Each shortcut can also have its own icon. A

shortcut that links to an executable file can pass arguments

and specify the directory in which the command should run.

Unlike a Unix symbolic link, a shortcut does not always

behave exactly like the target file or directory.