Linking to an External Folder of Shortcuts in Windows 8.1 Start Menu

07
2014-07
  • Kirk

    I'm trying to add a folder to my start screen using symbolic links. I can't seem to get any linked folders to show up. Here is what I tried first:

    cd "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
mklink /D "Web" "C:\Google Drive\Settings\Windows 8\Programs\Web"

    Where C:\Google Drive\Settings\Windows 8\Programs\Web looks like this:

    enter image description here

    After restarting the computer those links do not show up in my start menu.

    I then deleted the symlink and then tried this:

    cd "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
mklink /J "Web" "C:\Google Drive\Settings\Windows 8\Programs\Web"

    The junction link didn't work either.

    My heart tells me it must be a permissions issue. Can anybody help?

    EDIT: I tried changing the permissions on the folder to make the owner of the folder in Google Drive to "SYSTEM", but it didn't fix it.

    • Answers
  • harrymc

    See the blog How are shortcuts created and managed on the Windows 8 Start screen?.
    I don't have Windows 8, but the example in the blog puts the shortcuts in a sub-folder in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. You might also try using a sub-folder.

    If symlinks/junctions do not work, you could use shortcuts to them instead. Or put the symlink somewhere else and right-click it and use "Pin to Start" (link).

    As another note: Try using mklink in a Command Prompt that is Run as Administrator.


    • Related Question

    windows - Is it possible to have shortcuts appear in the start menu search through a symbolic link?
  • paradroid

    I have a folder full of stuff that I sync across all my computers and virtual machines. It contains a whole load of stuff, including portable applications.

    On a new OS installation, I run a batch script which (amongst other things) copies a folder of shortcuts, for these portable applications, to the start menu (all users).

    As this synced folder is constantly changing, when I have added or removed portable apps, these shortcuts need to be updated across all my machines.

    I have been a scripts that runs as a scheduled task, to keep them updated, but it would be much better if I could use symbolic links. However, this does seem to work properly.

    When I make a symlink in the start menu folder, pointing to the folder of shortcuts within the synced folder, they do all appear in the start menu, but they do not appear in the start menu search box when I search for them.

    I have tried adding the R (read-only) attribute to the symlink, as the other folders in the start menu have that, but that does not help.

    I have also added the target folder to the list of indexed folder, but that does not help either. Actually, I am glad that this was not the solution, as Windows Server 2008 R2 does not use that service unless the file server role is installed.

    So, is there any way top make the start menu search include application shortcuts that are included in the start menu through a symbolic link?


    • Related Answers
  • Alan Pearce

    Create a junction instead, e.g. mklink /j link target. I just tested it and it appears to work handsomely.

    I'm not quite sure why symlinks are not searched, but I suspect they might really be files.