Would you like to learn how to configure a group policy to create a shortcut on the user desktop? In this tutorial, we will show you how to create a shortcut on the user desktop using a GPO.

• Windows 2012 R2
• Windows 2016
• Windows 2019
• Windows 10
• Windows 7

Equipment list

The following section presents the list of equipment used to create this tutorial.

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Tutorial GPO - Create a shortcut on the user desktop

On the domain controller, open the group policy management tool.

Windows 2012 - Group Policy Management

Create a new group policy.

Windows 2012 - Group Policy Objects

Enter a name for the new group policy.

Windows - Add GPO

In our example, the new GPO was named: MY-GPO.

On the Group Policy Management screen, expand the folder named Group Policy Objects.

Right-click your new Group Policy Object and select the Edit option.

Windows - Edit GPO

On the group policy editor screen, expand the User configuration folder and locate the following item.

Copy to Clipboard

Create a shortcut.

GPO - Create Shortcut

On the General tab, perform the following configuration.

• Action - Update.
• Name - Enter a name for the new shortcut.
• Target type - Select the shortcut target type.
• Location - Select the shortcut destination folder.
• Target URL - Enter the URL path.

Click on the OK button.

GPO - Create a Shortcut on Desktop

In our example, we created a shortcut named INTRANET on the user desktop.

To save the group policy configuration, you need to close the Group Policy editor.

Congratulations! You have finished the GPO creation.

Tutorial - Applying the GPO to create a shortcut

On the Group policy management screen, you need to right-click the Organizational Unit desired and select the option to link an existent GPO.

Windows-2012-Applocker application

In our example, we are going to link the group policy named MY-GPO to the root of the domain.

GPO- tutorial linking

After applying the GPO you need to wait for 10 or 20 minutes.

During this time the GPO will be replicated to other domain controllers.

On a remote computer, verify if the new shortcut was created.

GPO - Create shortcut on the User Desktop

In our example, we created a shortcut on the user desktop using a GPO.