Many system administrators or home users want to restrict a few things from other users for security purposes. Creation of "New Shortcut" is one of them.

Many times we restrict drive access but sometimes it might be accessible using "New -> Shortcut" menu.

So here I'll tell you a simple method to disable "New -> Shortcut" menu, so that no one will be able to create a new shortcut anywhere in your system.

The method to disable "New -> Shortcut" menu is different for Windows XP and Vista. So I'll tell both of them one by one. The method for Windows XP will also work for Windows NT, 98, Me, 2000 and 2003. And the method of Windows Vista will also work for Windows 2008 and Windows Seven.

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Disable "New -> Shortcut" Menu in Windows XP:

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1. Open regedit and goto:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk\ShellNew

2. In right-side pane, you'll see a string value "Command". Double-click on it and delete the complete string from "Value data" box:

3. That's it. Now whenever a user will try to create "New -> Shortcut", Windows will show following error message:

And the process will create an empty file "New Shortcut" which you can delete later.

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Disable "New -> Shortcut" Menu in Windows Vista and 7:

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1. Open regedit and goto:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk\ShellNew

2. Now delete the "Shellnew" key.

3. That's it. It'll completely remove "Shortcut" item from "New" menu:

NOTE: If you want to restore the "New -> Shortcut" menu and its functionality, then download the appropriate ZIP file, extract it and run the extracted .REG file. It'll revert back to default settings:

Restore New -> Shortcut Functionality in Windows XP

Restore New -> Shortcut Functionality in Windows Vista and 7

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This article was posted in Troubleshooting, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.

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