How to Restore Missing “Desktop (create shortcut)” Item in Send To Menu in Windows?

A few people asked solution of this frequently occurring problem, so today I decided to post a simple and detailed solution of this problem.

As we all know about “Send To” menu which appears when we right-click on a file or folder in Windows Explorer. It contains some useful items like “Desktop (create shortcut)” which can create a shortcut of the selected file/folder on Desktop within a few seconds. Its really a useful option.

Send_To_Menu.png

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But sometimes this item gets deleted from “Send To” menu accidentally or intentionally. Following tutorial will help you in restoring this useful item back in “Send To” menu:

METHOD A:

1. Type “shell:sendto” in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open “Send To” folder.

2. Now right-click on blank area in the folder and select “New -> Text document“. It’ll create a text file with the name “New Text Document.txt“. Rename this file and set its name to “Desktop (create shortcut).DeskLink“.

3. That’s it. Now you’ll get “Desktop (create shortcut)” option back in “Send To” menu.

NOTE: Make sure “Hide extensions for known file types” option is disabled in “Folder Options“, otherwise the second step might not work and the text file will not convert in desktop shortcut item.

METHOD B:

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This method will only work in Windows XP. It’ll not work in Windows Vista and later:

1. Type following command in RUN dialog box:

regsvr32 sendmail.dll

2. It’ll re-create the missing “Desktop (create shortcut) option in “Send To” menu.

METHOD C:

This is the simplest method and will work in all Windows versions.

Just download following zip file, extract it and copy the extracted file to “Send To” folder:

Download Desktop (Create Shortcut)

To open “Send To” folder, type “shell:sendto” in RUN dialog box and press Enter.

Also Check:

Published in: Troubleshooting Guides, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. So I tried opening the ‘Desktop (create shortcut)’ file in my /Windows/SendTo folder with notepad… and now the option is gone from my right-click -> Send To list (Win7). Is there any way to restore the file without having it associated with notepad? It’s still a .desklink file… but something went awry.

  2. ^^ Did you try to download the ready-made shortcut given at the end? Replace the shortcut present in your system with this new one.

  3. I did, same result. I think I’ve traced it down to a registry issue and possibly permissions issue being on a network at work. Probably just resorting to getting our network guy to try to fix it. Ty though

  4. Thank You! I so loved that feature and I missed it for 2 long months! Solution A work on the first try!

  5. Very well explained, clear and simple for Ho doesn’t know or forgot.
    5 out of 5 star excellent, well done

  6. Fantastic description of what to do. I used method c and extracted desktop from rar file. Then I Type “shell:sendto” in RUN dialog box and open the send to folder and paste the desktop icon which I extracted. Thank You Sir.

  7. Thank you.
    Just FYI, creating the .DeskLink file did not work. Tried several times, and have tried it in the past since my Send To Desktop as Shortcut has been missing for 6 months.

    But, Good News, your second suggestion of “regsvr32 sendmail.dll” DID WORK.
    Yay!

  8. i want sent to file to the desktop but it allow me only sent to document how can i do?

  9. I like that method A. That’s very cunning. I set my computers to show file extensions because I like to see what everything is.

    I learned something new today. Thanks!

  10. i tried but it is not associated with any program so it is not working please create a reg file
    to repair it

  11. On my Windows Vista, I’ll right-click an area and get a menu including ‘NEW’. When I put the arrow over ‘NEW’, I see the list box empty. How does one create a new folder, for instance?

  12. why my laptop dosent work with screen but it work with projector in windows 8?

  13. Thank you very much. This tip was mentioned on another but that didn’t help. It was the Note in method A that helped me.
    It works!

  14. Brilliant! I use this in Vista at home, but in Windows 7 at work, the option was not there. Thanks for the tip. First option works fine. Awesome.

  15. Since I am running windows XP (SP 3) and Seamonkey that has both a browser and a mail client, I used “method B” as described above. I was able to restore the send by e-mail option in the send to menu. But for some reason it only opens the browser. How should I do for it to open te mail client with an e-mail almost ready to send ?
    Tks for help / Rgds from France

  16. I have the “Desktop (create shortcut)” item in my SendTo menu, but it refuses to show. I’ve tried all the options above. I give up.

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