New-DesktopUriShortcut

Description

This guide explains how to create a shortcut in the Public Desktop folder using PowerShell.

Requirements

• Windows OS
• PowerShell 5 or higher

Usage

1. Uses WScriptShell to create a shell shortcut in the $env:PUBLIC\Desktop folder.
2. Gathers the site favicon if a website is provided as the TargetUri.
3. Sets the shortcut name to the file or website name if not explicitly provided.

.\New-DesktopUriShortcut.ps1 -TargetUri 'C:\Users\Test.docx' -ShortcutName 'Test Document'

Creates a shortcut to the local file C:\Users\Test.docx with the name 'Test Document'.

.\New-DesktopUriShortcut.ps1 -TargetUri 'https://www.google.com' -ShortcutName 'Google'

Creates a shortcut to a web link on the desktop.

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
TargetUri	True	String	The target path of the shortcut. This can be a local or web URI. Must begin with '\\<DRIVE_LETTER>:\', 'https://', or 'http://'.
ShortcutName	False	String	The optional name of the shortcut. If not provided, the file name or DnsSafeHost property will be used as the shortcut name.
IconLocation	False	String	Optionally set an .ico file as the shortcut icon.

Output

• $env:PUBLIC\Desktop\link.lnk
• $env:PUBLIC\Pictures\icon.ico
• New-DesktopUriShortcut-log.txt
• New-DesktopUriShortcut-error.txt