Slideshow: Create shutdown shortcuts in Windows 7
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Create shortcut
Create shortcut
ntOne of the most often asked for Microsoft Windows tweaks is for shortcuts that shutdown, power down, and restart a Windows session. The procedure for Windows 7 is very similar to that of Vista and XP, but now you can pin those freshly created shortcuts to the Start Menu or the Taskbar or to both.
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ntCreating a shortcut
ntCreating a shortcut should be familiar to almost everyone, but we will walk through the process just for clarity. There are other ways to accomplish this task, but this is my preferred method. First, right-click on a clear spot on the desktop and navigate to New | Shortcut as shown.
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ntThis slideshow was originally published in February 2010.
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ntImage created by Mark Kaelin for TechRepublic.
Enter command
Enter command
When you click the Shortcut menu item, you will arrive at the input screen. This is where you will enter the specific command strings to make your new shortcut do what you want it to do.
For our example, we will enter the specific command that will shut down a Windows PC. Type the following command into the box and then click Next.
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Enter name
Enter name
The next screen asks you to name the shortcut. I suggest you name the shortcut to correspond to the action it will perform. In this case, we name it Shutdown.
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Change icon
Change icon
From the Properties control panel, select the Change Icon button.
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Pick an icon
Pick an icon
The next screen will show you a list of potential icons, choose the one you want to use and click the OK button twice.
You should now have a new shortcut on your desktop. When you click the shortcut your PC will shutdown, so make sure you save your work before you test it.
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Pin a shortcut
Pin a shortcut
One of the nice features of Windows 7 is that you can pin your new shortcut to the Start Menu and/or to the Taskbar. I am a big Taskbar user myself so that is where I want to put it. Right click the shortcut to get the context menu and click the Pin to Taskbar menu item.
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On the taskbar
On the taskbar
Once the shortcut is pinned, you will always have access to a quick shutdown.
Image created by Mark Kaelin for TechRepublic.
