Shortcuts and Aliases and Why You Care

Shortcuts (on Windows) or Aliases (on Macs) are small files that point to the original item. This may not seem useful but is actually quite cool!

If there's a document you're working on a lot, why dig into folders a bunch each time you want to open that document? Just put a shortcut or alias of it on the desktop. They you just double-click on the alias and it's the same as if you double-clicked on the original.

Once you've made an Alias or Shortcut you can

Rename them anything you want
Move them anywhere
Make as many as you wish

You can make shortcuts of application icons, documents, folders, volumes, etc.

Best of all, if it's an Alias or Shortcut and you're done with it you can just throw it away! Throwing away an Alias or Shortcut doesn't do anything at all to the original.

For instruction and more information, click on the Operating System specific links below:

Mac: Creating an Alias

Mac: How can you tell if it's an Alias?

Windows: Creating an Shortcut

Windows: How can you tell if it's an Shortcut?

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The chapters from Curriculum Webs: A Practical Guide to Weaving the Web into Teaching and Learning are Copyright 1999-2000, Craig A. Cunningham and Marty Billingsley. No one may print, copy, or otherwise reproduce these materials without the express written permission of the authors. All rights reserved.