How to create a Desktop Shortcut in Windows XP

To create a shortcut to a program, and display the shortcut on the Desktop, do the following:

Click the Start button on your desktop
From the Start menu, locate the "All Programms" item
Move your mouse to the programme you want to create a shortcut to. In the image below, we've gone for the Home and Learn Web Editor

Right click on the menu item to see a new menu appear:

On this menu, locate the "Send to" item
On the Send to item, Left click on "Desktop (create shortcut)":

When you left click Desktop (create shortcut), a new shortcut appears on your main screen - the Desktop.
Double click your new shortcut to test it out. You should see a new window opening, and the programme will start

Now that you've had a bit of practice with your mouse, we'll move on to exploring the files and folders on your hard drive.

We'll start with the Hard Drive itself.