Desktop Shortcut via redirected folder?

[witch]

This is probably a daft question - forgive me, it's been a very long day..

I need to put a shortcut to the PASS website on the staff and student desktop

Normally I drop the shortcut in the 'redirected folders' folder

BUT all the others are shortcuts to programs on the server.

I created a shortcut to the webpage but it doesnt work.

What havent I done? Or does it have to be somewhere else as it is a shortcut to a website?

[FN-GM]

It should work. Does the link work before you drop it into the directed folder?

 

Is the shortcut file .URL format?

 

What happens when you try and open it?

[jamesbrown]

What do you mean by it doesnt work... what does it do?

[witch]

Sorry, told you I was tired.

It doesnt appear at all

I can click on the shortcut that I dropped in the redirected folder and it works from there

 

Is there a special way to create the shortcut that I am missing?

[MatthewL]

Create it on your desktop as you would and copy that over to the said folder and see if it works.

[witch]

Create it on your desktop as you would and copy that over to the said folder and see if it works.

I 'think' that is what I did but i will try again tomorrow

[witch]

Well here we are a few weeks on and I still have the same issue - only now I have two internet shortcuts that don't work.

I did create it on the desktop -but still doesnt work.

Any ideas anyone?

Maybe I'm not creating the shortcut properly - can't see how - but can someone tell me how to do it and I will see if I am doing it the same! (*bit of straw clutching going on here now*)

Edited April 17, 2012 by witch

[FN-GM]

Can you upload the shortcut file so we can have a look? You will probably have to zip it.

 

Thanks

[HodgeHi]

Can you not add the urls to the favourites using group policy. Thats how I did it when we used it.

[witch]

Can you not add the urls to the favourites using group policy. Thats how I did it when we used it.

 

No, the teachers want a icon to click on the desktop - not that you can see it amongt all the others that are there - they wont even let me put them in program files by topic or subject.

 

I will try and zip it up when I get back to that school

[Patrickv]

I find this very funny. Guys it not the shortcut is the problem is where it is being placed. It all depends on what kind of network structure you have. For example do you use mandatory profile, then you can place that shortcut on desktop on that profile and it get to every teacher. Another thing what kind of desktop folder redirection you use. That is another important question because I use Folder Redirection where each user have their own desktop redirected. I hope that helps. I am more than happy to supply more areas to look at.

[FN-GM]

I find this very funny. Guys it not the shortcut is the problem is where it is being placed. It all depends on what kind of network structure you have. For example do you use mandatory profile, then you can place that shortcut on desktop on that profile and it get to every teacher. Another thing what kind of desktop folder redirection you use. That is another important question because I use Folder Redirection where each user have their own desktop redirected. I hope that helps. I am more than happy to supply more areas to look at.

 

You have missed the point. Its the actual shortcuts that dont work. Not where they are placed.

[ToyHeartsFan]

You have missed the point. Its the actual shortcuts that dont work. Not where they are placed.

 

"It doesnt appear at all"

"I can click on the shortcut that I dropped in the redirected folder and it works from there"

 

Which to me says that the students / teachers are not getting the shortcut on their desktop but she can run the shortcut if she opens it directly (unc /mapped drive?)

 

 

It could be in the wrong place; I once put a shorcut in what I thought was the correct share on a network that I wasnt familiar with (all the other shorcuts seemed to be there) needless to say it didn't work correctly and caused problems i.e. workstations started to crash I've no idea why or how it had been configured. Also we have multiple redirected desktops i.e. staff get one, early years get another, then KS1/KS2 and a limited one for guests etc... so it is worth double checking.

 

**The shortcut could have the wrong permissions i.e. only domain admins can read / execute it.** - I would check this first

 

One more copy paste error I've seen is where someone has made a shortcut on a workstation to a new app and instead of it pointing to say c:\mynewapp\exe_name it picked up the unc path somehow so all the PCs were trying to run the app on the workstation that was used to create the shortcut i.e. \\pcname\c:\mynewapp\exe_name

 

Could there be any security permissions set somewhere?

Could offline files be caching the desktop somehow and its not picked up the new shortcut yet?

You are logging off / back on or rebooting the workstation you are using for testing after putting the shortcut on the server arent you?

 

If its a vanilla network it should work, I've got a shortcut for testbase online on our redirected staff desktops and never had a problem (XP/ 2003 Svrs) but if its running any form of desktop management software all bets are off.

[witch]

I find this very funny. Guys it not the shortcut is the problem is where it is being placed. .

 

No need to be sarky @Patrickv - I know exactly what kind of network structure I have y'know - I know exactly what is redirected to where and I KNOW that the shortcuts should work when dropped into my "redirected folders" folder which contains folders for pupils and staff, and within that, desktop and start menu.

It is the correct place, as I have said, so no, you are wrong with your conclusion but I am so pleased to have amused you.

Edited April 18, 2012 by witch

[Patrickv]

No need to be sarky @Patrickv - I know exactly what kind of network structure I have y'know - I know exactly what is redirected to where and I KNOW that the shortcuts should work when dropped into my "redirected folders" folder which contains folders for pupils and staff, and within that, desktop and start menu.

It is the correct place, as I have said, so no, you are wrong with your conclusion but I am so pleased to have amused you.

 

Sorry.

[2097]

what a strange problem

 

How about creating a bat to see if that works . create a new .bat

 

put the following inside

 

start iexplore http://www.google.com

[witch]

Will try that tomorrow - I wondered if it is some sort of setting somewhere that blocks links to webpages? Could that be it?

[witch]

Update:

There was a setting blocking webpage links somewhere - don't ask me where now - one of my beloved support network sorted it out for me.

So the links are fine on the student desktop but still not appearing on staff desktop even though my server is set up with redirected folders containing staff and student desktop folders.

In server 2008 I know how to do the staff shortcut by group policy but not sure how to do it in 2003 as no preferences. Can anyone enlighten me

[ToyHeartsFan]

Update:

There was a setting blocking webpage links

 

So the links are fine on the student desktop but still not appearing on staff desktop

 

It sounds like the setting that was removed was in more than one place i.e. the gpo for student users and the gpo for staff users and that it was only removed from the student gpo.

[Patrickv]

What i suggest is what is different for students and staff. If student accounts work then their must be something you done different for the staff.

[witch]

Yes, I agree but currently cannot identify what is different.......will keep looking

[witch]

On a related issue - I am trying to get a desktop shortcut for some locally installed software on some of the Win 7 netbooks. I know I have to show hidden folders etc to get to the 'public desktop' folder but although I have set it to show everything the folder is not there.

Can anyone help?