3.4. Creating LNK Files

Up until now, you may have taken LNK (link) files for granted in Windows because they're exceptionally easy to create. Unfortunately, without a GUI in Server Core, it's become significantly harder to create LNK files. You'll find a ton of references to an elusive Shortcut utility for Windows online, but you won't find the actual executable on your hard drive, which may leave you puzzling for a long time. It's possible to create LNK files using scripts. Listing 3.1 shows a script that places a LNK file on your Desktop for Notepad. Now you can double-click this LNK file and open a copy of Notepad (menu not required).

Server Core may not display links on the Desktop. In this case, you can still place links in a common folder, such as %USERPROFILE%, which points to your user folder. You can still type the LNK filename and press Enter to use the link file from the command line. In short, LNK files are still useful, even if you can't see their physical manifestation in the form of an icon.