Windows 7 How to get two start menu shortcuts to same exe with different with command-line switches?

[chrisjj]

have two desktop shortcuts to the same exe but with different command-line switches. How can I get them both onto the Start menu? When I drag the first to the Start button, it appears fine - but when I drag the second, it replaces the first. So what even I do, only one appears on the menu. Thanks.

 

[zvit]

That's strange. If they have different parameters in the "Target" field, it should not be a problem to have them both in the Start Folder. Go to "Start" and right click "All Programs" and click "Open". Go into the "Programs" folder and copy the shortcuts to there.

p.s. If the shortcuts are exactly the same (same parameters), Windows will add a (2) to the second shortcut but shouldn't overwrite it.

 

[chrisjj]

> If they have different parameters in the "Target" field,

They do.

> it should not be a problem to have them both in the Start Folder.

Meaning it works for you?

> Go to "Start" and right click "All Programs" and click "Open". Go into the "Programs" folder and copy the shortcuts to there.

Thanks, but that places them on the All Programs menu, not the Start menu. By the Start menu I mean the menu of shortcuts that appears next to the Start button on the Start Menu: Link Removed due to 404 Error

 

[zvit]

Attached is an image of 2 shortcuts to the same exe with different parameters. Are you saying that this is what you're not able to do?

 

[chrisjj]

Attached is an image of 2 shortcuts to the same exe with different parameters. Are you saying that this is what you're not able to do?

Yes. How did you do it?

 

[zvit]

Created the first shortcut, changed the parameter. Created the second, changed the name (you are right about the name... to put the shortcuts in the start place, they have to have different names), dragged both to the top of the start thing.

 

[chrisjj]

Thanks When I do that (dragging each from desktop to Start button), the result is only one entry:

Link Removed due to 404 Error

 

[Pauli]

You only need to name them like "Program this" and "Program this 2".

 

[zvit]

Thanks When I do that (dragging each from desktop to Start button), the result is only one entry:

Link Removed due to 404 Error

Strange. Try:

1. Place quotations (") before the path name and after the 'exe'.
2. Try to move one of the shortcuts to a different drive and from there try to pin it to the start menu.

 

[chrisjj]

Thanks.

> 1. Place quotations (") before the path name and after the 'exe'.

On "C:\Users\Chris\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe", Apply removes the quotes. Using it regardless: no change to the problem.

"C:\Users\Chris\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe -incognito" is disallowed: Link Removed due to 404 Error

> 2. Try to move one of the shortcuts to a different drive and from there try to pin it to the start menu.

On a USB HD disc drive, drop to Start menu shows no change to the problem.
On a USB flash drive, drop to Start menu is disallowed.

 

[zvit]

I mean yes, we can continue searching for solutions but why don't you just use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N to open a new window in incognito mode or click the incognito button in the browser - and then you have a toggle button to switch back and forth?

Incognito mode (browse in private) - Google Chrome Help

 

[chrisjj]

why don't you just use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N to open a new window in incognito mode

Thanks, but I do. Chrome -incognito is just an example. Here's a different one:

Link Removed

 

[zvit]

I'll look into it. Try doing what I do... just right click one at a time and choose "Pin to Startmenu" instead of dragging them. (attached image).

I can't understand why you would make such a shortcut though. As soon as you create the first doc1, that shortcut will become the shortcut of that doc1.txt always and not the main app notebook.exe anymore.

 

[chrisjj]

just right click one at a time and choose "Pin to Startmenu" instead of dragging them.

Thanks, but that's not possible here - when I click the first's Pin to Start menu, the Second's Pin to Start Menu changes to Unpin from Start Menu.

I can't understand why you would make such a shortcut though. As soon as you create the first doc1, that shortcut will become the shortcut of that doc1.txt always and not the main app notebook.exe anymore.

As intended - if you wanted one shortcut to doc1 in Notepad and another shortcut to doc2 in Notepad.

 

[zvit]

As intended - if you wanted one shortcut to doc1 in Notepad and another shortcut to doc2 in Notepad.

So I guess it's just an example. I don't think anyone would need 2 files called doc1 and doc2 in the system32 folder. If they would - that wouldn't be smart.

I'm at work and will look into this later.

 

[chrisjj]

I don't think anyone would need 2 files called doc1 and doc2 in the system32 folder.

Agreed - but those in the example are not. They're in %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%.

I'm at work and will look into this later.

Most kind - thanks!

 

[zvit]

There are people that say that it can't be done (We know that's not true since I did it!) and others say it worked for them and then stopped working.

I'm not sure all of the information I found will help as I don't have time to try it all out but here are some things I found: (I know some are talking about folders but maybe it applies to shortcuts as well)

The main idea that I understood was being said is to create a shortcut of a shortcut.

1. Using free software (tricking Windows)
1.1. How to pin multiple Command Prompts to Task Bar?
1.2. shortcuts - Pin same app multiple times in Windows 7 - Super User

(Read the user comments as they also provide more useful links.)
2. How to Pin Special Windows Items to the Taskbar | 7 Tutorials (Scroll down also and see "Advanced Pinning".
3. Link Removed
4. Pin multiple Explorer Windows 7 to taskbar - TechSpot Forums

I also thought... maybe go to C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu and just copy\paste the shortcuts there and then check if they are pinned. (This creates a shortcut of a shortcut).

 

[chrisjj]

Thanks for those links. They certainly confirm there is some kind of bar against multiple shortcuts to the same exe on the task bar, so perhaps too on the Start menu. Nothing there illuminates why you don't have the problem. If you ever find out, please do say!

> I also thought... maybe go to C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
> and just copy\paste the shortcuts there and then check if they are pinned.

Sadly a shortcut pasted there does not appear on my Start menu.

I'll look for workarounds before I consider the tricky hardlink solutions suggested in the links.

Thanks again.

 

[eepgmik]

Did anyone manage to get this working? There seems to be some very strange behavior here on the part of Windows 7. Here's my observation:

- We develop an application that has an executable direct.exe
- The released version is v2, the current version is v3

Up until recently I could pin a shortcut to v2 AND a shortcut to v3 on the start menu (both installed in separate directories). However, if I tried to pin two development builds of v3 to the start menu then only one would appear and when I went to pin the second I would get 'unpin from start menu', even though it wasn't visible!

Unfortunately that changed recently - we did a maintenance release of v2 - and now even if I pin v2 to the start menu then when I try to pin the latest build of v3 to the start menu then it just says 'unpin from start menu'.

This logic also seems to apply to the taskbar - the v2 and v3 executables used to be listed separately on the taskbar and now they are merged :-(

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[chrisjj]

Did anyone manage to get this working?

Not me! Sorry.

Further though has led me to conclude that this might be by (arguably bad) design, since it somewhat alleviates the problem that Windows search results fail to clearly distinguish such shortcuts.