How do you add a shortcut to everyones desktop? I no longer see an "All
Users" profile.

Hello,

The public desktop is located here:

C:\Users\Public\Desktop


--
- JB

Windows Vista Support Faq
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/

You're welcome.

I should also point out here that the hidden entry titled "All Users" inside
the users folder that is displayed with a shortcut icon is not actually a
folder.

It is a junction that points old programs that access it to the new location
(\Users\Public\Desktop). This is why if you double-click it, it says access
denied . You will see many of these application-compatability junctions in
Windows Vista.

To find out what location they are pointing to, you can issue a "dir /al"
command in the command prompt - this command will show you the junctions in
the current directory and where they point to.


--
- JB

Windows Vista Support Faq
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/

When you unhide hidden files you may come across links to folders with the
old names such as "My Documents". You click on them and get an access denied
error. This is because these are a type symbolic link - they're there for
backward compatibility:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_symbolic_link

Don't ask me more, I don't know.



Saucy

"David Vestal" <David (E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:8274F7C8-5BF5-47EF-8ECC-(E-Mail Removed)...
> How do you add a shortcut to everyones desktop? I no longer see an "All
> Users" profile.

"Jimmy Brush" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ED2BE352-290A-4D62-82F0-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I should also point out here that the hidden entry titled "All Users"
> inside the users folder that is displayed with a shortcut icon is not
> actually a folder.
>
> It is a junction that points old programs that access it to the new
> location (\Users\Public\Desktop). This is why if you double-click it, it
> says access denied . You will see many of these
> application-compatability junctions in Windows Vista.

Hmm, I wonder why they did this one (All Users one pointing to C:\Program
Data) a symlink while others are 'just' junctions (hardlinks?).

--
Alexander Suhovey

"Jimmy Brush" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ED2BE352-290A-4D62-82F0-(E-Mail Removed)...
> You're welcome.
>
> I should also point out here that the hidden entry titled "All Users" inside the
> users folder that is displayed with a shortcut icon is not actually a folder.
>
> It is a junction that points old programs that access it to the new location
> (\Users\Public\Desktop). This is why if you double-click it, it says access denied
> . You will see many of these application-compatability junctions in Windows
> Vista.


Thank you! I was going crazy trying to figure out why even Administrator
couldn't get in!

Tom Lake

Many of those inaccessable special folders really are accessable. They have
special permissions set so that you can't list the files and folders, and
therefore can't open the folder, but you can paste documents to the folder,
such as a shortcut you want on all users desktop instead of just your
desktop, by right-clicking on the file or shortcut and selecting copy or
cut, as appropriate, and then right-clicking on the special folder and
pressing paste.

Alternatively, you could change those special permissions to get access but
I wouldn't suggest it. There is plenty of existing functionality to use
those special folders so that you can do most things without incurring the
risks that the new permissions are trying to protect you from.

Dale

"Jimmy Brush" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ED2BE352-290A-4D62-82F0-(E-Mail Removed)...
> You're welcome.
>
> I should also point out here that the hidden entry titled "All Users"
> inside the users folder that is displayed with a shortcut icon is not
> actually a folder.
>
> It is a junction that points old programs that access it to the new
> location (\Users\Public\Desktop). This is why if you double-click it, it
> says access denied . You will see many of these
> application-compatability junctions in Windows Vista.
>
> To find out what location they are pointing to, you can issue a "dir /al"
> command in the command prompt - this command will show you the junctions
> in the current directory and where they point to.
>
>
> --
> - JB
>
> Windows Vista Support Faq
> http://www.jimmah.com/vista/

> Hmm, I wonder why they did this one (All Users one pointing to C:\Program
> Data) a symlink while others are 'just' junctions (hardlinks?).
>
> --
> Alexander Suhovey
>

Good question... I have no idea. Junctions and directory symbolic links
should behave pretty much the same (neither are hard links, btw), but I do
wonder if there is some sort of behavioral difference that shows up under
certain circumstances that made MS decide to use one over the other for this
folder.


--
- JB

Windows Vista Support Faq
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/

> Thank you! I was going crazy trying to figure out why even Administrator
> couldn't get in!
>
> Tom Lake

The reason access is denied is to protect against faulty applications and
other side effects of having the same files inside of multiple folders.
Imagine the case of a backup utility backing up the same files multiple
times (when accessing them thru their real folder location and then a
junction), or the case of trying to delete just the junction but ending up
deleting all of the files inside of it.

There are also junctions that point back on themelves, creating a hall of
mirrors effect; this would drive most applications crazy.


--
- JB

Windows Vista Support Faq
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/

<snip>
> Alternatively, you could change those special permissions to get access
> but I wouldn't suggest it. There is plenty of existing functionality to
> use those special folders so that you can do most things without incurring
> the risks that the new permissions are trying to protect you from.

Agreed.


--
- JB

Windows Vista Support Faq
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/