Universal Shortcutter

On-line help

This help page provides instructions to create, manage and use shortcuts that are independent from drive letter; this means that files, folders and programs located on removable drives will be always found, even if the drive letter has changed since you created the shortcut.

Once installed, Universal Shortcutter displays a dialog box that allows the user to choose his preferences regarding the naming of new shortcuts (U-shortcuts).

This dialog box will not be displayed while creating or using U-shortcuts, but will be accessible clicking on the icon of the program created on the desktop and in the Start menu during the install process.

Creating shortcuts to files, folders and programs

Nothing is simpler than creating shortcuts with Universal Shortcutter: just right click on a file (or folder, or program), find the "Send to..." menu item and choose "UniversalShortcutter".

The U-shortcut will be instantly created on your Desktop.

Use U-shortcuts as all other Windows shortcuts to launch programs, open files and folders, browse drives.

You are free to move or copy it wherever you want and change the assigned name or icon.

Important: while modifiing shortcut properties, be sure not to change the field called "Destination", otherwise the U-shortcut, as standard Windows shortcuts, will no longer work.

You could also copy or move U-shortcuts on another computer where you use to connect your removable drives (example: from home computer to office computer or from desktop PC to laptop).
Important: Universal Shortcutter must be installed on every computer you will use U-shortcuts.

Creating shortcuts to root folder of external drives

To create a U-shortcut to the root folder of a removable drive, follow these steps:

- connect the removable drive you want to link to;
- open "My Computer";
- double click on the removable drive icon;
- right click in an empty area;
- in the popup menu choose "New" then click on "Folder";
- name the new folder as "X" (or any single letter or number you prefer, it doesn't matter);
- follow the normal procedure used to create a new U-shortcut;
- once new U-shortcut is created, delete the "X" folder.

If the drive you linked to has not a label, new U-shortcut will be automatically named with the actual drive letter.
Instead, if the drive has a label (and we encourage you to add a label to all your drives), new U-shortcut will be named with that drive label; this is useful if you want to avoid confusion with shorcut names when the drive letter changes.

In any case, Universal Shortcutter will not make confusion with drive letters, despite of wrong or non actual shortcut names.

U-shortcut icons

By default, Universal Shortcutter distinguish following categories of targets and assigns a different icon to them:

.exe files
(programs)

.zip files
(archives)

all other
files & documents

folders

drives
(all types)

As said before, you can change these icons any time you want. Or, if you prefer, you could replace the default icon set provided with Universal Shortcutter with your own icon set.
To do this, replace existing icons (located in UniversalShortcutter install folder) with your new icons, taking care to preserve original names.

Other informations

If you try to launch a U-shortcut pointing to a non connected drive (or to a file/folder located on a non connected drive), you will be noticed of this.

It is not possible to create U-shortcuts to other U-shortcuts or to normal Windows shortcuts.

Universal Shortcutter is designed to identify the correct target drive, but is not able to (and was not thought to) find a file or a folder if you changed their paths after the creation of a U-shortcut.
The function to find files despite of their paths will be implemented in future releases.

Universal Shortcutter is loaded in the computer memory only during the short instants of the creation or the launch of a U-shortcut. By this, it doesn't waste system resources when you don't use it.

Universal Shortcutter does not read/write data in system folders or in the registry.

Universal Shortcutter has been succesfully tested on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Win7.

Version history

1.2 - Fixed a bug not correctly indexing network drives or drives without a loaded media (Cd-rom and memory card readers);
- Better integration of the uninstall process;
- Different location of configuration file to accomplish UAC restrictions under Vista and later OSs.
1.1 - Fixed a bug not correctly indexing drives "A:" and "B" when are floppy drives.
1.0 - First public release.

Technical support

For any question or problem using Universal Shortcutter, please contact our technical support at support@oltrelimmagine.org

Credits

Original idea and concept: Emanuele Aschiero
Graphic design: Cybergraphix Consulting
Developement and after market support: Associazione Culturale Oltre l'immagine

UniversalShortcutter is a shareware developed by members and associated of Associazione Culturale Oltre l'immagine, an Italian charity company, for no-profit purposes in re-education of people with social diseases.
Enjoy UniversalShortcutter and help us in our humanitarian mission.