Deleting desktop shortcuts for one user deletes them for all other users too?

[everway9]

Hi everyone.

Please may I have some help here?

I created an additional user account on my Windows 10 PC. When the desktop launched for the first time a few of the desktop shortcuts I have on the first user account were already showing on the desktop. I didn't want these shortcuts on the new profile so I deleted them. Now they have gone from the desktop on the first profile too.

Is this normal behaviour?

How can I delete desktop shortcuts on one profile without it deleting them from another profile?


Many thanks in advance.

 

[berezini]

Yes, please see your windows user guide. Read all about it in the user profiles.

 

[everway9]

Yes, please see your windows user guide. Read all about it in the user profiles.

Thats great berezini. Thanks very much for your help.

 

[COLGeek]

Typically, this is not the normal behavior. Changing the desktop of one account, should not affect other accounts. Are you certain this is happening? If so, can you do this from both/multiple accounts?

 

[gardenman]

Like the start menu, the desktop is also separated into different accounts, and there's a (shared) public folder which will display desktop icons for all accounts. If you add to, or delete from this folder, then the changes will be reflected in all accounts.

Sometimes, programs install a shortcut to the user account desktop, other times they install to the shared public desktop.

If you want to have different shortcuts on each account, then go to the
C:\Users\GardenMan\Desktop
folder and the
C:\Users\TestUser\Desktop
folder and edit the shortcuts for each individual account.

If you want to add shortcuts to both accounts at the same time, go here:
C:\Users\Public\Public Desktop

Likewise, if you delete a shortcut from your desktop, and it happened to be from the shared public desktop, it will be deleted on all accounts.

How can I delete desktop shortcuts on one profile without it deleting them from another profile?

That depends on where the shortcut is located, in the public desktop folder, or the user account desktop folder.

The easiest way, move the shortcut from the public desktop folder to the user account desktop folder.

 

[everway9]

COLGeek and gardenman, thank you very much for your input.

Using the info gardenman posted I'm going to create another (test) account and then experiment.

Thanks again.

 

[everway9]

Just a follow up to say... I just haven't had any spare time recently to experiment and to be honest I don't know when I'll get some. Soooo very busy at the moment. As soon as I have experimented I will post back.