How to make a desktop shortcut available for all users in Windows 10

I windows 7 you create the shortcut in C:\Users\All Users\desktop

Well, that folder is not accessible.

So where should I put it in windows 10?

It's the CommonDesktopDirectory special folder and most of the time it's:

C:\Users\Public\Desktop

To find out the directory for your system, run in a PowerShell prompt:

[Environment]::GetFolderPath('CommonDesktopDirectory')

In Windows 10 Login as Administrator (Local Admin).

Go to Control Panel > File Explorer Options > click on the View tab > under Advanced settings: look for hidden files and folders > choose "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" and click "OK".

Go to C drive (C:) > Users > Public > Public Desktop

The "public desktop" folder is normally a hidden folder.

Now you can put your shortcuts in: C:\Users\Public\Desktop

Put it in this folder (exactly like below, with the % characters):

%public%\Desktop

e.g. using this command:

copy file.lnk %public%\Desktop

This should be more reliable in case Users location is changed.

Bonus: other ways to open the public desktop in Explorer:

• you can paste %public%\Desktop in Explorer location bar
• or hit Win+R and enter %public%\Desktop

I don't know if things have changed since the previous post, but...

I just checked my Windows 10 x64 Home (which I just did a clean install a couple of hours ago) and from an elevated ("run as admin") command prompt, was able to copy a shortcut link from

"C:\Users\admin\downloads\"

to

"c:\Users\All users\desktop\"

and it did appear on my desktop! But, oddly enough, I cannot view a directory listing, or do any other type of function (like delete) in the "C:\Users\All users" directory.

Just thought I'd share that, in case there is some other reason/purpose behind it.