How to Open a File with the .desklink File Extension

What is the .desklink file extension?

Files with the .desklink extension belong to Windows Explorer Desktop Controls. A .desklink file is created when you create a shortcut of a file or folder on the desktop.

For more details on how to create a shortcut of a file on the desktop, see the steps listed below:

  1. Locate and right-click the file or folder for which you wish to create a shortcut.
  2. Point to Send to and click Desktop.

.desklink files come under the system files category and the Mime type is application/octet-stream.

How to open a .desklink file in Windows

A .desklink file is nothing but an empty notepad file with the extension .desklink.

If you wish to open a .desklink file, use Notepad to open the file. The steps discussed below take you through how to open a .desklink file in Windows XP:

  1. Locate and right-click the .desklink file.
  2. Click Open With.
  3. In the Windows dialog box, click the box Select the program from a list, and click OK.
  4. Click Notepad to select it in the next screen, and then click OK.

When I right-click a file the Desktop option does not appear in the Send To menu ? what should I do?

For some reasons if the Desktop option is missing from the Send To menu, perform the following steps to have the option appear again:

  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Notepad.
  2. Next, click the File menu and click Save.
  3. Now, In the File name box, type Desktop (create shortcut).DeskLink.
  4. Use the Save in drop-down list to browse to C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\SendTo\ folder, and click the Save button.

How to open file types about which little information is available

In case you download a file type about which little is known then you may use FileCure, which is a reliable software that allows you easily open various file types.