Link2

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Vista

Link2 specifies the path to the third shortcut in the Start menu list of most frequently used programs.

Note

This setting has been deprecated in Windows® 8. The information about this deprecated setting is provided for reference only. In Windows 8, the Start menu list of most frequently used programs is not available.

Shortcut files must be placed either on the Start menu or on the desktop. Otherwise they will not appear in the list of most frequently used items. We recommend that you add shortcut files to the All Users Start menu, for example: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Fabrikam\Application.lnk, to enable all users to access the programs, and to keep the desktop clean for the end user.

We do not recommend adding the shortcut by using the environment variable: %USERPROFILE%. Shortcuts added by using %USERPROFILE% are applied only to the profile of the next user to log on to the computer. Also, if the setting is applied during the auditUser configuration pass, the shortcut is applied only to the temporary administrator account, which is removed after the computer exits audit mode.

This setting has no effect on Server Core installations of Windows Server® 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012.

Values

Path_to_third_link

Specifies the path to the third shortcut on the Start menu. Path_to_third_link is a string with a maximum length of 259 characters.

Path_to_third_link specifies the complete path and the file name of a shortcut file with a .lnk file name extension. The path to the shortcut file must refer to a location on the destination computer.

Each shortcut file must include the complete path and file name of a corresponding program file with an .exe file name extension. The path to the program file must refer to a location on the destination computer.

This string type does not support empty elements. Do not create an empty value for this setting.

Valid Passes

auditUser

oobeSystem

specialize

Parent Hierarchy

Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | StartPanelLinks | Link2

Applies To

For a list of the Windows® editions and architectures that this component supports, see Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup.

XML Example

The following XML output shows how to add a shortcut for the OEM First Run application, calculator in the desktop, and WordPad on the Start menu list of most frequently used programs.

<StartPanelLinks>
   <Link0>%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Fabrikam\Welcome.lnk</Link0>
   <Link1>%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Calculator.lnk</Link1>
   <Link2>%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Wordpad.lnk</Link2>
</StartPanelLinks>

See Also

Concepts

StartPanelLinks