How to Create a Shortcut (.lnk) to a Non-Existent Target

There are situations where you need to create a shortcut (.lnk) to a target that doesn’t exist on the computer. For instance, you want to create a set of shortcuts for using them on another computer.

However, the Create Shortcut wizard in Windows will not allow you to create a shortcut to a path that does not exist.

You’ll see the “The file <filename> cannot be found” error when doing so.

Workarounds

1: Use a VBScript

You can use a VBScript to create a shortcut (i.e., .lnk files, which are also known as Windows shell links) to a non-existent target. Here’s a sample script that creates a shortcut to Winword.exe.

Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
strDesktop = WshShell.SpecialFolders("Desktop")
Set oShellLink = WshShell.CreateShortcut(strDesktop & "\Word.lnk")
oShellLink.TargetPath = "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\Winword.exe"
oShellLink.IconLocation = "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\Winword.exe, 0"
oShellLink.Description = "Microsoft Word"
oShellLink.Save

Copy the above code to Notepad, save the file as “winword.vbs” and double-click to run it.

It creates a Word shortcut on the desktop, whether the target executable exists or not.

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2: Use Shortcut.exe from OptimumX

Shortcut.exe is an old program from OptimumX.com that creates shortcuts using a command line. The program hasn’t been updated for over a decade, but it works on Windows 10 as well.

You can download it from https://www.optimumx.com/downloads.html#Shortcut

This utility allows you to create, modify or query Windows shell links (shortcuts) from the command-line. You can export the properties of an existing shortcut to a text file in .INI format. Use ‘Shortcut.exe /?‘ to view the syntax.

Requirements: Windows XP 64-bit or later. Windows 95 or later for Shortcut32.exe.

Example:

Shortcut.exe /F:winword.lnk /A:C /T:"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\Winword.exe" /d:"Microsoft Word"

The above command creates a shortcut to Winword.exe.

Command-line arguments

Shortcut [Version 1.20]

Creates, modifies or queries Windows shell links (shortcuts)


The syntax of this command is:

Shortcut.exe /F:filename /A:C|E|Q [/T:target] [/P:parameters] [/W:workingdir]
	 [/R:runstyle] [/I:icon,index] [/H:hotkey] [/D:description]

 /F:filename	: Specifies the .LNK shortcut file.
 /A:action	: Defines the action to take (C=Create, E=Edit or Q=Query).
 /T:target	: Defines the target path and file name the shortcut points to.
 /P:parameters	: Defines the command-line parameters to pass to the target.
 /W:working dir	: Defines the working directory the target starts with.
 /R:run style	: Defines the window state (1=Normal, 3=Max, 7=Min).
 /I:icon,index	: Defines the icon and optional index (file.exe or file.exe,0).
 /H:hotkey	: Defines the hotkey, a numeric value of the keyboard shortcut.
 /D:description	: Defines the description (or comment) for the shortcut.

 Notes:
 - Any argument that contains spaces must be enclosed in "double quotes".
 - If Query is specified (/A:Q), all arguments except /F: are ignored.
 - To find the numeric hotkey value, use Explorer to set a hotkey and then /A:Q
 - To prevent an environment variable from being expanded until the shortcut 
   is launched, use the ^ carat escape character like this: ^%WINDIR^%

 Examples:
   /f:"%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\My App.lnk" /a:q
   /f:"%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Notepad.lnk" /a:c /t:^%WINDIR^%\Notepad.exe /h:846
   /f:"%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Notepad.lnk" /a:e /p:C:\Setup.log /r:3

 An argument of /? or -? displays this syntax and returns 1.
 A successful completion will return 0.


 Copyright 2000-2005 Marty List, www.OptimumX.com

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3. Place a dummy file

Another option is to place a dummy file (e.g., winword.exe) in the target location. And then create a shortcut to the dummy target by using the Create Shortcut wizard. After creating the shortcut, the dummy file can be deleted.

I hope the above information helps.