Option to create desktop shortcuts to profiles #8829

@zadjii-msft commented on GitHub (Jun 5, 2020):

You could definitely work around this for now by creating a shortcut that runs wt -p "<the name of your profile>"

@zadjii-msft commented on GitHub (Jun 5, 2020): You could definitely work around this for now by creating a shortcut that runs `wt -p "<the name of your profile>"`

claunia commented

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Jun 5, 2020):

You could definitely work around this for now by creating a shortcut that runs wt -p "<the name of your profile>"

Sure, but it'd be also nice if Terminal could set the shortcut icon to something other than the default "blank sheet of paper" one, especially since I have Terminal pinned to task bar and it seems like you cannot make/copy a shotcut out of that

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Jun 5, 2020): > > > You could definitely work around this for now by creating a shortcut that runs `wt -p "<the name of your profile>"` Sure, but it'd be also nice if Terminal could set the shortcut icon to something other than the default "blank sheet of paper" one, especially since I have Terminal pinned to task bar and it seems like you cannot make/copy a shotcut out of that

claunia commented

@skyline75489 commented on GitHub (Jun 8, 2020):

I think shortcut icon is very customizable since Windows 98. Shouldn't be a real problem.

@skyline75489 commented on GitHub (Jun 8, 2020): I think shortcut icon is very customizable since Windows 98. Shouldn't be a real problem.

claunia commented

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Jun 8, 2020):

@skyline75489 my point is, when you use the "Pin to taskbar" action on Windows Terminal (or any other application for that matter), the resulting object doesn't seem to be a shortcut (.lnk file), so it cannot be easily copied and modified, including its icon. Therefore the only option seems to be to manually create a new shortcut, which is far more unwieldy for that use case.

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Jun 8, 2020): @skyline75489 my point is, when you use the "Pin to taskbar" action on Windows Terminal (or any other application for that matter), the resulting object doesn't seem to be a shortcut (.lnk file), so it cannot be easily copied and modified, including its icon. Therefore the only option seems to be to manually create a new shortcut, which is far more unwieldy for that use case.

claunia commented

@DHowett commented on GitHub (Jun 26, 2020):

Yanking triage -- this is a really good request. We should see if we can enable it. 😄

@DHowett commented on GitHub (Jun 26, 2020): Yanking triage -- this is a really good request. We should see if we can enable it. :smile:

claunia commented

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Sep 22, 2020):

As an alternative, this PowerToys feature seems promissing microsoft/PowerToys#4194

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Sep 22, 2020): As an alternative, this PowerToys feature seems promissing microsoft/PowerToys#4194

claunia commented

@htcfreek commented on GitHub (May 1, 2021):

Yanking triage -- this is a really good request. We should see if we can enable it. 😄

Maybe a feature like in edge. There is a menu to create a desktop shortcut for apps and pin apps to start.

You can a button in profile settings to apen a menu that allows the user to...

... pin profile to start.
... pin profile to taskbar.
... create a desktop shortcut.

@htcfreek commented on GitHub (May 1, 2021): > Yanking triage -- this is a really good request. We should see if we can enable it. :smile: Maybe a feature like in edge. There is a menu to create a desktop shortcut for apps and pin apps to start. You can a button in profile settings to apen a menu that allows the user to... - ... pin profile to start. - ... pin profile to taskbar. - ... create a desktop shortcut.

claunia commented

2026-01-31 01:39:01 +00:00

@JamesDev21 commented on GitHub (Dec 17, 2021):

You could definitely work around this for now by creating a shortcut that runs wt -p "<the name of your profile>"

NICE! Is there any way to add predefined code to run such as "npm start" when shortcut is executed? thanks :D

@JamesDev21 commented on GitHub (Dec 17, 2021): > You could definitely work around this for now by creating a shortcut that runs `wt -p "<the name of your profile>"` NICE! Is there any way to add predefined code to run such as "npm start" when shortcut is executed? thanks :D

claunia commented

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Jul 13, 2022):

I guess this is partially done since you can right click the WT icon in the taskbar and pick a profile

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (Jul 13, 2022): I guess this is partially done since you can right click the WT icon in the taskbar and pick a profile

claunia commented

2026-01-31 01:39:01 +00:00

@Jaswir commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023):

@tranzystorek-io @JamesDev21 @DHowett @htcfreek
Trying to get an understanding of what you really want.

This is an example of what a Powershell Core shortcut would be:

@Jaswir commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023): @tranzystorek-io @JamesDev21 @DHowett @htcfreek Trying to get an understanding of what you really want. This is an example of what a Powershell Core shortcut would be: ![6366- option to create desktop shortcuts to profiles](https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/assets/15957528/4ffdc3fa-6cf6-424d-9289-f0cef7465108)

claunia commented

2026-01-31 01:39:02 +00:00

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023):

I guess this is partially done since you can right click the WT icon in the taskbar and pick a profile

@Jaswir considering this I no longer have a use for the shortcuts, I'll probably close this. Thank you for taking a look though!

@tranzystorekk commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023): > I guess this is partially done since you can right click the WT icon in the taskbar and pick a profile @Jaswir considering this I no longer have a use for the shortcuts, I'll probably close this. Thank you for taking a look though!

claunia commented

2026-01-31 01:39:02 +00:00

@Jaswir commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023):

@tranzystorek-io

You're welcome.
Thanks for the feedback, I'll see what I can do.

I guess if no one else is interested in this either I'll move on to another issue.

@Jaswir commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023): @tranzystorek-io You're welcome. Thanks for the feedback, I'll see what I can do. I guess if no one else is interested in this either I'll move on to another issue.

claunia commented

@zadjii-msft commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023):

There's like, 29 other upvotes on this thread so I'd say that even if OP has found a viable workaround, there's probably still some demand for this feature 😉

My brief thoughts:

make it a button in the Settings UI (Profiles_Base.*).
I don't know how to necessarily make a shortcut on the desktop - I suppose it's just a file of some sort? Shockingly, I'm not that familiar with that part of the Win32 API.
The icon should probably be the icon of the profile itself (though, that might not work for ms-appx icons)

@zadjii-msft commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023): There's like, 29 other upvotes on this thread so I'd say that even if OP has found a viable workaround, there's probably still some demand for this feature 😉 My brief thoughts: * make it a button in the Settings UI (`Profiles_Base.*`). * I don't know how to necessarily make a shortcut on the desktop - I suppose it's just a file of some sort? Shockingly, I'm not _that_ familiar with that part of the Win32 API. * The icon should probably be the icon of the profile itself (though, that might not work for `ms-appx` icons)

claunia commented

@htcfreek commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023):

@zadjii-msft , @Jaswir , @tranzystorek-io

I agree with @zadjii-msft. Maybe it is possible to show a dialogue where the user can choose on or more of the following link places: Desktop, Start menu, Taskbar

Not sure how the icon thing is solved for packaged apps. But isn't ms-appx only a reference to the app resource folder on the disk? 🤔

@htcfreek commented on GitHub (May 20, 2023): @zadjii-msft , @Jaswir , @tranzystorek-io I agree with @zadjii-msft. Maybe it is possible to show a dialogue where the user can choose on or more of the following link places: Desktop, Start menu, Taskbar Not sure how the icon thing is solved for packaged apps. But isn't `ms-appx` only a reference to the app resource folder on the disk? 🤔

claunia commented

@Jaswir commented on GitHub (May 21, 2023):

@htcfreek

"Maybe a feature like in edge. There is a menu to create a desktop shortcut for apps and pin apps to start."

Could you show me a GIF of this, please? You can use this: https://www.screentogif.com/

@Jaswir commented on GitHub (May 21, 2023): @htcfreek "Maybe a feature like in edge. There is a menu to create a desktop shortcut for apps and pin apps to start." Could you show me a GIF of this, please? You can use this: https://www.screentogif.com/

claunia commented