• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Technipages

Smart phone, gadget and computer tutorials

  • Topics
    • Android
    • Gaming
    • Hardware
    • Internet
    • iOS
    • MacOS
    • Office
    • Software
    • Windows
    • Definitions
  • Product Reviews
  • Downloads
  • About
How to Make Windows Desktop Shortcut for Specific Browser

How to Make Windows Desktop Shortcut for Specific Browser

By Mitch Bartlett 33 Comments

So you have Microsoft Windows set to use Chrome as your default browser, but you want to use a desktop shortcut to open a specific site in IE. Or maybe another website icon that will only work in Firefox. Creating a shortcut to a web document won’t work. However, you can open a URL using a shortcut to a non-default browser using these steps:

  1. Right-click a blank area of the desktop and select “New” > “Shortcut“.
  2. For the location, type the path to the browser you wish to use followed by the URL you wish to open. For example:
    • Chrome: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” https://technipages.com
    • IE: “C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe” https://technipages.com
    • Firefox: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe” https://technipages.com
      Example of a shortcut that points directly to a specific browser and website.
  3. Provide the name for the shortcut. You will probably want to use the name of the website in most cases.
  4. Select “Next“.
  5. Select “Finish“.

Now you have a shortcut that will open the website in a specific web browser, no matter what the default browser is set to in Windows.

I have tested this thoroughly and it works in Windows 7 as well as Windows 10.

You Might Also Like

  • Shortcut to Increase/Decrease Font Size In Any Browser
    Shortcut to Increase/Decrease Font Size In Any Browser
  • Windows 10: How to Change Volume of Specific Apps
    Windows 10: How to Change Volume of Specific Apps
  • Windows: Create Command Prompt That Opens To Specific Folder Location
    Windows: Create Command Prompt That Opens To…
  • How to Create RDP Shortcut Icon in Windows 10
    How to Create RDP Shortcut Icon in Windows 10
  • How to Create a Shortcut to Windows 10 Calculator
    How to Create a Shortcut to Windows 10 Calculator
  • How to Create a Shortcut to Gmail - Windows 10
    How to Create a Shortcut to Gmail - Windows 10
  • How to Make a Full Backup of Your Windows 10
    How to Make a Full Backup of Your Windows 10
  • Windows 10:  How to Make Recovery Disk
    Windows 10:  How to Make Recovery Disk
  • Windows 10: How to Make the Taskbar Transparent
    Windows 10: How to Make the Taskbar Transparent

Filed Under: Windows Tagged With: firefox, google chrome, ie

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dan L says

    January 27, 2021 at 2:22 am

    It worked! Very helpful, thanks for your help!

  2. Nik says

    December 9, 2020 at 9:30 am

    “C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”
    is a right shortcut for IE11 – Windows 10×64

  3. Akshita says

    December 7, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    Woah it’s working thank youuuu!!!

  4. CDV says

    November 19, 2020 at 12:18 pm

    Thank you!!

  5. Raj says

    November 6, 2020 at 10:13 am

    You rock!! worked. Thank you for the tip

  6. Clever Acronym says

    October 19, 2020 at 6:11 pm

    Works perfectly on Windows 10. Thanks!

  7. aa says

    May 8, 2020 at 9:33 am

    I was able to make the shortcut but it does not link to the correct website, only the browser home screen.

  8. Mike says

    May 8, 2020 at 2:04 am

    Try replace the ” ” , they ended up wrong on my character set.

  9. Brianna Brixius says

    January 16, 2020 at 10:38 am

    I kept getting an error too, but the trick for me was to delete the (x86) !

  10. Brian Foster says

    November 1, 2019 at 7:48 am

    Is it possible to set a desktop icon so it opens a web page like a popup window which I can then resize more easily if I need to.

    I’ve searched on Google but they keep taking about “maximising” the screen size when I need the opposite.

    Any help would be much appreciated even if it is not possible!

  11. Ostrich says

    September 25, 2019 at 5:43 pm

    Also, if you get the “The file C:\ “C:\Program cannot be found” error, try checking the path to your Mozilla Firefox folder where firefox.exe executable lies.

    Mine was not in Program Files (x86), but rather Program Files so when I copied and pasted from the above, it returned this error. Once I noticed and changed the path, it behaved as the article details/\

  12. kevin says

    September 25, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    pasting it in notepad worked, thanks ADA

  13. steve says

    September 8, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    Forget all the above. Once you past or type in the URL location or path, right in the same
    box (to edit if not in edit mode already) you can use arrow keys to move left and delete the extra ‘C:\’ right there. You don’t have to past it first in to notes etc. Or, after you past or type the url or path (which may still have the bad extra ‘c:\’) simply say done. Then right click the new shortcut icon and select properities and edit out the bad extra ‘c:\’ right there in the properities window. save and done, and it works.

  14. Billy Dean says

    April 29, 2019 at 6:31 pm

    I’ve been using this technique to start Firefox (not currently my default browser) from desktop shortcuts to websites I regularly login to because IE will not save my login info. Probably something to do with Windows 10 and it’s updates.

    Today I had problems creating a shortcut to launch Firefox with a local HTML file. Finally discovered that Firefox didn’t like the name of the HTML file because it had a space between parts of the name. Replaced the space with a dash and Voila!

    Thought maybe this would help others who want to leave IE as their default browser but need Firefox for holding login info.

  15. Ada says

    April 4, 2019 at 4:59 am

    Does not work for me. It auto-inserts C:\ in front of the location and says “The file C:\ “C:\Program cannot be found.”

  16. George says

    March 20, 2019 at 7:59 am

    @Dayle,

    To open in chrome as it’s own window, you should use the “Create shortcut” option under the More Tools menu in Chrome. Check the “Open in Window” checkbox and the shortcut will receive a dedicated window.

  17. Sully Cortez says

    January 28, 2019 at 3:52 pm

    Ok everyone I’ll save you a lot of frustration if you haven’t figured this out yet, but you MUST first paste the text string into notepad THEN recopy the text string. There seems to be some sort of hidden text either before or after the characters if you try to direct copy and paste. Just past into notepade, delete any space after or before the EXACT text (for example make sure it’s like this: “C:\Program Files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe” http://www.google.com
    and it should work fine.

  18. Dayle says

    January 15, 2019 at 1:42 pm

    This definitely works. What I would like to have it also do is to open that link in its own browser window and not another chrome tab. Is that possible?

  19. Unknown says

    November 28, 2018 at 7:49 am

    For anyone getting the “The file C:\ “C:\Program cannot be found.” error, you need to put quotes on the URL also.

    For example: “C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe” “https://technipages.com”

  20. Ivy Colon says

    November 21, 2018 at 11:02 am

    Whoo Hoo it worked.

    At first, it gave the same error that Greg and David reported, but then I just Browsed (the long way) to the .exe for the browser I need and added the required URL afterward.

    This will save me so much time.
    thank you!

  21. David Neilsen says

    November 11, 2018 at 7:57 am

    As Greg Buck says on September 18, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    Does not work for me. It auto-inserts C:\ in front of the location and says “The file C:\ “C:\Program cannot be found.”

  22. Joe says

    November 9, 2018 at 6:46 am

    Thanks!
    Another option is to pin the page link to the browser icon on your task bar.
    Right click on the browser icon. Click the Pin on the right side of a recently viewed page.

  23. Mitch Bartlett says

    September 20, 2018 at 10:09 am

    I don’t think it’s possible to set a specific browser for Outlook links. Chrome would have to be set as the default, then you could set every other icon to open to a specific browser.

  24. Jim says

    September 20, 2018 at 8:09 am

    This didn’t work how I had hoped. It creates a desktop shortcut to the website only. I am looking for a different solution.

    At work we have three browsers: IE, Chrome, Firefox. IE is set as default becasue many of the web tools we use only work properly in IE. However, the version of WebEx we use only works properly in Chrome. I want to be able to set something so that when I click a link in Outlook that contains a webex.com link it opens in Chrome.

  25. Mitch Bartlett says

    September 18, 2018 at 3:52 pm

    Be sure to use quotation marks as I have specified before the C: and after the name of the browser executable.

  26. Greg Buck says

    September 18, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    Does not work for me. It auto-inserts C:\ in front of the location and says “The file C:\ “C:\Program cannot be found.”

  27. Ozzie says

    September 6, 2018 at 4:17 am

    OMG! Thank You Very Much!
    My computer is a Vista x32 – and I got this method to work with SeaMonkey and Pale Moon!
    My default browser is FireFox 3.6 – LOL
    I’ve been trying, for years, to figure out how to do this.
    Thanks Again – You’re the Best!

  28. Oliver Kirchhoff says

    July 14, 2018 at 11:48 pm

    Great tip! This fixes the problem of Google Earth not being supported in my main browser Firefox Quantum.

  29. Javier says

    June 7, 2018 at 1:00 pm

    Definitely helped Mitch, thank you !
    In my case I use mostly Firefox for work reasons, so having a shortcut to files in Google drive (also for reasons) is tremendously helpful.

  30. Roland says

    May 29, 2018 at 3:23 am

    Any tips on opening two tabs with one shortcut?

  31. Robert L. says

    May 2, 2018 at 3:52 pm

    Sweet! Worked for me. Thanks! Now I can avoid opening IE to start up another program. IE flashes up in the background momentarily, then goes away, and the other app fires up.

  32. Mitch Bartlett says

    May 1, 2018 at 8:31 pm

    Yay! I’m glad it worked for you.

  33. Christa says

    May 1, 2018 at 1:33 pm

    Thank you!! Trying to have a login page open in Chrome (default browser is Explorer). Tried using other methods and kept getting “Illegal Institution” error message. This method worked!

Did this help? Let us know! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Fix Skype Error: Exchange Needs Your Credentials
  • Fix Skype Notifications Not Working on Windows 10
  • Teams in Outlook: We Couldn’t Schedule the Meeting
  • VR Oculus Quest 2: How to Configure a New Room-Scale Boundary
  • VR Oculus Quest 2: How to Adjust Boundary Sensitivity
  • Dropbox: How To Change the Date Format
  • Microsoft Teams: There Was a Problem Saving the Photo
  • VR Oculus Quest 2: How to Set up Oculus Link

Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

Follow me on Twitter, or visit my personal blog.

You May Also Like

  • Web Browser
  • Windows 95/98
  • Microsoft Windows NT
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Windows Media Player (WMP)
  • Top 8 Itunes Alternatives for Windows

© Copyright 2021 Technipages · All Rights Reserved · Privacy