How to rename Shortcuts in Win+X Quick Link Menu in Windows 10?

The Quick Link menu, also known as the Power User menu or WinX menu, started with Windows 8 and has now become popular in Windows 10. It can be accessed by right-clicking the Start button or by pressing the Win+X on your keyboard (where ‘Win’ is the Windows key).

Since the introduction of Windows 10, Microsoft is slowly shifting the focus from Control Panel in favor of the more modern ‘Settings’ app. If you use the Quick Link menu often, you may have noticed that the Control Panel option is now missing from the default items, and in its place, you’ll find “Settings”. But don’t worry. You can still have both “Settings” and “Control Panel” in the Win+X menu.

Interested? Keep reading to find out how to modify the Win+X menu in Windows 10.

The Power User menu gives users quick and easy access to useful Windows tools such as ‘Command Prompt’, ‘Power Options’, ‘Task Manager’, and ‘Settings’, among many others.

How to Rename Win+X Menu Shortcuts in Windows 10

To prevent third-party apps from modifying the WinX menu by adding their own shortcuts, Microsoft has made the process of customizing the Power User menu a rather complicated one. The thing is, Windows routes all shortcuts via a hash function in the Windows API. The hash value is then stored in the shortcuts. Now, every time you restart your PC, your Windows 10 system does a hash check on all the shortcuts listed in the Quick Link menu.

The presence of the hash signals to the Power User menu that the specific shortcut is special, therefore allowing it to appear in the menu. If Windows detects an incorrect hash value, it automatically deletes it from the menu.

However, if you only change the ‘Comment’ text field for the default shortcuts contained in the Win+X menu, it won’t affect the hash values. Instead, File Explorer will use it as the name for that particular item in the Win+X menu. Consequently, this makes it possible to rename any shortcut in the Power User menu.

To modify the Win+X menu in Windows 10:

1. Open “Windows Explorer” and navigate to the path:

• C:\Users\User Name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX.

2. Be sure to check the “Hidden items” checkbox, which can be accessed by clicking the “View” tab in “Windows Explorer”.
3. Here, you’ll see three subfolders, namely: Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. Each group contains shortcuts to the items found in the Win+X menu.
4. Open the subfolder that contains the option that you wish to change. Right-click the shortcut option that you want to rename and open “Properties”.
5. Select the “Shortcut” tab, and type in the name of your choice. For instance, right-click “Power Options” and select “Properties”. In the “Comment” field, type in “Power Management”.
6. Click “Apply” and then click “OK”.
7. Open “Task Manager” by right-clicking the Taskbar. Click on “Windows Explorer” and select “Restart”.
8. Now open the Quick Link menu, and “Power Management” will be displayed in place of “Power Options”.

With this idea in mind, you can customize any shortcut with any fancy names that you wish. You can also move shortcuts from one Group subfolder to another.

How to Remove Shortcuts from the Win+X Menu in Windows 10

If the Power User menu contains shortcuts that you rarely use, you can easily remove them from the menu.

1. Follow the path above and open the Group folder containing the shortcut that you want to delete.
2. Highlight the shortcut and press the “Delete” key. Alternatively, right-click the shortcut option and select “Delete”.
3. Sign out and then sign back into your user account or restart “File Explorer” to effect these changes. When you open the Quick Link menu, that shortcut will no longer be listed.

How to Rename Shortcuts in Quick Access Menu in Windows

In Windows, there are certain folders that you constantly access throughout the day. Microsoft has made this easy by adding the Quick Access function to File Explorer. This option allows you to pin the most accessed or favorite folders so that you can dig into them as quickly as possible.

Sometimes, you may want to rename the folders pinned to Quick Access for more privacy. Unfortunately, you can’t simply customize folders pinned to Quick Access. Even right-clicking the folder doesn’t give you the option to rename it. Moreover, if you create a shortcut to the folder and pin it to Quick Access, the folder’s original name will still be displayed.

With that said, there is a workaround that you can try to rename shortcuts in the Quick Access menu in Windows 10:

1. Open “File Explorer” and find the folder that you intend to rename.
2. Press the Shift key and right-click on the folder.
3. Select “Copy as path”.
4. Now, press Win+X on your keyboard and launch “Command Prompt (Admin)”.
5. Copy the following path and paste it on the “Command Prompt” window:

• mklink /J <path to the new folder shortcut> <path to the original folder>.

6. Replace “path to the new folder shortcut” with the new name that you want to assign the folder. For the “path to the original folder” entry, paste the patch (the one you copied when you selected “Copy as path” above). Here’s an example; if you want to rename the “Documents” folder to “My Documents”, you’ll enter this command line in the “Command Prompt” window:

• mklink /J “C:/My Documents” “C:\Users\Peter\Documents”, where “Peter” is your user account name.

7. Press “Enter” to execute this command. If it works, you’ll see the “Junction created” message on the “Command Prompt” window.
8. Next, find the new folder shortcut that you just created, and right-click on it.
9. Select “Pin to Quick Access”.

10.Delete the original folder.

You’ll now have created a link to the contents of the original folder but using your preferred name.

Look Out for Shortcut Virus

At times, your computer might be infected with a shortcut virus, the kind that hides all of your folders and files in File Explorer and replaces them with shortcuts that look exactly like the original folders or files.

If you unknowingly open one of these shortcuts, you end up allowing malware to run on your PC. Certain types of malware are notoriously known for renaming files, folders and file extensions without authorization. Double-clicking the infected files duplicates the virus, which quickly spreads to your system files causing all sorts of havoc, including stealing your private information. Some even completely freeze or crash your PC, making it inoperable.

Using ordinary antivirus programs won’t help in such situations, and you need an advanced malware removal tool like Auslogics Anti-Malware. This malware removal tool digs deep into your system files, folders, files, and apps and quarantines any suspicious items.

The software further checks your browser extensions to ensure that incoming traffic is free of any security threats. It viciously blocks any cookies that try to track your online activity, thereby protecting your personal data.

What’s more, you can schedule automatic scans to guarantee continuous online safety. With Auslogics Anti-Malware, you no longer have to worry about malware infection when using your computer.

Have you tried to modify the Win+X menu in Windows 10? Were you able to customize it successfully? We’d love to hear your experiences and welcome your comments.