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Shortcut

A shortcut is a Windows icon that when clicked does something - starts a program, views a graphic, plays a sound, etc. Since they are only "paths" to the program, they can be deleted without deleting the actual program itself. Let me give you an analogy… Pretend you're in Miami and have to fly to Chicago, and there's only one airline company selling a ticket. If the airline company suddenly canceled that flight, that doesn't mean Chicago doesn't exist anymore. However, if an alien invasion destroyed Chicago, it doesn't matter how many plane flights go there, it just doesn't exist anymore. Similarly, if you delete a shortcut, the program itself isn't erased. You just no longer have that particular method of opening your program. However, if the program itself is erased, all the shortcuts in the world won't get you anywhere.

On your desktop, you probably have several shortcuts. Shortcuts are denoted with a small arrow in the lower left corner of the icon. If you double-click them, the program that the icon represents will open.