How To Create AutoPlay Shortcut On The Desktop

The AutoPlay feature that's native to the Windows platform, allows you to set default actions when you Insert media such as USB Drives, Memory Cards, CD/DVDs and so forth. It also allows you to select what to do when executing certain types of media, such as Pictures, Music and Videos. Wouldn't It be nice to have these options readily available via a double-click of the mouse? In this tutorial, I will show you how to create an AutoPlay shortcut on the desktop.


Before I begin, here's what I'm referring to. The traditional way of accessing AutoPlay, Is to open the Run menu, enter Control Panel and then navigate to Hardware and Sound > AutoPlay. It will then open as per the Image below. You can set a number of actions based on your usability.

To simplify the process of having to go through a number of steps to access AutoPlay, I will demonstrate how to create a shortcut, thereby double-clicking It, will Instantly open the menu. The process Is extremely simple, so without further delay, let's get this tutorial started.

Step One:

Navigate to your desktop, right-click on a blank area and select New > Shortcut as shown below.

Step Two:

Next, In the Type the location of the Item field, enter the following command.

control /name Microsoft.AutoPlay

Then simply hit Next.

Step Three:

Now you need to give your shortcut a name, It can be anything you like. For the purpose of this tutorial, I've named mine Windows 10 Tips AutoPlay. Click Finish to finalize the process.

Step Four:

I've navigated to my computer's desktop and as you can see, the AutoPlay shortcut has been created. Let's make sure It's functional, by testing It In the next few steps.

Step Five:

Upon double-clicking the shortcut, as expected, the AutoPlay feature has executed. I can set default actions for drives. media and software.

Step Six:

As per the Image below, I can choose a default action for my Pictures, Videos, Music and Mixed content.

Last Step:

And the same applies to Software and games. When you've made your selection, hit Save.

Final Thoughts:

Although It's not difficult to access the AutoPlay settings as per the opening paragraph of this article, why go through a number of steps, when the same result can be achieved with a shortcut? I'm the type of user who simplifies tasks by creating as many shortcuts as possible, so If you're anything like myself, then this tutorial will certainly fulfill your needs.