Desktop Shortcut to UNC Path

Purpose: To deploy a shortcut to the desktop pointing to a network share's root path. (e.g. \\storage.bunny-lab.io). There is a quirk with how Windows handles network shares and shortcuts and doesn't like when you point the shortcut to a root UNC path.

Group Policy Location¶

graph LR
    A[Create Group Policy] --> B[User Configuration]
    B --> C[Preferences]
    C --> D[Windows Settings]
    D --> E[Shortcuts]

Group Policy Settings¶

• Action: Update
• Name: <FriendlyName>
• Target Type: File System Object
• Location: Desktop
• Target Path: C:\windows\explorer.exe
• Arguments: \\storage.bunny-lab.io
• Start In: <Blank>
• Shortcut Key: <None>
• Run: Normal Window
• Icon File Path: %SystemRoot%\System32\SHELL32.dll
• Icon Index: 9

Additional Notes¶

Navigate to the "Common" tab in the properties of the shortcut, and check the "Run in logged-on user's security context (user policy option)".