How to Create Desktop Shortcuts for Office Programs on PC or Mac

Mac

1. Open a new Finder window. Click the blue-and-white smiley face icon on the far-left of your Mac's Dock at the bottom of your screen. This will open a new Finder window.

   1. If you already have a Finder window open, clicking the Finder icon will only switch you to the open window. In this case, press ⌘ Command+N to open a new Finder window without closing the other one.

2. Click Applications on the left sidebar. This will open your Mac's Applications folder in your current Finder window.

   1. If you don't see a sidebar on the left-hand side, press ⌥ Option+⌘ Cmd+S on your keyboard. The sidebar will show up on the left of your current window.

3. Select the Office app you want to create a shortcut for. Find the Office app you want to use, and click on its name to select and highlight the program.

4. Click the File tab on the top-left. This button is on the menu bar in the upper-left corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.

5. Click Make Alias on the File menu. This will create a shortcut to the selected program, and save it next to the original app in the Applications folder.

6. Drag the shortcut to the desktop. You can simply click and drag the app shortcut (alias), and move it from the Applications folder to your Mac's desktop.