File shortcuts (also known as shell links) were introduced in Windows 95.

It functions as an electronic hyperlink or file shortcut to access the program or data.

File shortcuts in Windows can store a working directory path besides the target path.

File shortcuts can also store comments which are displayed as a tooltip when the mouse hovers over the shortcut.

Windows 2000 also introduces a Distributed Link Tracking service to ensure file shortcuts remain working even if the target is moved or renamed.

A file shortcut in Microsoft Windows is a small file containing a target URI or GUID to an object, or the name of a target program file that the shortcut represents.