If you’re like most people, you probably use shortcuts to access information on your smartphone. Shortcuts can be helpful when you need to quickly get something done, but they can also be dangerous if they’re not used properly. To avoid making careless shortcuts, make sure you understand the different shortcut icons and how they work. You can also share URLs with your smartphone using shortcut icons so that others can easily find what you’re looking for. Here’s a guide on how to alter shortcut icons and missing volume indicators on your smartphone:

  1. Open the Settings app and select the General tab.
  2. Under “Shortcuts,” select “Add New Shortcut.”
  3. Enter a name for your new shortcut and click “Add.”
  4. In the “Target” field, enter a URL or path to an information resource that you want to shortcut. For example, if you want to shortcut a website, enter http://www.example.com/ into the target field.
  5. Click “Create.”

Distinguish Between Similar Documents with Unique Icons

Dear Multiple Files,

Is it possible to select the shortcut picture for a file?  I have 3 Excel files which have shortcuts on my desktop, Budget 2010, Budget 2011 and Budget 2012.  This gets confusing as both the name of the files and the shortcut picture is the same.  I don’t want to change the name of the files, I want to change the picture.

Multiple Files in Miami

Absolutely, you can just go into the shortcut properties by right-clicking on it. Then find the Change Icon button, and select a different icon. You can even download icons, save them somewhere, and then use those for the shortcut.

We’ve done the same thing for some highly used but similarly named documents.

Replacing a Missing System Tray Icon

Dear Missing Icons,

The volume adjustment icon vanished on my computer. I can still adjust the volume with the multimedia buttons on my computer keyboard but there is no icon in the tray! How do I get it back?

Sincerely,

Missing Icons in Manitoba

Sometimes the system icons vanish in response to other variables on the computer. It’s easy enough to get them back. Right click on your taskbar and click Properties. Then click the Taskbar tab in the menu that pops up. Halfway down the Taskbar options menu there is a Customize button in the Notification section. Click on that to toggle Notification Area icons on and off, including your missing volume icon.

Dear Phone-Irritated,

I find typing on my smartphone to be a real pain and the browser doesn’t support bookmark syncing. How can I easily send bookmarks to my phone?

Sincerely,

Phone-Irritated in Phoenix

You didn’t specify which smartphone you’re using… but that’s OK! We have a handy tutorial that covers sharing link between popular web browsers and popular phone operating systems including iOS, Android, BlackBerry and more, right here. Hit up that link and you’ll be able to easily shuttle links from your browser to your smartphone; no pecking on a tiny touchscreen necessary.

Have a pressing tech question? Shoot us an email at ask@howtogeek.com and we’ll do our best to answer your question.