Quick Access to Network Connections in Windows 7

In Windows XP it was fairly easy to get into the Network Connections folder by right-clicking on a network icon in the System Tray and selecting “Open Network Connections”. With Windows Vista it became slightly more cumbersome in that you had to first open Network And Sharing Center, and then click on “Manage Network Connections”. I really disliked having to make that extra step because I’m one of those who often need to access my network connections. Windows 7 didn’t really improve on that point, but merely changed the wordage of what you have to click on. Nor is it possible to just create a shortcut to Network Connections, and creating shortcuts to every single network item on the desktop is just downright untidy.

Until I found this little tidbit that came in rather useful:

Create a new folder on the desktop
Name it Network.{7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E}

Thus all of a sudden you’ll have an icon called Network on your desktop, which will take you directly to your precious network connections. That was pretty easy, wasn’t it?

Tip: You can call it anything you like instead of “Network” before the period.
Warning: Do NOT just rename an existing folder with anything in it. You will most likely lose access to all files and subfolders inside it if you do.