Desktop Icon Symbol Meaning

Hi Channel,
When adding shortcuts to the Desktop the symbol in the pictures shows. I am just curious. When I install a game from Steam and I add the shortcut to the desktop through the installation the games don't have this symbol so I wonder what it means for the other programs. Thank you.

Finn•9/15/25, 8:15 PM

The symbol means a link. Or in other words it's a link to a file rather than a file. The actual file exists elsewhere it just shows there.

Finn•9/15/25, 8:15 PM

Windows supports sym/hard linking too, but it's very unadvertised and not shown.

Finn•9/15/25, 8:18 PM

Unlike say a shortcut a link will behave as if that file was there not something unique.

Finn•9/15/25, 8:20 PM

When steam add its own shortcuts it's just that a shortcut that it creates. But dragging from the menu is making a link to the file in the menu (already a shortcut, basically). Technically the same type of file just a different way it's showing up. One is a newly created shortcut. The other is a link to a shortcut.

Finn•9/15/25, 8:20 PM

Hard to describe it so sorry if it's a messy explanation

Finn•9/15/25, 8:21 PM

tldr; It's nothing weird to worry about or anything

renner•9/15/25, 8:37 PM

you should be able to right click on it to show the target, here you will see where the actual .desktop file lives, this defines which icon it is supposed to use, which binary to run etc

renner•9/15/25, 8:40 PM

So yeah nothing to worry about, it's just a visual clue for what the file is (a symlink)

Desktop Icon Symbol Meaning

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