If you’ve ever created a shortcut, you may have noticed that Windows adds “- Shortcut” to the end of the shortcut’s name by default.
This article outlines the steps needed to prevent Windows from adding the “- Shortcut” suffix (or prefix) when creating new shortcuts.
To disable the “- Shortcut” suffix, press Win + R, type regedit in the Run dialog box, and press Enter ↵.
In the Registry Editor window that opens, navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
On the right side of the window, locate the link value.
Double-click the link entry, and in the Edit Binary Value dialog, change its value to: 00 00 00 00. Сlick OK and close the Registry Editor.
If the link value does not exist, you need to create it manually: go to Edit → New → Binary Value, name it link, and set its value to: 00 00 00 00.
Next, simply restart File Explorer or sign out and back into your account — the “- Shortcut” suffix will no longer appear when creating new shortcuts.
Alternatively, you can create and apply a registry file with the following content:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
“link”=hex:00,00,00,00
You can also download a ZIP archive containing the registry file named Remove_Shortcut_Prefix.reg.
