So you have Microsoft Windows set to use Chrome as your default browser, but you want to use a desktop shortcut to open a specific site in IE. Or maybe another website icon that will only work in Firefox. Creating a shortcut to a web document won’t work. However, you can open a URL using a shortcut to a non-default browser using these steps:
- Right-click a blank area of the desktop and select “New” > “Shortcut“.
- For the location, type the path to the browser you wish to use followed by the URL you wish to open. For example:
- Chrome: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” https://technipages.com
- IE: “C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe” https://technipages.com
- Firefox: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe” https://technipages.com
- Provide the name for the shortcut. You will probably want to use the name of the website in most cases.
- Select “Next“.
- Select “Finish“.
Now you have a shortcut that will open the website in a specific web browser, no matter what the default browser is set to in Windows.
I have tested this thoroughly and it works in Windows 7 as well as Windows 10.
