Create a tile for Non-Default browser shortcut

Question: 

I have a website that will only work in Internet Explorer. So how can I create a tile that will open a URL in a specific browser?

Answer:

There are, unfortunately, many online apps that will only work with a specific browser. One site I use requires Chrome, another requires Internet Explorer, and others may require a different browser again. Is it possible to create a tile that will open a URL in a specific browser? Of course! The solution is easy.

Well, not really as easy as creating a bookmark, but not a gargantuan task. There are 3 steps:
  1. Create a new shortcut on your desktop; point it to the required web browser and URL
  2. Drag it to your programs folder
  3. Pin it to start menu
Here are the details:

 1. Create a new shortcut (7 steps with about 13 sub-steps!)

  1. Right-click on an empty spot on your desktop (if you're in tablet mode, exit that first)
  2. Hover over New and click Shortcut
  3. A dialog box will open
  4. In the text field, you need to enter the file path to the target browser and then the URL
  5. Getting the file path to the browser is tedious, but not overly technical; I'll use Chrome as my example.
    1. Click Start, and find the required browser in the list of programs
    2. Right-click the tile, then click More
    3. Click the option Open file location
    4. This will likely just open the shortcut location, so right-click the shortcut and click Open File Location again
    5. Now you'll see the folder where the file Chrome.exe lives
    6. Click an empty spot in the path bar at the top of the file browser 
    7. Then right-click the highlighted text and click Copy
    8. Now you have the path to the browser saved to your clipboard
    9. Go back to the New Shortcut, type quote ("), paste in the path, then type a backslash (\) followed by the browser filename.
      (You will see the browser filename in the file browser window)
    10. Then type quote (") again and a space.
      Example: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
     
    6. Now you put in the URL to finish creating the shortcut:
    1. Go back to the web browser and copy the URL from the address bar
    2. After the space, paste in the URL 
    3. Click Next
 7. Enter the name you want your shortcut to display and click Finish
     You've created a Windows 10 shortcut that will open a web page in a specific browser.
     Now you need to get it onto your home screen.

 2. Drag the shortcut to the programs folder

  1. In a file explorer window, go to this location:
    C:\Users\<your user name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
  2. Drag the shortcut into this window

 3. Pin the shortcut to Home

  1. Click Start again and you'll see your new shortcut is in the list of apps
  2. Right-click it and click Pin to Start

You're done. You now have a link to a web page or app that will open in a specific browser. It's a lot of steps, but not too technical I hope.


Let us know in the comments if you have any questions or issues. 

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