Open File Location Menu Item Is Missing or Not Showing When Right Click on Shortcut in Windows Vista

When right click on a shortcut (.lnk) icon or file in Windows Vista, there suppose to be a menu item called “Open file location” on the right click context menu. However, sometimes, the “Open file location” command may go missing or simply not showing up when right clicking on shortcut in Windows Vista. The error happens on shortcuts that point to all files, folders, documents or executable.

The error happens because of missing registry value data for lnkfile registry key, which defines the behavior of all shortcut or .lnk files on the system. The registry value data in question, IsShortcut, can be accidentally deleted when user tries to hide and remove the arrow overlay icon on shortcuts.

To resolve the missing or lost “Open file location” entry, the IsShortcut registry value and the file associations for shortcuts has to be fixed.

1. Run Registry Editor (regedit).
2. Navigate to the following registry key:

   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile

3. Right click on the right pane, and select New -> String Value (REG_SZ) to create a new registry value.
4. Name the new registry value as IsShortcut. No value data required.
5. Restart the computer.

Alternatively, simply download and apply the .lnk file association fix as provided as part of the extensive fix to reset and patch broken file type and extension associations in Windows Vista.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 27th, 2008 at 2:50 am and is filed under Operating Systems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.