{"id":9755,"date":"2018-05-27T13:51:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-27T20:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/stage\/?p=9755"},"modified":"2022-05-27T13:28:21","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T20:28:21","slug":"creating-a-shortcut-for-windows-update-in-windows-server-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/creating-a-shortcut-for-windows-update-in-windows-server-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Shortcut for Windows Update in Windows Server 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<button id=\"listenButton1\" class=\"responsivevoice-button\" type=\"button\" value=\"Play\" title=\"ResponsiveVoice Tap to Start\/Stop Speech\"><span>&#128266; Listen to Post<\/span><\/button>\n        <script>\n            listenButton1.onclick = function(){\n                if(responsiveVoice.isPlaying()){\n                    responsiveVoice.cancel();\n                }else{\n                    responsiveVoice.speak(\"I have seen people asking questions in some forums on how to create a shortcut for Windows Update in Windows Server 2016 and decided to write this article. If you have been creating a shortcut for Windows Update in the past and now can\\'t seem to find the Windows Update section in Windows Server 2016, that\\'s because it doesn\\'t exist. In Windows Server 2012, Windows Update was a separate link under System and Security. All you have to do to create a shortcut is right click the Windows Update link and select Create shortcut, as shown in the screenshot below. Windows Server 2012 Control Panel: In Windows Server 2016, System and Security no longer includes a section for Windows Update. Windows Update has been moved to the Settings app. According to Microsoft, this change was made so that Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 would have similar Windows Update desktop experience. Windows Server 2016 Control Panel: To access Windows Update, you can go to Settings, which is a Windows store app. There are several ways to get to the Settings app in Windows Server 2016. For example, you can click on the notification icon (circled in red below) in the taskbar and then click All Settings. Alternatively, you can click the Windows Start button and then click Settings. Of course, you can always type\u00a0Settings in the Windows search box to locate the trusted Windows store app. Once you are in Settings, click Update & security\u00a0to get to the Windows Update screen. Server administrators are busy people and accessing the server tools quickly is important to them. That\\'s why they often create a shortcut to Windows Update. Yes, Windows Server 2016 can automatically notify you when the updates are available, but there are many reasons for administrators to go to the Windows Update screen, such as reviewing the updates that have been downloaded, changing configuration settings, reviewing Windows Update history, changing Advanced options, etc. Creating a Shortcut for Windows Update Unlike Windows Server 2012, there is no option to create a shortcut for Windows Update in the Control Panel, but you can use the following procedure to create a shortcut in Windows Server 2016. Right-click the desktop and select create shortcut. In the Create Shortcut window, type C:\\Windows\\System32\\control.exe update and then click Next. NOTE: There is a space before the word update. Do not use quotes around this entry. On the the next screen, replace the word control.exe with Windows Update\u00a0and then click Finish. Now you can quickly access Windows Update on your Windows Server 2016 desktop. If you don\\'t like the icon because it represents Control Panel, you can change the icon to look like the actual Windows Update icon used in Windows Server 2012, which looks like this. Right-click the shortcut and click Change Icon. Delete the text in the box and then click OK. Deleting the path will default to the shell32.dll, which contains dozens of icons for you to choose from. One of them happens to be the Windows Update icon. If you are having difficulty finding it, it\\'s in the 12th column, 3rd row. Select an icon that you like and then click OK. Now you have a shortcut to Windows Update on your desktop just like the Windows Server 2012 shortcut and even your icon is the same. By the way, if you want to create a shortcut for Control Panel, just remove the word update at the end and use the path\u00a0C:\\Windows\\System32\\control.exe. Thanks for reading my article. If you are interested in IT training & consulting services, please reach out to me. Visit ZubairAlexander.com for information on my professional background. Copyright \u00a9 2018 SeattlePro Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.\", \"US English Male\");\n                }\n            };\n        <\/script>\n    \n<p>I have seen people asking questions in some forums on how to create a shortcut for Windows Update in Windows Server 2016 and decided to write this article.<\/p>\n<p>If you have been creating a shortcut for Windows Update in the past and now can&#8217;t seem to find the Windows Update section in Windows Server 2016, that&#8217;s because it doesn&#8217;t exist. In Windows Server 2012, Windows Update was a separate link under System and Security. All you have to do to create a shortcut is right click the Windows Update link and select Create shortcut, as shown in the screenshot below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Windows Server 2012 Control Panel:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9756\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS12-WindowsUpdate.png\" alt=\"Windows Server 2012 shortcut for Windows Update\" width=\"1061\" height=\"620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS12-WindowsUpdate.png 1061w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS12-WindowsUpdate-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS12-WindowsUpdate-768x449.png 768w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS12-WindowsUpdate-1024x598.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1061px) 100vw, 1061px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In Windows Server 2016, System and Security no longer includes a section for Windows Update. Windows Update has been moved to the Settings app. According to Microsoft, this change was made so that Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 would have similar Windows Update desktop experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Windows Server 2016 Control Panel:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9757\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdate.png\" alt=\"Windows Server 2016 Windows Control Panel\" width=\"1030\" height=\"592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdate.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdate-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdate-768x441.png 768w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdate-1024x589.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To access Windows Update, you can go to Settings, which is a Windows store app. There are several ways to get to the Settings app in Windows Server 2016. For example, you can click on the notification icon (circled in red below) in the taskbar and then click <strong>All Settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9758\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Notification-area.png\" alt=\"Windows Notification and Settings link\" width=\"355\" height=\"105\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Notification-area.png 355w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Notification-area-300x89.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you can click the Windows Start button and then click <strong>Settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WindowsSettings.png\" alt=\"Windows Settings\" width=\"137\" height=\"130\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Of course, you can always type\u00a0<strong>Settings<\/strong> in the Windows search box to locate the trusted Windows store app.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9766\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Settings-store-app.png\" alt=\"Settings - Trusted Windows store app\" width=\"344\" height=\"244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Settings-store-app.png 344w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Settings-store-app-300x213.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 344px) 100vw, 344px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once you are in Settings, click <strong>Update &amp; security<\/strong>\u00a0to get to the <strong>Windows Update<\/strong> screen.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15902\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdateMainScreen.png\" alt=\"Windows Update main screen in Windows Server 2016\" width=\"768\" height=\"637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdateMainScreen.png 768w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-WindowsUpdateMainScreen-300x249.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Server administrators are busy people and accessing the server tools quickly is important to them. That&#8217;s why they often create a shortcut to Windows Update. Yes, Windows Server 2016 can automatically notify you when the updates are available, but there are many reasons for administrators to go to the Windows Update screen, such as reviewing the updates that have been downloaded, changing configuration settings, reviewing Windows Update history, changing Advanced options, etc.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Creating a Shortcut for Windows Update<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Unlike Windows Server 2012, there is no option to create a shortcut for Windows Update in the Control Panel, but you can use the following procedure to create a shortcut in Windows Server 2016.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Right-click the desktop and select create shortcut.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut.png\" alt=\"Create shortcut on desktop\" width=\"475\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut.png 475w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut-300x211.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>In the Create Shortcut window, type <strong>C:\\Windows\\System32\\control.exe update<\/strong> and then click <strong>Next<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">NOTE<\/span>: There is a space before the word update. Do not use quotes around this entry.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9762\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut2.png\" alt=\"Create a shortcut on the desktop\" width=\"628\" height=\"458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut2.png 628w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut2-300x219.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>On the the next screen, replace the word control.exe with <strong>Windows Update<\/strong>\u00a0and then click <strong>Finish<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9763\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut3.png\" alt=\"Create shortcut on the desktop\" width=\"629\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut3.png 629w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/CreateShortcut3-300x217.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Now you can quickly access Windows Update on your Windows Server 2016 desktop.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9764\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Shortcut-to-windows-update.png\" alt=\"Shortcut to Windows Update\" width=\"63\" height=\"82\" \/><\/li>\n<li>If you don&#8217;t like the icon because it represents Control Panel, you can change the icon to look like the actual Windows Update icon used in Windows Server 2012, which looks like this.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9787\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WindowsUpdate-icon-in-WS12.png\" alt=\"Windows Update icon in Windows Server 2012\" width=\"58\" height=\"75\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Right-click the shortcut and click Change Icon.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9788\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Change-icon.png\" alt=\"Change Icon\" width=\"380\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Change-icon.png 380w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Change-icon-222x300.png 222w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Delete the text in the box and then click <strong>OK<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9789\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Change-icon2.png\" alt=\"Update the icon\" width=\"308\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Change-icon2.png 308w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Change-icon2-253x300.png 253w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Deleting the path will default to the shell32.dll, which contains dozens of icons for you to choose from. One of them happens to be the Windows Update icon. If you are having difficulty finding it, it&#8217;s in the 12th column, 3rd row. Select an icon that you like and then click <strong>OK<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9790\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WindowsUpdate-icon.png\" alt=\"Icons in shell32.dll\" width=\"305\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WindowsUpdate-icon.png 305w, https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WindowsUpdate-icon-251x300.png 251w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Now you have a shortcut to Windows Update on your desktop just like the Windows Server 2012 shortcut and even your icon is the same.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9787\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WindowsUpdate-icon-in-WS12.png\" alt=\"Windows Update icon in Windows Server 2012\" width=\"58\" height=\"75\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>By the way, if you want to create a shortcut for Control Panel, just remove the word update at the end and use the path\u00a0<strong>C:\\Windows\\System32\\control.exe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #e3e3e3; text-align: left;\">Thanks for reading my article. If you are interested in IT training &amp; consulting services, please reach out to me. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ZubairAlexander.com<\/a> for information on my professional background.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-small; font-family: Verdana;\">Copyright \u00a9 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattlepro.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SeattlePro Enterprises, LLC<\/a>. All rights reserved.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have seen people asking questions in some forums on how to create a shortcut for Windows Update in Windows Server 2016 and decided to write this article. If you have been creating a shortcut for Windows Update in the past and now can&#8217;t seem to find the Windows Update section in Windows Server 2016, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,11,76,65,80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-tips-tricks","category-windows-10","category-windows-2012","category-windows-2016"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WS16-featured-1400x600-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}