Local Area Connection Status - Create Shortcut

How to Create a "Local Area Network Connection Status" Shortcut in Windows 7 and Windows 8​

   Information

This will show you how to create a Local Area Network Connection Status shortcut to view status information, such as connection duration, speed, and amounts of data transmitted and received; and use any diagnostic tools available for a particular network connection in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

EXAMPLE: Local Area Connection Status



Here's How:
1. Right click on the Network icon in the Notification area, and click on Open Network and Sharing Center. (see screenshot below)
A) Go to step 3.

OR

2. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on the Network and Sharing Center icon.

3. Click on the Change adapter settings link in the left blue pane. (see screenshot below)

4. Right click on the network connection that you want to have a Local Area Connection Status shortcut for, then click on Create Shortcut. (see screenshot below)

5. Click on Yes for the shortcut to be placed on the desktop. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: If you click No, then the shortcut will not be created.

6. You can now place the shortcut where you like for easy use.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Create a "Network Connections" Shortcut in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Create a "Add Network Location" Shortcut in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Create a "Network and Sharing Center" Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Enable or Disable "local access only" Network Icon in Windows 7 and Windows 8

 

[edwarde54]

Now, how can I pin this shortcut to the taskbar?

 

[Brink]

Hello Edwarde, and welcome to Seven Forums.

You could enable Quick Launch, and place the shortcut in the Quick Launch folder.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[edwarde54]

Thanks for the reply but I'd rather like my shortcuts pinned to the taskbar which is a neat feature of Windows 7. Thank you for your time.

 

[Brink]

It would be pinned to the taskbar inside Quick Launch though.

 

[edwarde54]

I now have Local Area Connection shortcut pinned inside Quick Launch, now how do I pin the shortcut in my taskbar?

 

[Brink]

There's not an option to pin the shortcut directly to the taskbar normally. Quick Launch is the workaround to have the shortcut on the taskbar.

You would use step 5 in OPTION ONE in the tutorial to drag Quick Launch wider or narrower for how many shortcuts in Quick Launch that you want to see on the taskbar.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/888-quick-launch-enable-disable.html

 

[edwarde54]

It's not what I had in mind though, but for now it'll do. Thank you very much for your time and patience.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome. I wished that it was. If I find something that may allow you to, I'll post back with it.

 

[edwarde54]

A downscaled image of the finished product. Thanks again.

 

[WildWilly]

At step 4, where Shawn says to right click & create a Shortcut, I just did something else instead. I dragged the icon to my Startup folder on the Start Menu. Not quite the question this Tutorial set out to answer, but I suspect you could do the same to pin it elsewhere, like on the Taskbar. It would be interesting to hear if that indeed does what you want. I note that it's been over a year since you posted so maybe there's been changes Microsoft has made to the software to allow things that it didn't used to allow.

 

[Brink]

Hello Willy,

Yes, you could create the same shortcut by dragging it like that as well. Neither one will have a pin to Start Menu/Taskbar option though. However, you could add it to Quick Launch if you wanted it on the taskbar, or manually move the shortcut in the Start Menu.

 

[coucou]

Hello,

I'm using a Win7 64bits desktop machine. So, I'm not Wifi connected, I'm cable network connected (higher speed). As time to time I've to be NOT connected. The "Local Area Network Connection Status" has no "Enable" button (see here bellow attached image). So, I've to physically disconnect and connect the cable from my machine.
1) After disabling the via the "Local Area Network Connection Status", It is possible to toggle the "Disable" to "Enable"?
If not, how can I enable the Local Area Network Connection easily like for the wireless?

2) It is possible to display both shortcuts (wireless and Local) to "Connect to" as WinXP?
and Enable/Disable from those shortcuts?

Regards

 

[Brink]

Hello Coucou,

You might would want a Network Connections shortcut instead to make doing that easier.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/24545-network-connections-create-shortcut.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[coucou]

TNX Brink,

I've already the link but I'm looking to PIN it to Start/Connect To
Regards

 

[Brink]

This is about as close as I can get for a "Connect To" shortcut that can "Pin to Start" that may work for you.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/198087-connect-shortcut-create-windows-7-a.html

 

[WildWilly]

This may be partially relevant to what Coucou has mentioned. A handful of times I have Resumed my system from Hibernate and I have found that my Local Area Connection Shortcut in the Start Menu (specifically, in the Startup folder) refuses to open. Normally, after a Resume from Hibernate, that applet is not open. I always have it open but going into Hibernate closes it. So when I Resume, I have to manually relaunch it. I do this from my Startup folder. If I'm doing a full Boot or Restart, the Startup folder gets processed & the Local Area Connection applet does launch. But apparently Resume from Hibernate does not look at the Startup folder.

Anyway, like I said, I've occasionally encountered Resumptions that don't allow the applet to launch. I've found when I drill down from Control Panel, as Brink describes in the original tutorial, and launch the Network and Sharing Center, that my network adapter has become disabled. I don't know why this happens. Normally, the 3 lights on my DSL "modem" are on, meaning my ISP has "trained up" my connection. But Windows thinks the connection is disabled. Like I say, this is just a once in a while thing. Usually the connection is enabled as expected after a Resumption. But when the problem occurs, I correct it like this. From the Network and Sharing Center, click the Troubleshoot Problems link. Then let the system do its thing. You'd think there would be a simple re-enable button somewhere, but the only way I have found to do a re-enable is to let the system run its automatic Troubleshooting song & dance. Which does work, and then I can launch my Local Area Connection Shortcut in the Startup folder. There are both Disable and Diagnose buttons on the applet, and presumably the Disable button changes to an Enable button. But when this problem occurs it's a bit of a Catch-22 because I can't even get the applet to open so I don't have access to those buttons, hence my Troubleshooting solution.