Why Does Google Drive Create Desktop Shortcuts?
If you use the Google Drive for Desktop application to sync your files, you might notice that every time you create a new Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide from your web browser, a strange .gdoc or .gsheet shortcut file magically appears on your computer’s local Desktop or inside your local Documents folder.
This happens because Google Drive is attempting to integrate web-based files with your local file system, allowing you to double-click a shortcut on your desktop to instantly open the document in your browser. However, for many users, this simply litters their pristine desktop with dozens of web shortcuts they never asked for. You can stop this behavior by adjusting the Drive preferences.
How to Stop Google Drive from Creating Shortcuts
You must change how Google Drive handles Microsoft Office and Google Workspace files within the app’s settings.
- Click the Google Drive icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac).
- Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner of the popup window.
- Select Preferences from the dropdown menu.
- In the Preferences window, click the Settings gear icon again (located in the top-right corner).
- Scroll down to the section labelled Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
- Look for the option regarding opening these files. You want to disable the creation of local shortcuts.
- Uncheck any box that says Create shortcuts for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides or similar wording (depending on your version of the Drive app).
- Click Save and restart the Google Drive application.
Going forward, Google Docs will remain purely in the cloud, and your local desktop will remain free of web-link clutter.