Previewing Windows Shortcut LNK files

LNK File Previewer is a free tool available HERE

LNK File Previewer tool will quickly decode the contents of all LNK files in a folder (and sub folders) and display to the user within a grid. The results can be exported to CSV format and exported into excel, this is a useful feature for forensic examiners or data recovery technicians.

LNK File Previewer Usage: Start program, from the main menu select 'Process' > 'Folder' and then select the folder containing your LNK files you wish to preview.

Once processing is complete the results will be displayed on screen.

To export the results from the main menu 'Export' > 'Save as CSV' and save to disk.

Excel is an excellent tool for reviewing and filtering information. To load a CSV file into excel, from the main menu select 'Data' > 'Import External Data' > 'Import Data' then select your csv results.

During the excel import process select Step 1 should be 'Delimited', Step 2 should be 'Comma', then click finish.

When the data is loaded on screen, from the Excel main menu select 'Data' > 'Filter' > 'Auto Filter' - this option will display a filter on the top most row of the spreadsheet and will allow you to filter records based on any of the columns allowing you to list all records on a date, matching a filename, serial number, storage device etc