In reality they are just a .lnk file that Explorer knows how to open. Only Explorer knows how to use and open them - they will not work from command prompts. Like a symbolic link in UNIX, in this release the shortcut is just a text string that tells Explorer what to really open. Icons that represent shortcuts have an arrow in their lower left hand corner. Renaming an object Use the objects right mouse button menu or select the object by clicking on its icon or name, then click on the object's name.
Filenames can also now legally include spaces and a number of other things.
The long filenames are only visible when you are using a program that is using a Windows 95 dialog box. DOS programs and some Windows 3.1 programs that use the older system calls will only see and allow the 8.3 filenames that DOS allows. It has other features, like the ability to run Windows applications. You can also run Win32 Console Mode Applications. These are real Win32 applications, they just run in text mode.