diff --git a/src/modules/cmdpal/Tests/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps.UnitTests/Settings.cs b/src/modules/cmdpal/Tests/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps.UnitTests/Settings.cs
index b48abaf32a..a022f79016 100644
--- a/src/modules/cmdpal/Tests/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps.UnitTests/Settings.cs
+++ b/src/modules/cmdpal/Tests/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps.UnitTests/Settings.cs
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ public class Settings : ISettingsInterface
     private readonly bool enableDesktopSource;
     private readonly bool enableRegistrySource;
     private readonly bool enablePathEnvironmentVariableSource;
+    private readonly bool includeNonAppsOnDesktop;
+    private readonly bool includeNonAppsInStartMenu;
     private readonly List<string> programSuffixes;
     private readonly List<string> runCommandSuffixes;
 
@@ -21,6 +23,8 @@ public class Settings : ISettingsInterface
         bool enableDesktopSource = true,
         bool enableRegistrySource = true,
         bool enablePathEnvironmentVariableSource = true,
+        bool includeNonAppsOnDesktop = false,
+        bool includeNonAppsInStartMenu = true,
         List<string> programSuffixes = null,
         List<string> runCommandSuffixes = null)
     {
@@ -28,6 +32,8 @@ public class Settings : ISettingsInterface
         this.enableDesktopSource = enableDesktopSource;
         this.enableRegistrySource = enableRegistrySource;
         this.enablePathEnvironmentVariableSource = enablePathEnvironmentVariableSource;
+        this.includeNonAppsOnDesktop = includeNonAppsOnDesktop;
+        this.includeNonAppsInStartMenu = includeNonAppsInStartMenu;
         this.programSuffixes = programSuffixes ?? new List<string> { "bat", "appref-ms", "exe", "lnk", "url" };
         this.runCommandSuffixes = runCommandSuffixes ?? new List<string> { "bat", "appref-ms", "exe", "lnk", "url", "cpl", "msc" };
     }
@@ -40,6 +46,10 @@ public class Settings : ISettingsInterface
 
     public bool EnablePathEnvironmentVariableSource => enablePathEnvironmentVariableSource;
 
+    public bool IncludeNonAppsOnDesktop => includeNonAppsOnDesktop;
+
+    public bool IncludeNonAppsInStartMenu => includeNonAppsInStartMenu;
+
     public List<string> ProgramSuffixes => programSuffixes;
 
     public List<string> RunCommandSuffixes => runCommandSuffixes;
diff --git a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/AllAppsSettings.cs b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/AllAppsSettings.cs
index 924285e1ef..fb90a7fe9a 100644
--- a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/AllAppsSettings.cs
+++ b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/AllAppsSettings.cs
@@ -62,6 +62,10 @@ public class AllAppsSettings : JsonSettingsManager, ISettingsInterface
 
     public bool EnablePathEnvironmentVariableSource => _enablePathEnvironmentVariableSource.Value;
 
+    public bool IncludeNonAppsOnDesktop => _includeNonAppsOnDesktop.Value;
+
+    public bool IncludeNonAppsInStartMenu => _includeNonAppsInStartMenu.Value;
+
     private readonly ChoiceSetSetting _searchResultLimitSource = new(
         Namespaced(nameof(SearchResultLimit)),
         Resources.limit_fallback_results_source,
@@ -121,6 +125,18 @@ public class AllAppsSettings : JsonSettingsManager, ISettingsInterface
         string.Empty,
         false); // this one is very VERY noisy
 
+    private readonly ToggleSetting _includeNonAppsOnDesktop = new(
+        Namespaced(nameof(IncludeNonAppsOnDesktop)),
+        Resources.include_non_apps_on_desktop,
+        string.Empty,
+        false);
+
+    private readonly ToggleSetting _includeNonAppsInStartMenu = new(
+        Namespaced(nameof(IncludeNonAppsInStartMenu)),
+        Resources.include_non_apps_in_start_menu,
+        string.Empty,
+        true);
+
     public double MinScoreThreshold { get; set; } = 0.75;
 
     internal const char SuffixSeparator = ';';
@@ -139,7 +155,9 @@ public class AllAppsSettings : JsonSettingsManager, ISettingsInterface
         FilePath = SettingsJsonPath();
 
         Settings.Add(_enableStartMenuSource);
+        Settings.Add(_includeNonAppsInStartMenu);
         Settings.Add(_enableDesktopSource);
+        Settings.Add(_includeNonAppsOnDesktop);
         Settings.Add(_enableRegistrySource);
         Settings.Add(_enablePathEnvironmentVariableSource);
         Settings.Add(_searchResultLimitSource);
diff --git a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Helpers/ISettingsInterface.cs b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Helpers/ISettingsInterface.cs
index b6328f3c10..cda92acf5c 100644
--- a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Helpers/ISettingsInterface.cs
+++ b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Helpers/ISettingsInterface.cs
@@ -19,4 +19,8 @@ public interface ISettingsInterface
     public List<string> ProgramSuffixes { get; }
 
     public List<string> RunCommandSuffixes { get; }
+
+    public bool IncludeNonAppsOnDesktop { get; }
+
+    public bool IncludeNonAppsInStartMenu { get; }
 }
diff --git a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Programs/Win32Program.cs b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Programs/Win32Program.cs
index 1de01b408e..ffd00ce7c8 100644
--- a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Programs/Win32Program.cs
+++ b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Programs/Win32Program.cs
@@ -409,9 +409,37 @@ public class Win32Program : IProgram
                         program.Description = info.FileDescription;
                     }
                 }
+
+                if (program.AppType is ApplicationType.GenericFile or ApplicationType.Folder)
+                {
+                    var includeNonAppsOnDesktop = AllAppsSettings.Instance.IncludeNonAppsOnDesktop;
+                    var includeNonAppsInStartMenu = AllAppsSettings.Instance.IncludeNonAppsInStartMenu;
+
+                    var lnk = program.LnkFilePath;
+                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(lnk))
+                    {
+                        var isDesktop = StartsWithFolder(lnk, Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop) ||
+                                        StartsWithFolder(lnk, Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonDesktopDirectory);
+
+                        var isStartMenu = StartsWithFolder(lnk, Environment.SpecialFolder.StartMenu) ||
+                                          StartsWithFolder(lnk, Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonStartMenu);
+
+                        if ((isDesktop && !includeNonAppsOnDesktop) || (isStartMenu && !includeNonAppsInStartMenu))
+                        {
+                            program.Enabled = false;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
             }
 
             return program;
+
+            static bool StartsWithFolder(string path, Environment.SpecialFolder folder)
+            {
+                var folderPath = Environment.GetFolderPath(folder, Environment.SpecialFolderOption.DoNotVerify);
+                return !string.IsNullOrEmpty(folderPath)
+                       && path.StartsWith(folderPath, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+            }
         }
         catch (System.IO.FileLoadException e)
         {
diff --git a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs
index 8b16bdc2f5..f8015e6632 100644
--- a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs
+++ b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps.Properties {
         }
         
         /// <summary>
-        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Include apps registered in the Registry.
+        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Include apps registered in the Windows Registry.
         /// </summary>
         internal static string enable_registry_source {
             get {
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps.Properties {
         }
         
         /// <summary>
-        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Include apps found in the Start Menu.
+        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Include apps found in the Start menu.
         /// </summary>
         internal static string enable_start_menu_source {
             get {
@@ -141,6 +141,24 @@ namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps.Properties {
             }
         }
         
+        /// <summary>
+        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Also include non-app shortcuts from the Start menu.
+        /// </summary>
+        internal static string include_non_apps_in_start_menu {
+            get {
+                return ResourceManager.GetString("include_non_apps_in_start_menu", resourceCulture);
+            }
+        }
+        
+        /// <summary>
+        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Also include non-app shortcuts from the desktop.
+        /// </summary>
+        internal static string include_non_apps_on_desktop {
+            get {
+                return ResourceManager.GetString("include_non_apps_on_desktop", resourceCulture);
+            }
+        }
+        
         /// <summary>
         ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Installed apps.
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.resx b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.resx
index e7fdbb0013..b2b260a93f 100644
--- a/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.resx
+++ b/src/modules/cmdpal/ext/Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.Apps/Properties/Resources.resx
@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <root>
-  <!-- 
-    Microsoft ResX Schema 
-    
+  <!--
+    Microsoft ResX Schema
+
     Version 2.0
-    
-    The primary goals of this format is to allow a simple XML format 
-    that is mostly human readable. The generation and parsing of the 
-    various data types are done through the TypeConverter classes 
+
+    The primary goals of this format is to allow a simple XML format
+    that is mostly human readable. The generation and parsing of the
+    various data types are done through the TypeConverter classes
     associated with the data types.
-    
+
     Example:
-    
+
     ... ado.net/XML headers & schema ...
     <resheader name="resmimetype">text/microsoft-resx</resheader>
     <resheader name="version">2.0</resheader>
@@ -26,36 +26,36 @@
         <value>[base64 mime encoded string representing a byte array form of the .NET Framework object]</value>
         <comment>This is a comment</comment>
     </data>
-                
-    There are any number of "resheader" rows that contain simple 
+
+    There are any number of "resheader" rows that contain simple
     name/value pairs.
-    
-    Each data row contains a name, and value. The row also contains a 
-    type or mimetype. Type corresponds to a .NET class that support 
-    text/value conversion through the TypeConverter architecture. 
-    Classes that don't support this are serialized and stored with the 
+
+    Each data row contains a name, and value. The row also contains a
+    type or mimetype. Type corresponds to a .NET class that support
+    text/value conversion through the TypeConverter architecture.
+    Classes that don't support this are serialized and stored with the
     mimetype set.
-    
-    The mimetype is used for serialized objects, and tells the 
-    ResXResourceReader how to depersist the object. This is currently not 
+
+    The mimetype is used for serialized objects, and tells the
+    ResXResourceReader how to depersist the object. This is currently not
     extensible. For a given mimetype the value must be set accordingly:
-    
-    Note - application/x-microsoft.net.object.binary.base64 is the format 
-    that the ResXResourceWriter will generate, however the reader can 
+
+    Note - application/x-microsoft.net.object.binary.base64 is the format
+    that the ResXResourceWriter will generate, however the reader can
     read any of the formats listed below.
-    
+
     mimetype: application/x-microsoft.net.object.binary.base64
-    value   : The object must be serialized with 
+    value   : The object must be serialized with
             : System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary.BinaryFormatter
             : and then encoded with base64 encoding.
-    
+
     mimetype: application/x-microsoft.net.object.soap.base64
-    value   : The object must be serialized with 
+    value   : The object must be serialized with
             : System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Soap.SoapFormatter
             : and then encoded with base64 encoding.
 
     mimetype: application/x-microsoft.net.object.bytearray.base64
-    value   : The object must be serialized into a byte array 
+    value   : The object must be serialized into a byte array
             : using a System.ComponentModel.TypeConverter
             : and then encoded with base64 encoding.
     -->
@@ -170,13 +170,13 @@
     <value>Run as different user</value>
   </data>
   <data name="enable_start_menu_source" xml:space="preserve">
-    <value>Include apps found in the Start Menu</value>
+    <value>Include apps found in the Start menu</value>
   </data>
   <data name="enable_desktop_source" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Include apps found on the desktop</value>
   </data>
   <data name="enable_registry_source" xml:space="preserve">
-    <value>Include apps registered in the Registry</value>
+    <value>Include apps registered in the Windows Registry</value>
   </data>
   <data name="enable_path_environment_variable_source" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Include apps anywhere on the %PATH%</value>
@@ -238,4 +238,10 @@
     <value>Default ({0})</value>
     <comment>default option; {0} = number of items</comment>
   </data>
+  <data name="include_non_apps_on_desktop" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Also include non-app shortcuts from the desktop</value>
+  </data>
+  <data name="include_non_apps_in_start_menu" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Also include non-app shortcuts from the Start menu</value>
+  </data>
 </root>
\ No newline at end of file