What action causes dir icons to change to shortcut icons?

I've been reading around on this topic & find most content relevant to
IE or desktop icons in response to requests for how to change/delete
these icons.

Few others are about installations gone bad that change all icons to
execute one thing or another.

What I'd like to know is, on what action(s) does Vista decide to change
a directory icon to a shortcut icon & why?

Got a laptop with Vista Business (x32) pre-installed & I use it as
little as possible because it's rediculously unintuitive.

Even doing a search on this icon behavior has taken more time reading
than the knowledge is worth. I do not want to be an IT expert when I
grow up. I shouldn't have to study as if I did just understand the daily
events of my OS. ('nuf sniveling)

Any insight into what Vista is actually doing that makes directory
icons change to shortcut icons so I can stop/reverse that action, would
be gratefully received. It is not lost on me the enormity of knowlege on
this forum & the vast amounts of time it took to acquire it.

Thank you kindly for your time & consideration.
Hoppy


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Hoppy