Usually on Windows XP, if I wanted to know the location of an installed program, I would just click 'Properties' and it would show where the executable is located.
On Windows 7, I do the same thing and I get this:
How can I find out where programs are located based on the shortcut?
I did however notice that for some programs it does show a shortcut under the 'Target', but not in the case with iTunes for example.
Best Answer
What you are seeing are special shortcuts called Advertised Shortcuts. The shortcuts actually link to
msiexec.exewhich is the Windows Installer executable. Advertised shortcuts allow installer authors to install only portions of their application and then install additional pieces when they are accessed via the advertised shortcut. Windows Installer also automatically checks the integrity of all of the installed files each time the application is run so you can be sure the application is valid when it is run.Here is a Stack Overflow question with a bit more info on advertised shortcuts.
Finding the executable the shortcut eventually runs is not a simple task and would involve some digging through the registry. Hugh's suggestion is likely much simpler.