Keyboard launch for Windows programs
The Quick Launch bar to the right of the Windows XP Start button can save you time and effort, but the more icons you add, the more space it needs. An even quicker and easier way to launch favourite programs is to set shortcut keys for them.
- Open the Start menu and find the program
- Right-click on it and select Properties (last item in the menu)
- Select the Shortcut tab (at the top of the window) if necessary
- Go to the Shortcut key field (click in it or type Alt + K)
- Type the letter or other key you want to assign to the program
- Click OK or press Enter
As shown in the Properties box, the key combination assigned to the program is now Ctrl + Alt + [your choice]. You can press that combination to launch the program at any time. Take care not to override a shortcut with the same combination within one of your programs.
To apply the same technique to a document or a folder:
- Find the document or folder in Windows Explorer
- Right-click on it and select Copy
- Bring the desktop into view (Windows key + M to minimize all windows)
- Right-click on the desktop and selection Paste Shortcut
- Right-click on the new icon and set the shortcut key as above
- Select the General tab and tick the Hidden box in Attributes
- Click OK or press Enter
Another feature of the Properties box worth exploiting is "Run", where you can specify whether you'd like it always to start up maximized, in a "Normal" window (the size it was when you last closed it), or minimized.