How To Create A Keyboard Shortcut To Any Program

Note:  This is one nifty tip that will work in any version of Windows!

I don’t know about you but I love shortcuts. Anything that saves me time and/or automates something I do often is something I want to add to my arsenal of time savers. One of the Windows shortcuts I use most often is the ability to create keyboard shortcuts that open up programs I use often. This is really easy to do once you know how. You will also be surprised at how much time this saves you. Not only does this free you from closing/minimizing windows to get to your desktop or scrolling through Windows program lists, it helps you maintain your momentum and thought train by shortening the time it takes to open a new program.

You can create a shortcut to virtually any program you have installed on your PC. All you have to do is right click on the program icon, choose Properties and enter the shortcut key you want associated with that program in the Shortcut Key box. (For example the letter Z.) You will see that Windows automatically adds Ctrl+Atl+Z. Click apply. Now every time you hold down those three keys that program will start. That’s it!

There are a few programs that may not let you type anything in the shortcut field or may not have that field at all. The easiest way around that is to create a shortcut to that file (right click on the icon and choose create shortcut) and create the keyboard shortcut for that icon. Windows will warn you if a shortcut you have chosen is already taken. Below is a list of all of the keyboard shortcuts pre-programmed in WinXP. If you know of one I have missed please email me and let me know. Next time I will show you a quick and easy way to organize and keep track of your new Windows Shortcuts.

Windows XP’s Keyboard Shortcuts

· CTRL+C (Copy)

· CTRL+X (Cut)

· CTRL+V (Paste)

· CTRL+Z (Undo)

· DELETE (Delete)

· SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)

· CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)

· CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)

· F2 key (Rename the selected item)

· CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)

· CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)

· CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)

· CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)

· CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)

· SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)

· CTRL+A (Select all)

· F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)

· ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)

· ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)

· ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)

· ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)

· CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)

· ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)

· ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)

· F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)

· F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

· SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)

· ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)

· CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)

· ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)

· Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)

· F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)

· RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)

· LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)

· F5 key (Update the active window)

· BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

· ESC (Cancel the current task)

· SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

· CTRL+SHIFT+ESC (Open Task Manager)