You can create keyboard shortcuts to open programs. Opening programs this way is often simpler than opening them using your mouse or other pointing device. Before you get started, you need to create a shortcut for the program to which you want to assign a keyboard shortcut. To do this, open the folder that contains the program, right-click the program's executable file, and then click Create Shortcut. For more information about creating shortcuts to programs, see Create or delete a shortcut.
- Locate the shortcut to the program that you want to create a keyboard shortcut for.
- Right-click the shortcut, and then click Properties.
- Click in the Shortcut key box, press the key on your keyboard that you want to use in combination with Ctrl+Alt (keyboard shortcuts automatically start with Ctrl+Alt), and then click OK. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.You can now use this keyboard shortcut to open the program.
Notes
- The word None appears in the Shortcut key box until you press a key; then it's replaced with Ctrl+Alt+the key that you pressed.
- The new shortcut might not work for programs that have their own keyboard shortcuts.
- You cannot use the Esc, Enter, Tab, Spacebar, PrtScn, Shift, or Backspace keys to create a keyboard shortcut.
- You can also create keyboard shortcuts to open files and folders.
