OK, this is an oldie but a goodie. I use this all the time on my productivity machine. The trick has been around since at least Windows 95, maybe earlier. I am very pleased Microsoft has kept the functionality around through the Vista era...Let's see if it stays in Windows 7.
Keyboard Shortcut Keys
Say you have 3 programs you use 90% of the time. Word, Excel, and that cool retro Dictionary/Thessaurus program you've had since high school. If there is a icon for these apps in your "Start > Program Files" menu, you can assign shortcut keys to these so you can launch them with a quick key combination.
To set the Word Shortcut Key:
- Click Start > Programs > Microsoft Office
- Right-click Microsoft Word and select Properties
- Type "W" in the "Shortcut Key" field. The field will be populated with "Ctr + Alt + W".
- Click OK.
Now, from pretty much anywhere in Windows, if you press Ctrl + Alt + W, Microsoft Word will launch. Now you can assign letters to Excel and that cool dictionary program.
Just FYI...Here are some keys I like to assign:
Ctrl + Alt + C = Calculator
Ctrl + Alt + D = Dictionary
Ctrl + Alt + I = iTunes
Ctrl + Alt + M = Mapping Software (Microsoft Mappoint)
Once you have some of these setup, who knows, you may feel better about deleting those unnecessary shortcuts that are cluttering up your Windows desktop!
Best,
Michael Wittmer