If you have been using your computer a lot, you probably have a few programs that you use more often than the others. In my case, I use Microsoft Word, Notepad, and Photoshop a lot. To make your working time more productive you can use keyboard shortcuts, and minimize use of the mouse.
Mouse dependence is especially time consuming if you largely work with a laptop. Instead of doing this, you can create shortcut keys for all of your most used applications. Here’s how to create a keyboard shortcut for an application.
1) On your start menu locate the application you use most often; it’s probably in the commonly used items area if it’s something you use all of the time.
2) Right click on the application and choose “Properties” from the menu that appears.
3) The applications properties window will open as below with the shortcut tab selected by default:
4) In the shortcut key text box the word NONE will appear if you have not setup a shortcut for this application.
You can see in my example above – Notepad will open on my computer when I press ctrl alt and the letter N all at once.
5) When you click into the shortcut text box the word NONE will not disappear. All you need to do here is press whatever letter or other button you wish to use for the shortcut. The system will automatically add the crtl and alt commands to this line and add your selected letter after them.
6) Press Apply and then OK to close the properties box.
7) Now close all windows and try pressing your key combination with a blank desktop to test it out.
8) Caution: Do not use the same letter for more than one application, as this can confuse your system and cause unexpected failures.
The keyboard shortcuts option is available in all Windows versions, and works like a charm.
Laptop users, take note 🙂