LeeTutor's Doing Windows

Home Page

Doing Windows

Windows Tips Categories

Keyboard Tips

USING HOT KEYS

I'm sure you already know about "shortcuts", those little icons for programs or folders that you frequently use and so you put them on the desktop. You can also have what are called "hot keys" for your favorite programs. A hot key is a control key combination that you can assign to a program in order to bring it up. If the program shortcut is on your Start menu or on the desktop, then doing the key combination will launch the program immediately. Otherwise the hot key will launch the program only if it's already running in another window. How do you assign a hot key to a program? First you right click on the program in Explorer or My Computer. This brings up a context menu from which you select Properties. Now click on the Shortcut tab to bring it to view. On this, click once on the Shortcut key field, type the control key combination you want to use for the program, and click on OK.