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Technology Advice for Small Businesses

Steps to creating keyboard shortcuts

Windows_Mar10_BSo we’ve all heard about how amazing keyboard shortcuts are and how they can help you with accessing your apps in a snap, right? But the question is, are we using them? An even better question would be, how do you create keyboard shortcuts to open apps on our desktop? This article details the steps to creating keyboard shortcuts to open apps on your Windows 7 and 8 desktop.

These steps will help you create keyboard shortcuts which allow you to open apps on your Windows 7 or 8 desktop.

Windows 7

  • Right click on the desktop shortcut of the application.
  • Click Properties and a popup will appear.
  • Click the Shortcut tab.
  • Scroll to the section where it says Shortcut key. Enter a Shortcut key followed by a combination. They key combination should either be ctrl + alt + a number or a letter OR ctrl + shift + a number or a letter.
  • Click the Apply button on the lower right part of the popup box.

Once you have established the shortcut, go to your desktop and give it a try. Be sure that when you establish the shortcut you take note of the key strokes in the section. If you want to use another key aside from Ctrl, press it instead. We recommend Shift or Alt.

Windows 8

  • Go to the start menu
  • Right click and a menu at the bottom will appear. Click the Start Apps button on the lower right part of the page.
  • Right click on the app that you want to assign a keyboard shortcut to and click Open File Location from the menu at the bottom.
  • Right click the shortcut and select Properties.
  • Enter a combo key in the Shortcut Key box. They key combination should either be ctrl + alt + a number or a letter OR ctrl + shift + a number or a letter.
  • Click the Ok button to assign the shortcut.

Keyboard shortcuts used to open programs may not seem to be a big deal to some, but for business owners, knowing these simple tricks can help us focus on the more important things like growing our business.

If you have keyboard shortcuts or tricks for Windows 7 and 8 that you find very useful, please share them in the comments section below.

You can also call or email us for any inquiries, we’d be more than happy to help.