Quickly Access Programs with Keystroke Shortcuts

[Windows Only]: If having lots of shortcuts on the desktop is your idea of making life easier, then you probably should try this trick out. No software involved, just a few minutes spent in tinkering with the properties of your applications.

There are plenty of software like Launchy to make launching applications by keystrokes a snap. But what if you’re the kind of guy (like me) who does not want to install software if it can be done manually? There’s a very simple solution to this for Windows users.

Create a shortcut for your app if it doesn’t already exist. Start Menu items, desktop items, Quick Launch, or any other shortcut will also do. Now right-click on it and proceed to Properties. You should be in the ‘Shortcut’ tab.

Enter your desired keystroke in the ‘Shortcut Key’ area. For instance, I have used the keystroke Ctrl + Alt + P (for the plugins directory) as seen in the screenshot (click to enlarge). You’re done.

Launch applications with easy-to-remember keystrokes.

Additional tip: You can even select to run the shortcut in a normal window, maximized, or minimized. Quite convenient.