Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Open Any Windows Program

What do you do when you need to start any program in Windows? Of course, you just locate the program icon on your desktop and double-click on it to launch the program. Another way is to locate the program in the start menu and click on it.

However, there is another way to launch the program, that is by your Keyboard, by assigning keyboard shortcuts for different programs. Also, if you have programs that you use often then assigning a keyboard shortcut can be a smart idea to make things more convenient. Moreover, this will also save your time in locating the program either on the desktop or in the start menu of Windows.

So, if you too want a convenient way to start a program right from your keyboard then just assign a keyboard shortcut for it. Want to know how? Then just go through the article.

How to Assign Keyboard Shortcuts to Open any Program in Windows

Microsoft has provided functionality to open a program with keyboard shortcut with the earlier versions as well. However, there are still many users who use traditional methods to run a program. Follow these simple steps to open any program in windows using assigned keyboard shortcuts:

1. Right-click on the program icon for which you want to create a keyboard shortcut.
2. Now, from the shortcut menu click on Properties option.

3. In the Properties window click on Shortcut Tab.

4. Now, in the Shortcut Key field type any alphabet or a number as your choice. Once you type in the alphabet, Windows automatically set the shortcut for that program. Say for an example, here we have chosen “D” for the product Duplicate Files Fixer. The keyboard shortcut for this program is now Ctrl+Alt+D.

5. Click on Apply and Ok button to save the changes. If you are working on your office or school PC where you might not have admin privileges then you might receive a popup. Click on Continue to proceed further.

Now, when you press the keyboard shortcut that is Ctrl+Alt+D, it will launch the program Duplicate Files Fixer.

Bonus Tip: If you do not wish to press Ctrl and Alt key, use Numpad keys like /, *, -, +. Once set you can launch the app just by pressing that Numpad key alone.

In future, if you want to either change or remove the keyboard shortcut, follow the same steps till Step 4 and change the value or remove it if you no more wish to set the shortcut for that program.

So now set the keyboard shortcut for your favorite programs to launch them without visiting desktop or start menu.