Create Keyboard Shortcuts To Open Programs

Have you ever wanted to be able to open certain programs with a keyboard shortcut? Say, for example, call up a calculator instantly?

You can easily create keyboard shortcuts to open programs. Before you get started, you need to create a shortcut for the program to which you want to assign a keyboard shortcut. In the case of Windows 8/8.1, you probably already have the shortcut created in either your Start  screen or Apps View. 

Find the tile for the program and right click on it. At the bottom of the page, select Open File Location.  A folder will open and the shortcut will be highlighted.  (If you're not using Win 8 or can't find it in the Apps View, open the folder that contains the program's executable file, right-click it, and then click Create Shortcut.)

1. Locate the shortcut to the program that you want to create a keyboard shortcut for.
2. Right-click the shortcut, and then click Properties.
3. In the Shortcut Properties dialog box, click the Shortcut tab.
4. Click in the Shortcut key box, press the key on your keyboard that you want to use in combination with Ctrl+Alt (keyboard shortcuts automatically start with Ctrl+Alt), and then click OK.  If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation

From now on when you want to launch the selected program, just press Ctrl+Alt+your selected key.