Create your own Windows shortcuts

Most of us spend the vast majority of our time inside a fairly small number of applications. If you set up keyboard shortcuts for each, you can launch them instantly, without having to mess around with the taskbar, desktop or Start menu. All in four steps…

1 Find the app executable Let’s say we use Excel every day and want to create a keyboard shortcut to launch it quickly. First, we need to find the program file. To do this, press the Windows key and type Excel, then right-click its entry in the list of results (it will probably be the “Best match”) and select “Open file location”.

2 Alternative routes

You can also open the complete list of applications in the Start menu, right-click Excel and navigate through “More” to “Open file location” – or open the Applications folder directly. To do this, press Windows + R to open the Run prompt, enter “explorer shell: AppsFolder” and hit Return.

3 Create a shortcut Right-click on the application’s icon, select Properties and click in the box beside the Shortcut key. This is where you’ll define the key combination you want to use. This must be a single letter or number, which you’ll press along with Ctrl + Alt to launch the shortcut. We’re using X for Excel, as that’s easy to remember.

4 Test the shortcut Choose if the application should launch in a normal window, minimised or maximised from the dropdown menu beside Run, then click Apply. Confirm Administrator privileges if you’re prompted to do so, then click OK. You’re all set: to test the shortcut, close the Explorer window and press Ctrl + Alt + X to launch Excel.