{"id":14170,"date":"2012-07-16T18:01:04","date_gmt":"2012-07-16T10:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=14170"},"modified":"2024-06-05T14:44:37","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T06:44:37","slug":"customize-windows-shortcuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/customize-windows-shortcuts\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create Custom Shortcuts for Any Program in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Managing multiple applications on your computer can become cumbersome, especially when you have to navigate through a cluttered \u2018Start\u2019 menu or a crowded desktop. A more efficient solution? Keyboard shortcuts, also known as \u2018hotkeys\u2019. Imagine launching your Paint application with a simple <span class=\"key\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"key\">P<\/span> \u2013 much faster than searching for an icon, right?<\/p>\n<p>This tutorial will guide you on setting up hotkeys on your Windows PC using <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saleensoftware.com\/KeyboardExt\">KeyboardExt<\/a>, a desktop application that consolidates all your applications in one easy-to-access window, allowing for swift setup of custom hotkeys.<\/p>\n<h2>Install KeyboardExt<\/h2>\n<p>Begin by downloading and installing KeyboardExt from the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saleensoftware.com\/KeyboardExt\">official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/quicktips\/KeyboardExt-install.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" alt=\"Installing KeyboardExt\"><\/figure>\n<p>Once installed, open KeyboardExt. You\u2019ll see a comprehensive list of your installed applications. Simply click on the application you wish to launch.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/quicktips\/KeyboardExt-window.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"349\" alt=\"Main window of KeyboardExt\"><\/figure>\n<h2>Configure Hotkeys<\/h2>\n<p>To accelerate your workflow, let\u2019s set up hotkeys. Navigate to the \u2018Hotkeys\u2019 section in the top right corner of the KeyboardExt window.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/quicktips\/keyboardext-hotkeys.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"346\" alt=\"Hotkeys section in KeyboardExt\"><\/figure>\n<p>Here, you\u2019ll find some applications already have preset shortcuts. Click on \u2018New Hotkey\u2019 to create your own.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/quicktips\/keyboardext-hotkeys-new.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"348\" alt=\"Adding new hotkeys\"><\/figure>\n<p>A dialog box will appear. Follow these steps to assign a new hotkey:<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/quicktips\/keyboardext-hotkeys-new2.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"585\" alt=\"Setting new hotkey\"><\/figure>\n<ol>\n<li>Enter a descriptive name for the hotkey to remember its purpose.<\/li>\n<li>Select the key combination for the shortcut, such as <span class=\"key\">Win<\/span> + <span class=\"key\">P<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>Specify the application\u2019s path or use the folder explorer to locate it.<\/li>\n<li>Click \u2018Add Hotkey\u2019 to finalize the setup.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Manage System Hotkeys<\/h2>\n<p>To customize or disable system-wide shortcuts, go to the \u2018Options\u2019 tab and select \u2018System Hotkeys\u2019.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/quicktips\/keyboardext-hotkeys-system.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"347\" alt=\"System Hotkeys\"><\/figure>\n<p>Check or uncheck the boxes to activate or deactivate system hotkeys as needed.<\/p>\n<h2>Wrap Up<\/h2>\n<p>With KeyboardExt, not only can you streamline your application launches, but you can also execute tasks like searching Wikipedia with <span class=\"key\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"key\">W<\/span>. It\u2019s so efficient, you might just forget how your Start menu looks!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Managing multiple applications on your computer can become cumbersome, especially when you have to navigate through a cluttered \u2018Start\u2019 menu or a crowded desktop. A more efficient solution? Keyboard shortcuts, also known as \u2018hotkeys\u2019. Imagine launching your Paint application with a simple Ctrl + P \u2013 much faster than searching for an icon, right? This&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3397],"tags":[171,1962,369],"topic":[4521],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Create Custom Shortcuts for Any Program in Windows - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Managing multiple applications on your computer can become cumbersome, especially when you have to navigate through a cluttered &#039;Start&#039; menu or a crowded\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/customize-windows-shortcuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Create Custom Shortcuts for Any Program in Windows\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Managing multiple applications on your computer can become cumbersome, especially when you have to navigate through a cluttered &#039;Start&#039; menu or a crowded\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/customize-windows-shortcuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-16T10:01:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-05T06:44:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/quicktips\/KeyboardExt-install.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mustaza Mustafa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mustaza Mustafa\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/customize-windows-shortcuts\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/customize-windows-shortcuts\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mustaza Mustafa\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/65a4d3ed27a1e14e55eb29ac41b0ee39\"},\"headline\":\"How to Create Custom Shortcuts for Any Program in Windows\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-16T10:01:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-05T06:44:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/customize-windows-shortcuts\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":298,\"commentCount\":9,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/customize-windows-shortcuts\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/quicktips\\\/KeyboardExt-install.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Microsoft Windows\",\"rr\",\"shortcuts\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Desktop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/customize-windows-shortcuts\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/customize-windows-shortcuts\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/customize-windows-shortcuts\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Create Custom Shortcuts for Any Program in Windows - 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