Launch the Calculator, MS Word/Excel or any fequently used software in an instant with the techniques described in this tutorial. I've rarely seen any other computer user that makes use of this technique, anycase not before sharing this technique with them. It is however a pity, because this one is a real big time saver.

Say for instance that you want to launch the Calculator program. Ok, what does it require you to do? Let's see... Move your one hand from the keyboard to the mouse, click on Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, move the mouse to Calculator and click on it.

Now I will show you how to do this in one swift step. But before we can do it, some preperations need to be taken care of. Click on Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Calculator and Right-Click on the Calculator shortcut. A window called "Calculator Properties" will display. At the top of this window there is 3 Tabs, General, Shortcut and Compatibility. If the Shortcut Tab is not currently the active one click on it to make it active. In the "Shortcut Key" field the word "None" will be displayed. To create a shortcut for the Calculator Program, click with the mouse next to the word "None" in order for the cursor to flash in that field. On the keyboard press "Ctrl" and "Alt" simultaneously and then press "C" . Click on OK to apply your changes. Next time you need the Calculator just press "Ctrl" and "Alt" with your left hand fingers simultaneously and then press "C" with one of your right hand fingers.

From 5 steps down to 2 and without waiting for shortcut menus to display and expand. You will notice that the time difference after you've pressed and hold down "Ctrl" and "Alt" and the time you press "C" only need to be a fraction of a second, therefore this can actually be regarded as one swift step to launch your program. Now this is what we can call true efficiency, but in order for you to derive some real benefits from this technique you have to set up your most frequently used programs to accommodate this technique.

Of course you can use any letter that will clearly remind you what program will be launched, but I've chosen them as follow on my system so that I can easily remember what letter represent what program.

• C - Calculator
• D - DOS Command Prompt
• E - Excel
• F - Windows Explorer (F remind me of a Folder or a File)
• M - Character Map
• P - Windows Media Player
• W - Word

I'm just going to do one more application (MS Excel) and after that you should be comfortable setting up the rest of your software using this technique for launching.

Click on Start, point to All Programs, point to Excel and Right-Click on the Excel shortcut. A window called "Microsoft Excel Properties" will display. At the top of this window there is 3 Tabs, General, Shortcut and Compatibility. If the Shortcut Tab is not currently the active one click on it to make it active. In the "Shortcut Key" field the word "None" will be displayed. To create a shortcut for Excel, click with the mouse next to the word "None" in order for the cursor to flash in that field. On the keyboard press "Ctrl" and "Alt" simultaneously and then press "E" . Click on OK to apply your changes. Next time you need to use Excel just press "Ctrl" and "Alt" with your left hand fingers simultaneously and then press "E" with one of your right hand fingers.

Following the same technique you can proceed to set up your other most fequently used applications. The bulleted list above give you some idea of what letters to use for your shortcuts, but feel free to follow your own ideas. Only keep in mind that the same letter may not be used more than once.

Now the only thing that is left is for you to remember to use this shortcuts instead of the old inefficient way of doing it. Put a sticky note on your computer for the first few days to remind you.

Well now you have ultra-fast access to the calculator and all your other favorite applications. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and keep on using this tip.

All Trademarks Freely Acknowledged

Terms of Use