GW Micro Blog

We love keyboard access to things, don't we? Of course we do, and we should. So here's another keyboard tip, this one specifically for Vista users: launch applications in your quick launch toolbar using the respective WINDOWS-# hot key. In my Quick Launch toolbar, I have the following applications in the following order:

• Internet Explorer 7
• Microsoft Outlook 2007
• Firefox 2
• Samsung PC Studio 3

I can quickly launch any of these applications by using the Windows key in combination with the number key that represents the position of the application. For example, if I wanted to launch Firefox, I could press WINDOWS-3, because Firefox is the 3^rd application in my Quick Launch toolbar. If I wanted to launch Internet Explorer, I could press WINDOWS-1. WINDOWS-2 would launch Outlook, and WINDOWS-4 would launch Samsung PC Studio.

By default, the Quick Launch toolbar includes the Show Desktop item, so WINDOWS-1 would automatically focus the desktop. I removed that shortcut in my Quick Launch because WINDOWS-D does the same thing.

You can add new entries to the Quick Launch toolbar by bringing up the context menu on any shortcut, and selecting the option titled, "Add to Quick Launch." Say, for example, I wanted to add a shortcut to a command prompt in my Quick Launch toolbar. I would use the Vista start search edit box to find cmd, bring up the context menu for the cmd entry in the search results list, and select Add to Quick Launch. Viola! The command prompt shortcut is now in my Quick Launch toolbar.

The main restriction to this feature, however, is that you can only use the Windows key in combination with the 0 to 9 keys, meaning you can only launch 10 shortcuts. That's another reason why I removed the Show Desktop shortcut ? I already have a hot key to perform the task, so the shortcut is just taking up space. If you need more keyboard shortcuts to launch more applications, then I would suggest AutoHotKey. Some might argue that using AutoHotKey just for keyboard shortcuts is like taking a nuclear submarine out for some light fishing. In other words, there's a ton more stuff to the application than simple keyboard macros, but it gets the job done, and it's fairly easy to use.

So what if you have more than 10 shortcuts in the quick launch, and you don't want to remove any, but you want some of the more recently added shortcuts to show up first? The solution resides in renaming.

When I added the command prompt shortcut, it came up as my 11^th shortcut, meaning I can't use the Windows key method to launch it. But, if I rename the shortcut from cmd to 1-cmd, then refresh the Quick Launch toolbar, it will show up as my 1^st shortcut, and will then open with WINDOWS-1. In fact, this naming convention is a good way to remember which WINDOWS-# keystroke opens which application.

Although you can manage shortcuts in the Quick Launch toolbar, it's often easier to open an explorer window, and do your renaming there. The short cuts for the Quick Launch are stored in:

c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

I renamed several of the shortcuts in my Quick Launch toolbar as follows:

• 1 - Command Prompt
• 2 - Internet Explorer 7
• 3 - Microsoft Outlook 2007
• 4 - Firefox 2
• 5 - Samsung PC Studio 3

All I need to do now is close the Quick Launch toolbar, then re-open it (to force a refresh), and Explorer will automatically sort the shortcuts by name, based on my new naming convention, meaning that the shortcuts will be listed in the order I want. Now, WINDOWS-1 opens a command prompt.

If you read my last blog entry, Take Command of Vista without Disabling UAC, you can add the admin command prompt shortcut to your Quick Launch toolbar, and have quick access to an elevated command prompt with a single keyboard shortcut.