Windows open with shortcut — Ваш верный помощник с OS Windows

Do you need to open an app or more using a keyboard shortcut? Luckily, Windows 10 and Windows 11 allow you to set a shortcut key to open any application you want, just like older versions of Windows. There are two methods to do this without installing third-party apps or running scripts. If you’re curious, here’s how to create a keyboard shortcut to open an app or program:

How to create a keyboard shortcut to open an app or program

This trick works the same in Windows 10 and Windows 11, and it involves two steps: creating a shortcut pointing to the app that you want to open using the keyboard, and then editing the properties of that shortcut and assigning the shortcut key(s) for it.

IMPORTANT: If the app you want to open using a shortcut key already has a shortcut on your desktop or in another place on your Windows computer, you don’t have to create a new shortcut to it. Simply skip Step 1 in this tutorial and follow the instructions from Step 2.

Step 1. Create the shortcut for the program you want to open

We have a detailed guide on creating shortcuts for files, folders, apps, and web pages in Windows. You can read it and then use the instructions we provided there to create a shortcut to the app that interests you. However, if you don’t want to read another tutorial, a quick way to do that is to right-click (or press and hold) an empty space on the desktop and choose New > Shortcut.

Right-click on the desktop and choose New data-lazy-src=

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Right-click on the desktop and choose New > Shortcut

In the Create Shortcut wizard, type the location of the program (or app) you want to open, or press Browse, navigate your computer until you find the executable file of the app you want to open and choose OK. Then, press Next in the Create Shortcut wizard, provide a name for your shortcut, and click or tap Finish.

Create a shortcut to the app you want

For this tutorial, I created a shortcut for Google Chrome. After closing the Create Shortcut wizard, I now have it on my desktop.

The shortcut is now on your desktop

Step 2. Edit the app’s shortcut and add a shortcut key

After creating or finding the shortcut for the app you want to open using the keyboard, right-click (or press and hold) the shortcut and choose Properties in the right-click menu. Note that even though things look different in Windows 10 and Windows 11, the steps involved are identical.

Access the Properties of the shortcut

TIP: An alternative to right-clicking the shortcut is to select it by clicking or tapping its name and to then press ALT + Enter on your keyboard.

Now, you see the Properties window for the selected shortcut. In the Shortcut tab, find and click or tap inside the Shortcut key field. It should say None, meaning no keyboard shortcut is assigned to the desktop app to which the shortcut points.

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Go to Shortcut > Shortcut key

TIP: Here’s more information about the difference between apps and programs in Windows.

After clicking or tapping inside the Shortcut key field, simply press the keyboard shortcut you want to use to open that application. For example, I chose to use Ctrl + Alt + G to open Google Chrome. However, you can try other shortcut keys. If you press some keys and they aren’t shown in the Shortcut key field, it means that Windows has assigned those shortcut keys to another action, and it can’t use them for opening your app. You need to choose another combination of keys. When you’ve set things the way you want, click or tap OK to apply your changes.

Type the keyboard shortcut you want for the app

The keyboard shortcut is now active. Press the keys you’ve stored in the Shortcut key field and see how Windows opens the app you want.

IMPORTANT: Do not delete or change the location of your shortcut. If you do, the keyboard shortcut you’ve assigned to it won’t work anymore, and you have to repeat the process all over again.

BONUS: How to open an app with a keyboard shortcut by pinning it to the taskbar

The instructions shared earlier work well for desktop programs but not for apps distributed only through the Microsoft Store. Such apps can only be opened with a keyboard shortcut if you pin them to the taskbar. Here’s how:

Step 1. How to pin an app to the taskbar

There are many ways to pin shortcuts to the Windows 10 taskbar, but one of them is to open the Start Menu and scroll the apps list until you find the one you want to open with a keyboard shortcut. Right-click or press and hold the app, and choose More > Pin to taskbar.

Pin an app to the taskbar in Windows 10

If you’re using Windows 11, open the Start Menu and go to All apps. Then, in the list of installed apps, find the one you want and right-click (or press and hold) on its name. In the menu, choose More > Pin to taskbar.

Pin an app to the taskbar in Windows 11

After the app is pinned to the taskbar, follow the next step.

Step 2. How to open an app with a keyboard shortcut

After you have pinned the apps that interest you to the taskbar, you can open them by pressing the Windows key along with the number corresponding to the app shortcut on your taskbar. It doesn’t matter whether you intend to open a desktop program or an app distributed only through the Microsoft Store. For example, I pinned File Explorer, Mail, and Microsoft Edge in the screenshot below. To open these apps, I can use the following keyboard shortcuts:

Windows + 1 for File Explorer
Windows + 2 for Mail
Windows + 3 for Microsoft Edge

However, you may be confused because there are other taskbar icons before those for these apps. That’s because Windows 10 displays several icons for different Windows features. For example, in the screenshot below, you first have the Windows icon for opening the Start Menu, then the Search box, and the Task view icon. After these standard icons, the apps are pinned to the taskbar. The Windows + Number shortcut keys work only for the apps shown after the standard taskbar icons enabled in Windows 10.

Opening apps pinned to the taskbar in Windows 10

If you turn off the standard taskbar icons, you can have only the Windows icon followed by the apps pinned to the taskbar.

Opening apps pinned to the taskbar in Windows 10

Similarly, in Windows 11, you first have on the taskbar all kinds of items: the Windows icon for opening the Start Menu, the Search box, the Copilot, the Task view icon, Chat, and then finally the apps that you’ve pinned. In the screenshot below, I can use the following keyboard shortcuts to open these apps:

Windows + 1 for File Explorer
Windows + 2 for Microsoft Edge
Windows + 3 for Microsoft Store
Windows + 4 for Photos

Opening apps pinned to the taskbar in Windows 11

And, if I turn off the default taskbar items, I only have the Windows icon followed by the apps that I pinned to the taskbar. Now, it is easier to identify the shortcut key for each app.

Opening apps pinned to the taskbar in Windows 11

IMPORTANT: Based on their position, you can use this trick only with the first ten apps pinned to the taskbar, each getting their number from 1 to 9. For the tenth app, you need to use the Windows + 0 (zero) keyboard shortcut. This limitation applies to both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Also, if you change the position of the app icons on the taskbar, their shortcut key changes based on their new position.

Which method do you prefer for opening an app with a shortcut key?

Now, you know how to use a shortcut key to open any app or program from Windows 10 and Windows 11. Try both methods I shared and choose the best one for you. Before closing this tutorial, comment using the options below and let me know which method you prefer and why. I prefer pinning apps to the taskbar and opening them using the Windows + Number keyboard shortcut. What about you?

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When you combine the Windows key with other keys, you can quickly do common tasks. The following list includes many common keyboard shortcuts that use the Windows key.

Press this key:	To do this action:
Windows key	Open or close the Start menu.
Windows key + A	Open the Windows 11 action center.
Windows key + Alt + B	Turn high dynamic range (HDR) on or off. For more information, see What is HDR in Windows?.
Windows key + C	Open Microsoft Copilot or Microsoft 365 Copilot (available in preview through the Windows Insider Program). Tip: To customize what happens when you press the Windows key + C shortcut, go to Settings > Personalization > Text input > Customize Copilot key on keyboard.
Windows key + C (when Copilot is not available or disabled)	Open or close Windows search.
Windows key + Alt + D	Display and hide the date and time on the desktop.
Windows key + Alt + Down arrow	Snap the active window to the bottom half of the screen.
Windows key + Alt + H	When voice typing is open, set the focus to the keyboard.
Windows key + Alt + K	Mute or unmute the microphone in supported apps.
Windows key + Alt + Up arrow	Snap the active window to the top half of the screen.
Windows key + comma (,)	Temporarily peek at the desktop.
Windows key + Ctrl + C	If turned on in settings, enable or disable color filters. Open the Settings app
Windows key + Ctrl + Enter	Open Narrator.
Windows key + Ctrl + F	Search for devices on a network.
Windows key + Ctrl + Q	Open Quick Assist.
Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B	Wake up the device when the screen is blank or black.
Windows key + Ctrl + Spacebar	Change to a previously selected input option.
Windows key + Ctrl + V	Open the sound output page of quick settings, which includes settings for the output device, spatial sound, and the volume mixer.
Windows key + D	Display and hide the desktop.
Windows key + Down arrow	Minimize the active window.
Windows key + E	Open File Explorer.
Windows key + Esc	Close Magnifier.
Windows key + F	Open Feedback Hub.
Windows key + forward slash (/)	Start input method editor (IME) reconversion.
Windows key + G	Open the Game Bar. For more information, see Keyboard shortcuts for Game Bar.
Windows key + H	Open voice dictation.
Windows key + Home	Minimize or restore all windows except the active window.
Windows key + I	Open Settings.
Windows key + J	Set focus to a Windows tip when one is available. When a Windows tip appears, bring focus to the tip. Press the keys again to bring focus to the element on the screen to which the Windows tip is anchored.
Windows key + K	Open Cast from Quick Settings to connect to a display. For more information, see Screen mirroring and projecting to your PC or wireless display.
Windows key + L	Lock the computer.
Windows key + Left arrow	Snap the window to the left side of the screen.
Windows key + M	Minimize all windows.
Windows key + Minus (-)	Zoom out in Magnifier.
Windows key + N	Open notification center and calendar.
Windows key + O	Lock the device orientation.
Windows key + P	Open project settings to choose a presentation display mode.
Windows key + Pause	Opens the Settings app to the System > About page.
Windows key + Period (.) Windows key + Semicolon (;)	Open the emoji panel.
Windows key + Plus (+)	Zoom in with the Magnifier.
Windows key + PrtScn	Capture a full screen screenshot and save it to a file in the Screenshots subfolder of the Pictures folder.
Windows key + Q	Open search.
Windows key + R	Open the Run dialog box.
Windows key + Right arrow	Snap the window to the right side of the screen.
Windows key + S	Open search.
Windows key + Shift + Down arrow	If a window is snapped or maximized, restore it.
Windows key + Shift + Enter	If the active window is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app, make it full screen.
Windows key + Shift + Left arrow	Move the active window to the monitor on the left.
Windows key + Shift + M	Restore minimized windows.
Windows key + Shift + R	Select a region of the screen to record a video. It then opens the screen recording in the Snipping Tool. By default, this screen recording is automatically saved as an MP4 file in the Screen Recordings subfolder of your Videos folder.
Windows key + Shift + Right arrow	Move the active window to the monitor on the right.
Windows key + Shift + S	Select a region of the screen to capture a screenshot to the clipboard. You can then open the Snipping Tool to share or markup the image.
Windows key + Shift + Spacebar	Switch backward through input languages and keyboard layouts.
Windows key + Shift + Up arrow	Stretch the desktop window to the top and bottom of the screen.
Windows key + Shift + V	Cycle through notifications.
Windows key + Spacebar	Switch forward through input languages and keyboard layouts.
Windows key + Tab	Open Task View.
Windows key + U	Open the Settings app to the Accessibility section.
Windows key + Up arrow	Maximize the active window.
Windows key + V	Open the clipboard history. Note: Clipboard history isn’t turned on by default. To turn it on, use this keyboard shortcut and then select the prompt to turn on history. You can also turn it on in the Settings app > System > Clipboard , and set Clipboard history to On. Open the Settings app
Windows key + W	Open Widgets.
Windows key + X	Open the Quick Link menu. This shortcut is the same action as right-click on the Start menu.
Windows key + Y	Switch input between Windows Mixed Reality and your desktop.
Windows key + Z	Open the snap layouts.

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2 Ways to Open a Program/App with Keyboard Shortcut Win 10/11

By Alisa |
Last Updated January 13, 2023

This post teaches you how to open a program/app with a keyboard shortcut on Windows 10/11. You can open the program with a keyboard shortcut by pinning it to the taskbar or setting a keyboard shortcut to open the app. Check the detailed guides in this post. For other computer tips and tricks, you may visit MiniTool Software official website.

If you want to open a program with a keyboard shortcut on your Windows 10/11 computer, you can use the two ways below.

Way 1. Open a Program with a Keyboard Shortcut by Pinning It to Taskbar

One way to run Windows apps with a keyboard shortcut is to pin the app to the taskbar.

You can click Start Menu on your Windows 10 computer. For Windows 11, you need to click the All apps icon to view all apps in the Start Menu.
Next, you can scroll down to find the target app. Right-click the app and select Pin to taskbar or More -> Pin to taskbar to add the program to the Windows taskbar. Alternatively, you can also directly drag the app onto the taskbar to pin the program to the taskbar. You can follow the same operation to pin other apps to the taskbar.
Then you can use the Windows key along with the corresponding number key to open the programs on the taskbar with a keyboard shortcut. Based on the position of the pinned apps on the taskbar, they get a number from 1 to 9 from the left to the right. For instance, you can press Windows + 1 keyboard shortcut to open the first pinned app on the taskbar.

Way 2. Set a Keyboard Shortcut/Hotkey to Open the Program

If you want to open any program with a keyboard shortcut on Windows 10/11, you can create a custom keyboard shortcut or hotkey for the target app.

Step 1. Create a shortcut for the app

Before you set a hotkey for the app, you need a shortcut for that app first.

You can find the app from the Start menu and drag the app to the desktop to create a shortcut for the app.

Alternatively, you can right-click the blank area on the desktop and select New -> Shortcut. Type the location of the item and click Next. If you don’t know the path of the app, you can click the Browse button. Then you can select the target app’s executable file and click OK. Type a name for the shortcut and click Finish to create a shortcut for the app.

Tip: If you can’t create a shortcut for the app from the Start menu or desktop, you can use Shell:AppsFolder to open the Applications folder in File Explorer. In the Applications folder, you can right-click any app and select Create Shortcut to easily create a desktop shortcut for the app on your Windows computer.

Step 2. Set a shortcut key for the app

Then you can right-click the app’s shortcut and select Properties.

In the Properties window, you can click the Shortcut tab.

Next to the Shortcut key field, you can set a keyboard shortcut that you want to use to open the app. Click OK to save the setting.

Then you can open the program with the assigned keyboard shortcut on Windows 10/11.

Bottom Line

This post introduces 2 ways with detailed guides to allow you to open a program with a keyboard shortcut on Windows 10/11. Hope it helps. To find solutions for other computer problems, you can visit MiniTool News Center.

About The Author

Position: Columnist

Alisa is a professional English editor with 4-year experience. She loves writing and focuses on sharing detailed solutions and thoughts for computer problems, data recovery & backup, digital gadgets, tech news, etc. Through her articles, users can always easily get related problems solved and find what they want. In spare time, she likes basketball, badminton, tennis, cycling, running, and singing. She is very funny and energetic in life, and always brings friends lots of laughs.

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Windows OS provides numerous keyboard shortcuts that work across applications, such as “Ctrl + C” for copying. However, only a handful of apps, like the Snipping Tool (“Windows + Shift + S”), can be launched directly with shortcuts. But what if you want to open apps like Word or Excel using custom shortcuts? While Windows includes a basic option to assign shortcut key combinations for app launches, you can expand this functionality with Microsoft PowerToys. This powerful tool allows you to create custom shortcuts for launching any installed app on your system effortlessly.

1. Assign Shortcut in App Properties

Let’s say, you want to launch Microsoft Word app with a shortcut.

Open File Explorer, go to “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\” location and find WINWORD.EXE file. This is the file location of Microsoft Word app in Windows 11 (for Microsoft 365 version).
Right-click on the application file and select “Show more options” menu.

Show More Options

This will expand the context menu with additional options, go to “Send to” and select “Desktop (create shortcut)” menu. This will add Word app’s shortcut on your desktop.

Create App Shortcut

Go to Desktop, right-click on the Word app icon. Select “Properties” option to open “Word Properties” dialog box.

Open Shortcut Properties

Go to “Shortcut” tab and click inside “Shortcut key” box which is set as “None” by default. Press your key combination and you will see it appears in the box.
Click “Apply” and then “OK” buttons to close the properties dialog box.

Assign Shortcut for App in Windows

Now, press the shortcut keys and Word app will launch automatically.

Limitations of Default Option

Though this method is easy to use, it has few limitations.

It works only if the app has a shortcut icon on your desktop, so you will need to create a desktop shortcut for the app first.
Alt key will be automatically included in your shortcut combination.
There are possibilities that the entered key combination may conflict with existing shortcut.

If you do not want to keep app shortcuts on desktop, then follow the next method using Microsoft PowerToys app.

2. Installing Microsoft PowerToys

Open Microsoft Store app to search and install Microsoft PowerToys app. Alternatively, you can download the executable file from GitHub repository and manually install it on your computer.

Download PowerToys from GitHub

This app is a packaged solution from Microsoft for many basic needs like color picker, Hosts file editing, image resizing, etc. Check the complete features of PowerToys app in our earlier article to understand how it can help you.

Assign Keyboard Shortcut for an App

The “Keyboard Manager” tool in PowerToys is helpful to remap a key and change its function. However, you can also use the same tool for assigning a keyboard shortcut for running a program.

Launch PowerToys and go to “Keyboard Manager” section.
Turn on “Enable Keyboard Manager” option.
Click “Remap a shortcut” option to open it in a new window.

Enable Keyboard Manager

Click on “+ Add shortcut remapping” button.

Add New Remapping

You need to setup “Select:” and “To:” sections and map a key combination for launching an app.

Remap Shortcut Options

First, click on the pencil edit icon showing next to “Shortcut:” option under “Select:” section. Press the key combination you want to use a shortcut. For example, press and hold Alt and then press 1 key to use “Alt + 1” as your shortcut and click “OK” button.

Set Shortcut Keys

Under “To:” section, select “Run Program” option from “Action:” dropdown.

Select Run Program Option

Now, you need to select the app to assign the shortcut. For that, click on “Select program” button showing against “App:” text box. Browse through and locate the .exe file of the app that you want to use. For example, msedge.exe is a Microsoft Edge browser’s .exe file which is locate under “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application” folder.
Leave “Args:” and “Start in:” options as empty and choose the “Elevation:” level as “Normal”.
Select “Start another” option from “If running:” dropdown which will force the app to open a new instance if it is already running. This is useful if the app you selected is already in the Taskbar.
Finally, choose the “Visibility:” as “Normal” and click on the “OK” button to finish the setup (leave the “Target app:” as blank”).

Select App and Set Parameters

Now, press “Alt + 1” keys and Microsoft Edge app will open in a new window. In this way, you can assign keyboard shortcut for any app you like to launch. You can anytime open “Remap a shortcut” option in PowerToys Keyboard Manager section and change or delete the assigned shortcut keys.

Final Words

Now you know how to assign keyboard shortcuts to launch any app in Windows. Using PowerToys is highly recommended, as it allows you to manage unlimited shortcuts without relying on desktop icons. In addition, PowerToys offers a variety of additional tools that you can enable and use as needed.

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In this post we will show you how to open a folder with a keyboard shortcut on Windows 11/10 computer. There is a huge list of keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10 and Windows 11 OS for different actions, but there is no direct way to do the same for a folder. Therefore, for those who want to quickly open a folder using an assigned hotkey or shortcut, the options covered in this post will be helpful for sure.

Open Folder with Keyboard Shortcut in Windows

You don’t have to go to the folder location, again and again, pin it to the Start menu, Quick access, etc., to open it. Just a keyboard shortcut will let you open your folder from any location. Whether you are using the Start menu, File Explorer, browser, or working with an application, when you need to access your folder, press the hotkey and it will open that folder.

There are two different ways to help you open a folder using a keyboard shortcut. These are:

Using Folder Shortcut
Using the WinHotkey tool.

Let’s check both options one by one.

1] Open a Folder with Keyboard Shortcut using Folder Shortcut in Windows 11/10

This is an easier and built-in option in Windows 11/10 to open a folder with a keyboard shortcut. You can also use this option to create keyboard shortcuts to open programs or applications. The process is very much similar. Here are the steps:

Right-click on a folder of your choice
Access the Send to menu. If you are using Windows 11, first you need to click on Show more options, and then you can access the Send to menu
Click on the Desktop (create shortcut) option. This will add a folder shortcut to your desktop
Now right-click on the folder shortcut
Click on the Properties option
The Properties window will open with the Shortcut tab. If not, then you need to select the Shortcut tab
There is a Shortcut key field in that tab. Enter a hotkey combination in that field
Hit the OK button.

Now you can open that folder using the hotkey set by you. It will take 2-4 seconds to launch the folder once the hotkey is pressed.

Do note that this option will work as long as the desktop shortcut of that folder is available. Once you will delete that shortcut, the hotkey to open that folder won’t work. You can hide that folder shortcut from the desktop if you don’t want to see it there.

Related: How to open a File or Folder using Command Prompt or PowerShell

2] Open a Folder with Custom Hotkey using the WinHotKey tool

This option is better to use because it doesn’t require a desktop shortcut of a folder. In this option, we have used a free tool named WinHotKey that lets you open a folder using a custom key combination. You can use keys like Shift, Alt, Win, Ctrl, numeric keys, alphabets, etc., to set a hotkey of your choice.

Apart from opening a folder, this tool is also helpful to launch an application, open a document, etc., using a custom shortcut key. Moreover, you can also change the hotkey combination for a folder or application anytime you want.

Let’s check the steps to open a folder using a keyboard shortcut with the help of this tool:

Grab this tool from directedge.us
Install the tool and run it. A WinHotKey Configuration window will open
Click on the New Hotkey button in that window. It will open a separate box
In that box, enter a description for the hotkey in the given field. You can add a custom text of your choice for the description
Select key combinations using the available options to set a custom hotkey
Select the Open a Folder option from the drop-down menu available for I Want WinHotKey to section
Click on the Browse button to select a folder
Press the OK button.

That’s it. The hotkey for that particular folder will be added and visible in the configuration window of this tool along with the hotkey combination, target folder, and action.

In the same way, you can assign hotkeys for other folders using the above steps. After that, close the configuration window and the tool will start running in the system tray of your Windows 11/10 taskbar. When you will press the hotkey, the associated folder will open.

You can also double-click on its system tray icon to open the configuration window and add more hotkeys. If you want, you can also change the hotkey combination and remove a hotkey set by you using the Edit Hotkey and Remove Hotkey options.

How do I make a shortcut to open a folder?

Different types of shortcuts can be created or used to open a folder. For example, you can:

Create a desktop shortcut for a folder to open it. For this, right-click on a folder, use the Send to menu, and select the Desktop (create shortcut) option
Make File Explorer Taskbar shortcut to open your favorite folder
Assign a hotkey or keyboard shortcut to open a folder. For doing this, you can use the properties window of the folder shortcut. We have covered all the steps for this in this post.

How do I assign keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11?

There are tons of Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts (like File Explorer keyboard shortcuts, general keyboard shortcuts, taskbar keyboard shortcuts, etc.) already assigned for different tasks. But if you want to use a keyboard shortcut to open a folder and/or application, then you need to assign them manually. For that, you can either use the desktop shortcut of a folder or application or use a third-party tool. This post covers both the options with steps by step instructions.

Hope this is helpful.

Read next: Access and Launch Applications folder using a Desktop shortcut.

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