Open apps faster via Windows' command line.

I'm a big fan of using keyboard shortcuts to get more work done in less time. But there are only so many Ctrl and Alt key combinations available for creating your own shortcuts. Also, the ones I don't use regularly are difficult to remember without using a cheat sheet, and the time spent looking up the ones I can't remember on my own negates the productivity boost I'm shooting for.

That's why I find myself relying increasingly on Windows' Run dialog and command line to open programs. Vista puts a pseudo-command line one click away: just press the Windows key and start typing the name to locate an application or file you need. When you see it in the list that pops up, use the down arrow key to navigate to it (though it's usually the first--or only--option), and press Enter to get it started. In XP you can press the Windows key and then R to open the Run dialog box, and then type the name of the program's executable file and press Enter. To open a Command Prompt in either Windows version, type cmd and press Enter.

The Clavier+ donationware utility lets you create a keyboard shortcut to Windows' Command Prompt.

I saved myself a few keystrokes by installing a donationware utility that I used to assign a keyboard shortcut to the Command Prompt. Start by downloading and installing Clavier+, a keyboard-shortcut utility from Guillaume Ryder. Open the program, click the blue plus sign on the left side of the main screen, and navigate to Accessories>Command Prompt. Click in the Shortcut field, and press your preferred keystroke combination, making sure not to enter one you already use for some other purpose. (One that is available and easy for me to remember is Ctrl+Alt+C.) After you make your selection, click OK, and you'll see your new shortcut in the list at the top of the main Clavier+ window. Click OK once more to close the program, and now you've got access to the Command Prompt via the keyboard.

Assign the keystroke combination of your choice in Clavier+'s Shortcut dialog box.

You may be wondering why you can't simply right-click cmd.exe in Windows Explorer (it's in the C:/Windows/System32 folder), choose Create Shortcut, and then assign a keystroke combination to that shortcut by right-clicking it, choosing Properties>Shortcut, and entering the keys in the Shortcut key field. Windows won't let you. I don't know why, and I can't even find an explanation for the restriction. No matter what key combination I entered, I couldn't get it to open the Command Prompt window. For some reason, Clavier+ had no problem opening the window via the keystroke combo I assigned. Go figure.

Launch apps from the command line
With the Command Prompt open, type start winword and press Enter to open Microsoft Word, start excel to launch Excel, and start mplayer2 to open the old version of Windows Media Player (start wmplayer launches the newer release). Here are some other application file names you might find handy:

Internet Explorer: iexplore
Microsoft Outlook: outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint: powerpnt
Windows Explorer: explorer (or press the Windows key and E to open an Explorer window with My Computer highlighted)
Calculator: calc
Magnifier: magnify
Notepad: notepad
Paint: mspaint
Registry Editor: regedit
System Configuration Utility: msconfig
Tweak UI: tweakui
Windows Movie Maker: moviemk
WordPad: write

Most other applications can be launched simply by typing start and their name, such as "firefox", "thunderbird", "photoshop", "acrobat", and "itunes". To close the Command Prompt window, type exit and press Enter.

Of course, you can do much more from the command line than launch applications. The Microsoft TechNet site lists the commands available for system-management tasks, with descriptions of how to use them. But that's a subject for a future post.

Tomorrow: Fun with Microsoft Excel's Lookup function.

[skyrise85]

nice post. you could expand by talking about the path in environment variables. it's a fairly easy tweak and can be very useful.

also all these commands work from the run... box

[woodythrower]

From experimentation, I've found that defining a 'Shortcut key" only works if the shortcut appears under the Start menu. I've also observed that the more deeply nested the shortcut is, the longer it takes to actually open via the shortcut key. Clavier+ looks like a reasonable workaround to those problems.

[Pachzevel]

Shortcut key also works if the app. is on the desktop.

[justdenny]

all of this is quicker than 2 mouse clicks....how, exactly?

[ddas72]

Calculate the distance travelled by your hand and then by your finger and the trajectory of the focal point of your eyes to click twice. Say, are writing a doc in ms-word. If you want to save as you go on typing, you may be able to do 3 save actions using ctrl+s where as it would take you 3 extra seconds do that using mouse clicks.

[bmx2886]

I was able to create a shortcut of the cmd.exe by right clicking the shortcut in start->programs->accessories (I have XP). Then I just use the "Send to.." option and select desktop. Then when it's on the desktop I assign the shortcut keys. I have used this way on 2 of my work PC and haven't had any problems. But this utility does sound helpful to keep all of your shortcut keys organized.

[AndrewRich]

Another great shortcut key utility is Copernic's WinKey, which is unfortunately no longer officially supported or available. (Or is it? http://www.copernic.com/winkey.exe )

Winkey lets you assign commands and applications to Win+key, Win+Ctrl+key, Win+Shift+key and Win+Ctrl+Shift+key. I've had Win+Ctrl+C mapped to "%windir%\system32\cmd.exe% for quite a long time.

[J H F]

Windows Key+r brings up the run box. This shortcut works out of the box. One real big advantage with this is that it saves your entries so you don't have to type the full string, just put in part of it and you will be presented with all of the choices that you have used in the past, to finish your command. Plus you can use it to open web sites just by entering the URL, or put in a path and open Windows explorer right were you want it to. If you type in 'cmd /k ipconfig' the /k preserves the open window so the ipconfig information stays on the screen in the command window. I could go on but, Oh but you were promoting a product, my bad.

[karl.kranich]

I use Launchy (www.launchy.net) and love it. Just hit alt-space, start typing the app I want, and hit enter when Launchy finds it. I told it to index the extra folders where I install apps, and it finds everything I use.

[nsubbuu]

good

[nsubbuu]

good