Problems with Shortcuts Keys

[mark]

I like to use shortcuts to open application, ctrl+alt+D opens Dreamweaver
for example.

However, I have a couple of issues. 1 sometimes when I launch an application
by pressing a shortcut key my taskbar seems to freeze and I have to wait
like 30 seconds before anything happens.

Secondly, if it was to create a series of shortcuts to folders, where is the
best place to keep them? I'm finding that the shortcut only works if the
shortcut folder is on the desktop, somewhere where I actually don't want
them to be.

 

[David Candy]

Hotkeys
Hotkeys are also known as accelerators or shortcut keys. There are two general types of hotkeys. Application hotkeys and global hotkeys.

Application hotkeys are application specific and can't be changed (at least not easily). If you must change it then get a program like Resource Hacker and edit the hotkey table in the application. Not all hotkeys are set in this table, some are set by code and you can't change these.

There are two types of global hotkeys. Application registered and window (as in what you see on the monitor) registered. When a hotkey is pressed the application that registered it is activated and sent a message that a key has been pressed. Windows when they are created can also have a hotkey assigned.

When a user sets a hotkey they are telling Explorer (the program that does the desktop, start menu, and taskbar) to register the hotkey to explorer, and explorer starts the program, and then assigns the hotkey to the window that is created.

Explorer looks in only 4 places for user defined hotkeys. The per user and all user's start menu and desktop (and subfolders). However if it starts a program that has a hotkey assigned it will register that hotkey to the window.

E.G. If there is a shortcut on the start menu to notepad that has a hotkey assigned, pressing that hotkey starts the program. Pressing it later while the program is still running will switch to that program (as explorer then registered that key to the window). If the shortcut is somewhere that explorer does not look (like the Quick Launch bar) the hotkey does not get registered. However if you start the program from this shortcut its hotkey is registered to the window.