How to assign a program to a Hot Key

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This article was previously published under Q237179

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SUMMARY

This article describes how to assign a program to a Hot Key on the Microsoft Keyboard.

MORE INFORMATION

To assign a program to a Hot Key for versions later than 2.2, follow these steps:

Open the Keyboard control panel.
- In Windows Vista, click Start
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  , type keyboard in the Start Search box, and then click Keyboard in the Programs list.
- In Microsoft Windows XP and earlier versions, click Start, click Run, type Control keyboard, and then click OK.
On the Key Settings tab, select the key that you want to change, and then click Edit.
Click Start a program, Web page or file.
Follow the directions on the screen to assign a program.

Note If you have a different default Internet browser than Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can use a command that resembles the following example to open any site in Internet Explorer by using a hot key:

iexplore.exe http://www.google.com

To open any site in Netscape Navigator, enter a command that resembles the following example:

netscp.exe www.google.com

Note This text is entered in the Assign box for the hot key. To access the Assign box, press the center My Favorite (*) key, or go to the Keyboard control panel, and then click the key combination that you want to assign or to reassign.

To assign a program to a Hot Key for versions earlier than 2.0, follow these steps:

Open the Keyboard control panel.
- In Windows Vista, click Start
  Collapse this imageExpand this image
  , type keyboard in the Start Search box, and then click Keyboard in the Programs list.
- In Windows XP and earlier versions, click Start, click Run, type Control keyboard, and then click OK.
On the Hot Keys tab, under Select a Hot Key, click My Computer or Calculator.
Under Select a Program, click Custom, and then click Select.
Select the program that you want the Hot Key to start by using one of the following methods:
- In the Start box, type the path and the file name of the executable file for the program that you want the Hot Key to start.
- Click Browse, locate the executable file for the program that you want the Hot Key to start, click the file, and then click Open.
Click OK, and then click OK again.
Exit Control Panel.