Desktop Shortcuts

I don't know how you have managed to work without these. I feel naked on a machine that doesn't have them. (but see also QuickLaunch Heaven )

I make heavy use of File Explorer, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Eudora. I use a DOS Window and I use WS-FTP-LE to upload files.

On my desktop I have a shortcut icon to each of these applications (and several others, but IÂ’m primarily concerned with my frequent-use shortcuts here).

For each frequent-use shortcut, I assign a shortcut key combination.

Assigning a keyboard shortcut for Microsoft Word:
Right-click on the shortcut icon.
Choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
Select the Program tab.
Move to the shortcut key text box
Hold down both the Ctrl and Shift keys and then tap the letter W.
Confirm out of there.
From now on, a Ctrl-Shift-W will launch Microsoft Word, without having to click through menus, reveal the desktop, or anything.

Choice of letters is important.

You need good mnemonics and no conflicts:

DOS; Ctrl-Shift-C; DOS Command prompt
Eudora; Ctrl-Shift-M; Eudora Mail
Excel; Ctrl-Shift-E; Excel
Explorer; Ctrl-Shift-D; Data on the hard Drive
FTP; Ctrl-Shift-F; Ftp
Word; Ctrl-Shift-W; Word

Using Your Shortcut keys

Remember, the whole point of assigning a shortcut key to a desktop icon is that you donÂ’t have to switch to the desktop to get things done!

If you are in your browser and want to fire up your mail program, use Ctrl-Shift-M and get on with life.

If you are in your mail program and want to fire up your word processor, use Ctrl-Shift-W and get on with life.

If you are in your word processor and need to execute a DOS command, use Ctrl-Shift-C and get on with life.

DonÂ’t forget to use Alt-Tab to cycle through your open applications.

Better Use Of Desktop Shortcuts

It wonÂ’t surprise you to hear that we are not done yet.

DOS Batch files are still an excellent way of automating command tasks.

Example: Loading Explorer to a specific folder

You can tell Explorer (still using the Ctrl-Shift-D combination) to start up in any specific folder.

IÂ’m currently engaged, night and day, in work for IFF, producing Molecular Bubble Charts.

HereÂ’s the (Right-click, Properties, Shortcut) target to a folder for my current project:
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n, /e, C:\Greaves\Clients\I\IFF\BubbleCharts20040830

In the good old days we had a blotter on our desk. The cleaning staff placed a fresh blotter each morning, and we doodled on the blotter.

My boot sequence has a batch file that determines today’s date, and stores it in an environment variables “Daily”. It also builds a folder with that name under C:\Blotter, hence I have folders C:\Blotter\20050913, C:\Blotter\20050914, C:\Blotter\20050915, and so on

HereÂ’s the (Right-click, Properties, Shortcut) target to my daily desktop blotter:
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n, /e, c:\Blotter\%Daily%

Example: Loading Word without macros
From time to time I need a clean copy of Word loaded – without any of my special add-ins and global application templates.

Word is quite clear that this can be achieved with the “/a” switch.

HereÂ’s the target for that desktop shortcut:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\WINWORD.EXE" /a

Example: Thwarting Word Viruses
If you are in the habit of creating trial macros in your Normal.dot, youÂ’ll know how quickly it can get cluttered up with failed attempts.

I use Normal.dot like a daily blotter; it holds my essays, and IÂ’m prompted to save it when I quit Word, although before I quit IÂ’ve usually copied any really good program code to a true application template or utility folder.

Virus macros like to propagate through Normal.dot, and while my virus protection is adequate, IÂ’m still paranoid, so copying a safely-preserved file to Normal.dot at the start of each Word session makes sense to me.

All taken care of through a batch file referenced by a desktop shortcut icon hooked up to a shortcut key:
C:\BAT\WORD97.BAT

Example: Switching Mail Clients
I occupy several email accounts, and for each one I need different settings in my Eudora program. The settings are stored in an INI file, so I have one INI file for each email account to be accessed through Eudora.

So I have one batch file for each INI file.

So I have one desktop shortcut for each batch file:
C:\BAT\WIZDOM.BAT
C:\BAT\CGREAVES.BAT
C:\BAT\295CA.BAT
C:\BAT\FRMAIL.BAT

Appendix – Word97 batch file
REM Word97.bat Christopher Greaves Thursday, July 1, 1999
:: Updated January 3rd 2003 for BigC
:: Re-create the Normal.dot prior to loading Word97
if "%debug%"=="" set debug=off
@echo %debug%
echo on
call c:\bat\settime
copy "c:\GREAVES\ADMIN\Templates\Normal.DOT" c:\___spare\%se%.DOT
:: @echo Normal.dot suspended
copy c:\GREAVES\Norml043.dot "c:\GREAVES\ADMIN\Templates\Normal.DOT"
:: Saturday, December 29, 2001
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\winword.EXE" %1
REM end of Word97.bat

Appendix – Eudora INI file for chrisgreaves.com

copy c:\Greaves\Admin\Eudora\WizDom.INI c:\Greaves\Admin\Eudora\eudora.INI
"C:\Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora\Eudora.exe" "c:\greaves\admin\eudora"