Q:
Last week, you told us how to add items to the Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows Vista. Since then, I saw something online that mentioned hotkeys for the Quick Launch area. Do you know anything about that? If so, please explain. Thanks for all your help!
A:
You’re absolutely right! Last week (on Friday, January 11, 2008 to be exact), I gave you instructions on how to customize your very own Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows Vista. I guess a lot of you liked that tip, because various questions about it just poured in over the weekend. It seems as if many of you are still getting used to the new operating system and you really enjoyed learning how to use a feature in Vista that you previously used in XP. Well, I must say I’m very glad I was able to help. The Quick Launch Toolbar is one of my favorite features too and it’s great that you all now know how to use it in Vista!
Now, as the person who asked today’s question suggested, there is a little more to the Quick Launch Toolbar when you’re using it on a Vista computer. I thought about including this with last week’s tip, but I thought that would be too much at once, so I’m really glad this question was brought to my attention again! So, the answer to the question is yes, there are some hotkeys you can use along with the Quick Launch Toolbar in Vista. Without further ado, here’s the full scoop!
Basically, Windows Vista allows you to use hotkeys for the first 10 items you put in your Quick Launch Toolbar. If you go over 10, that’s fine, but just keep in mind that there will be no hotkeys for those items. Now, the hotkeys are assigned automatically, so as soon as you add an item to your Toolbar, it will be assigned a number. The numbers go from 1 to 9 and then a 0 (zero) for number 10. To use them, you add the number with the Windows key on your keyboard (that’s the one with the little flag on it, usually located next to the Alt key).
Your Quick Launch items are assigned their numbers in order from the left to the right. So, for example, if the first item on your Quick Launch Toolbar is Internet Explorer, all you have to do to open it is hit Win + 1. If your second item is Microsoft Word, just hit Win + 2. If your tenth program is the Windows Media Player, hit Win + 0 and so on. That’s all you have to do. Cool, huh?!
If you want your programs to be in a certain order for your hotkeys, you can move them around. You can just drag and drop them into the slot where you’d like them to sit. I have mine set up in the order of what I use most often. I have Internet Explorer in the first spot, my e-mail program in the second, the calculator in the third and so on. And with just a tap of a key here and a tap of a key there, using my Quick Launch Toolbar has never been easier. I’m sure you’ll feel the same way after you get yours all set up. Give it a try today!
~ Erin