Create keyboard shortcut

On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:38:32 +0100, Ed Cryer
wrote:

On 08/09/2011 02:39, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:
Ed Cryer wrote:
On 08/09/2011 00:38, Char Jackson wrote:
On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:17:40 +0100, Ed
wrote:

On 08/09/2011 00:08, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:
Chet wrote:
On 9/7/2011 4:45 PM, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:
I've never made a keyboard shortcut before, but the directions in
the Windows 7 Help and Support file are pretty simple. The
trouble is, I can't make a keyboard shortcut that works. I have
tried with different programs and different keys, but nothing
works. Is there something that has to be enabled somewhere?

Are you holding the Ctrl and Alt keys down when you press the
third key you assigned for the keyboard shortcut?

Yes. The only way I can get a keyboard shortcut to work is if the
shortcut is pinned to the taskbar and the shortcut key assigned there.

I just navigated to a folder in Program Files(X86), right clicked
on a program and sent a shortcut to the desktop. On the shortcut
I did the assigning of a shortcut key just fine; tested it and then
unassigned it and deleted the shortcut.

Was it required that you create a shortcut (on the desktop?) and
assign the hotkey to that shortcut? On XP, you can assign a hotkey to
an entry in the Start menu, (those aren't much more than shortcuts,
too, after all), which is how I've always done it.

Nothing was required. I was responding to Crashe's comment above, and
that was the first thing that occurred to me to do. You name another
and I'll try it.

I can successfully create shortcut keys from shortcuts on the desktop
(pinned to taskbar) or the Start menu. I cannot do it on a shortcut
created in a folder in Explorer, which is what I was initially trying to
do.

Same here with the Explorer option.
As far as I can see we only differ on one thing. I can get to an .exe
file in Explorer, right click, Send to Desktop (create shortcut), and
then create a hotkey from that desktop shortcut. But if I then cut it
from the desktop and paste it back into the folder, the hotkey doesn't work.

As far as I can tell, the two of you are saying the same thing.
Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the taskbar)
and the Start menu.

--

Char Jackson

Char Jackson wrote:
On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:38:32 +0100, Ed Cryer
wrote:

On 08/09/2011 02:39, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:
Ed Cryer wrote:
On 08/09/2011 00:38, Char Jackson wrote:
On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:17:40 +0100, Ed
wrote:

On 08/09/2011 00:08, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:
Chet wrote:
On 9/7/2011 4:45 PM, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:
I've never made a keyboard shortcut before, but the
directions in the Windows 7 Help and Support file are
pretty simple. The trouble is, I can't make a
keyboard shortcut that works. I have tried with
different programs and different keys, but nothing
works. Is there something that has to be enabled
somewhere?
Are you holding the Ctrl and Alt keys down when you
press the third key you assigned for the keyboard
shortcut?
Yes. The only way I can get a keyboard shortcut to work
is if the shortcut is pinned to the taskbar and the
shortcut key assigned there.
I just navigated to a folder in Program Files(X86), right
clicked on a program and sent a shortcut to the desktop. On
the shortcut I did the assigning of a shortcut key just
fine; tested it and then unassigned it and deleted the
shortcut.
Was it required that you create a shortcut (on the desktop?)
and assign the hotkey to that shortcut? On XP, you can
assign a hotkey to an entry in the Start menu, (those aren't
much more than shortcuts, too, after all), which is how I've
always done it.

Nothing was required. I was responding to Crashe's comment
above, and that was the first thing that occurred to me to do.
You name another and I'll try it.
I can successfully create shortcut keys from shortcuts on the
desktop (pinned to taskbar) or the Start menu. I cannot do it on
a shortcut created in a folder in Explorer, which is what I was
initially trying to do.
Same here with the Explorer option. As far as I can see we only
differ on one thing. I can get to an .exe file in Explorer, right
click, Send to Desktop (create shortcut), and then create a hotkey
from that desktop shortcut. But if I then cut it from the desktop
and paste it back into the folder, the hotkey doesn't work.

As far as I can tell, the two of you are saying the same thing.

Exactly. The only difference is that I create the shortcut in the folder
by right clicking and selecting "Create shortcut" instead of "Send to
desktop" then copying it back. (I removed the "send to desktop" option
on my computer.)

Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the taskbar)
and the Start menu.

Which is annoying if you want to use a hotkey instead of, not in
addition to, a clickable icon.
--
Crash

What happens online, stays online.

On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:26:21 -0400, "Dave \"Crash\" Dummy"
wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:

As far as I can tell, the two of you are saying the same thing.

Exactly. The only difference is that I create the shortcut in the folder
by right clicking and selecting "Create shortcut" instead of "Send to
desktop" then copying it back. (I removed the "send to desktop" option
on my computer.)

Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the taskbar)
and the Start menu.

Which is annoying if you want to use a hotkey instead of, not in
addition to, a clickable icon.

Agreed, it's annoying. I don't suppose you'd consider using a third
party tool to accomplish your goal? (That's annoying too! It should
just work.)

Oh, and thanks for letting me call it a hotkey but if the official
name is Shortcut Key then I suppose we should stick to that.

--

Char Jackson

On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 07:32:39 -0400, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:34:32 -0500, G. Morgan
wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:

On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:49:32 -0500, G. Morgan
wrote:

Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:

I can successfully create shortcut keys from shortcuts on the
desktop (pinned to taskbar) or the Start menu. I cannot do
it on a shortcut created in a folder in Explorer, which is
what I was initially trying to do.
Just drag the little folder icon in the address bar into the
folder itself, drop and one will be created.
One 'what' will be created?
shortcut

But he doesn't want a shortcut, he wants a hotkey (even though he
calls it a shortcut key).

I call it a shortcut key because that is what Microsoft calls a keyboard
shortcut in the shortcut properties. Nowhere in the help documents is it
called it a hotkey. A search for "hotkey" in the Help and Support
document yields referrals to keyboard shortcuts.

In any event, a keyboard shortcut created by creating a shortcut in
Explorer with an included shortcut key does not work. The shortcut has
to be dragged to or created on the desktop or the Start menu for the
shortcut key option to be operational.

That's a clue. It seems to indicate that the special properties of the
Desktop and the Start Menu include the ability for the OS to find and
parse shortcut keys, in contrast to the properties of ordinary folders.

IOW, it's by design. Sadly...

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

Char Jackson wrote:
On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:26:21 -0400, "Dave \"Crash\" Dummy"
wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
As far as I can tell, the two of you are saying the same thing.
Exactly. The only difference is that I create the shortcut in the
folder by right clicking and selecting "Create shortcut" instead of
"Send to desktop" then copying it back. (I removed the "send to
desktop" option on my computer.)

Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the
taskbar) and the Start menu.
Which is annoying if you want to use a hotkey instead of, not in
addition to, a clickable icon.

Agreed, it's annoying. I don't suppose you'd consider using a third
party tool to accomplish your goal? (That's annoying too! It should
just work.)

No. I can live with the annoyance. I only posted originally because I
didn't know about it. My first attempt at creating a keyboard shortcut
(hotkey) was the kind that didn't work. Now I know why and how to work
around it, so mission accomplished.

Oh, and thanks for letting me call it a hotkey but if the official
name is Shortcut Key then I suppose we should stick to that.

I have no problem with hotkey. I just wanted to use the official
Microsoft nomenclature when posting the question.

--
Crash

One man's weed is another man's wildflower.

On Wed, 7 Sep 2011 21:11:33 -0400, Stan Brown wrote:

On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:45:02 -0400, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:

I've never made a keyboard shortcut before, but the directions in the
Windows 7 Help and Support file are pretty simple. The trouble is, I
can't make a keyboard shortcut that works. I have tried with different
programs and different keys, but nothing works.

You cannot imagine how frustrating it is to read something like that.
I want to grab you by the shoulders, shake you, and yell, "Don't tell
me you tried various things! Tell me specifically what you tried!
And for heaven's sake don't just say 'nothing works'. What happened?
Did you get any error messages?" In troubleshooting, the details are
crucial, yet people routinely fail to provide them.

Sorry for ranting. I had been a long hard day. I stand by the
sentiment, but I could have expressed it more gently.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:01:44 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:
Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the taskbar)
and the Start menu.

That is my understanding also.

This is the time to plug Autohotkey yet again:
www.autohotkey.com

Its hotkeys work *anywhere* (unless of course you choose to make them
context sensitive). It's one of the two or three most useful free
programs on the Internet, in my opinion, along with Irfanview and
TCC/LE.



--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

On Thu, 8 Sep 2011 18:07:32 -0400, Stan Brown
wrote:

On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:01:44 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:
Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the taskbar)
and the Start menu.

That is my understanding also.

This is the time to plug Autohotkey yet again:
www.autohotkey.com

Its hotkeys work *anywhere* (unless of course you choose to make them
context sensitive). It's one of the two or three most useful free
programs on the Internet, in my opinion, along with Irfanview and
TCC/LE.

Thanks, that's the 3rd party tool I was trying to think of earlier in
this thread.

As for the mini rant, I enjoyed it.

--

Char Jackson

On 9/8/2011 13:09, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 07:32:39 -0400, Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:34:32 -0500, G.
wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:

On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:49:32 -0500, G.
wrote:

Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:

I can successfully create shortcut keys from shortcuts on the
desktop (pinned to taskbar) or the Start menu. I cannot do
it on a shortcut created in a folder in Explorer, which is
what I was initially trying to do.
Just drag the little folder icon in the address bar into the
folder itself, drop and one will be created.
One 'what' will be created?
shortcut

But he doesn't want a shortcut, he wants a hotkey (even though he
calls it a shortcut key).

I call it a shortcut key because that is what Microsoft calls a keyboard
shortcut in the shortcut properties. Nowhere in the help documents is it
called it a hotkey. A search for "hotkey" in the Help and Support
document yields referrals to keyboard shortcuts.

In any event, a keyboard shortcut created by creating a shortcut in
Explorer with an included shortcut key does not work. The shortcut has
to be dragged to or created on the desktop or the Start menu for the
shortcut key option to be operational.

That's a clue. It seems to indicate that the special properties of the
Desktop and the Start Menu include the ability for the OS to find and
parse shortcut keys, in contrast to the properties of ordinary folders.

IOW, it's by design. Sadly...

IIRC that's exactly the way it worked in Windows XP also.

In message , "Dave \"Crash\" Dummy"
writes:
Char Jackson wrote:
[]
Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the taskbar)
and the Start menu.

Which is annoying if you want to use a hotkey instead of, not in
addition to, a clickable icon.

Yes, I can see that the desktop could silt up with unwanted icons.

Will shortcut keys work (I don't have the W7 key I was playing with any
more, to try) from a (shortcut in a) _subfolder_ on the desktop? If so,
that would _reduce_ the clutter to one extra icon, called "stuff" or
something like that.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"Where's Piglet?" asked Pooh, as he munched a pork pie.

In message , Stan Brown
writes:
On Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:01:44 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:
Hotkeys apparently only work from the desktop (including the taskbar)
and the Start menu.

That is my understanding also.

This is the time to plug Autohotkey yet again:
www.autohotkey.com

Its hotkeys work *anywhere* (unless of course you choose to make them
context sensitive). It's one of the two or three most useful free
programs on the Internet, in my opinion, along with Irfanview and
TCC/LE.



What do you find you use a lot among the features of TCC/LE? (I agree
about IrfanView.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"Where's Piglet?" asked Pooh, as he munched a pork pie.

On Fri, 9 Sep 2011 07:47:14 +0100, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

What do you find you use a lot among the features of TCC/LE? (I agree
about IrfanView.)

Oh golly, what don't I? I have a batch file that checks dates and
times of files on my hard drive and a USB stick and synchronizes
them. (The folder structures are different.) I have another that
checks my list of reminders and tells me any that are coming up
within the next seven days. And so forth.

Most recently, for a discussion over in
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html, I needed to know how many GIF
files in a folder were under 4 KB. With Windows I'd have to count
them; the TCC/LE range specification on a dir command does the
counting for me.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...