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How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11

Windows 11 includes numerous keyboard shortcuts right out of the box. However, the operating system doesn’t include any options for creating custom hotkeys that open software, documents, and folders. You can still add hotkeys to desktop shortcuts, but adding a plethora of shortcuts to the desktop isn’t exactly an ideal way to set up your system.

As a result, it’s better to check out some of the third-party keyboard shortcut software packages for Windows 11. WinHotKey is among those apps that enable you to set up keyboard shortcuts for your favorite software, documents, and folders. This is how you can set up custom hotkeys with WinHotKey.

How to Download and Install WinHotKey

WinHotKey is a freely available app for setting up new keyboard shortcuts. That software is compatible with most Windows desktop platforms as well. It has a quick and easy setup and takes up very little drive storage space. You can download and install WinHotKey as follows.

  1. Open WinHotKey’s Softpedia page in a web browser.
  2. Select the Download Now option.
  3. Click the Softpedia Secure Download (US) option.
  4. After downloading, click the folder (File Explorer) taskbar icon.
  5. Open up the folder that includes the WinHotKey setup wizard.
  6. Double-click the WinHotKey setup wizard to open its window. How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
  7. Select the Next option.
  8. Click the I accept the agreement radio button, and press the Next button again.
  9. Press the Browse button to choose an installation folder. How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
  10. Select the Next option to install the software.
  11. After installing, select the option to set up a WinHotKey desktop shortcut. Then you can click that shortcut to launch the software.

Read also: Windows Keyboard Shortcuts 101: The Ultimate Guide

How to Set Up Software Hotkeys

The WinHotKey Configuration includes a list of default Windows hotkeys. However, you can’t edit those default keyboard shortcuts in any way. What you can do is add new custom hotkeys for opening software to that list. You can set up new custom keyboard shortcuts for launching software like this.

  1. Press the New Hotkey button at the top left of the WinHotKey Configuration window. How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
  2. Type an optional description for the hotkey in the text box on the General tab if you wish.
  3. Select the Launch an application option on the drop-down menu.
  4. Press the Browse button to bring up a new application window. How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
  5. Select an app for the hotkey to launch.
  6. Click the OK button.
  7. Now select a keyboard key for the shortcut on the Along with the key drop-down menu. How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
  8. You can also select additional keys for the hotkey by clicking the Alt, Shift, and Ctrl checkboxes. The Windows checkbox is selected by default, but you can deselect that option.
  9. To further configure the keyboard shortcut, click the Advanced button. You can enter additional parameters and change how the software window opens on the Launch: Advanced window. How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
  10. Click the OK button to exit the Launch: Advanced window.
  11. Then press the OK button on the New Hotkey window to add the keyboard shortcut.

Thereafter, the WinHotKey Configuration window will include your custom hotkey.

Now you can press your new hotkey to open whatever software you selected for it. You can change that keyboard shortcut by selecting it and clicking Edit Hotkey. To delete one, select it and click Remove Hotkey.

You can set up hotkeys for launching Windows programs as well as third-party software. The C: > Windows > System32 folder path includes many of the built-in accessories. These are some of the Windows features you can set up hotkeys for with WinHotKey:

  • Control Panel: control.exe
  • Task Manager: Taskmgr.exe
  • Calculator: calc.exe
  • Command Prompt: cmd
  • Notepad: notepad.exe
  • Performance Monitor: perfmon.exe
  • Registry Editor: regedit.exe
  • Event Viewer: eventvwr
  • Services Windows: services.msc
  • Optimize Drives: dfrgui

How to Set Up Folder, Document, and Window Control Hotkeys

Aside from software shortcuts, you can establish hotkeys for opening folders and document files much the same. Instead of selecting Launch an Application on the New Hotkey window, select either the Open a Folder or Open a Document option. Then click Browse to select a document’s or folder’s path, configure a key combination, and press the OK button.

WinHotKey also enables you to set up hotkeys for six different window control actions. To set up such a keyboard shortcut, select the Control the Current Window option on the New Hotkey window. Then you can select minimize, maximize, restore, toggle, resize, and move window control options for the keyboard shortcut.

How to Set Up Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11

Set Up All the Windows Software HotKeys You Need With WinHotKey

So, you won’t need Windows 11 desktop, Start menu, and taskbar shortcuts anymore when you’ve got WinHotKey. It’s an easy-to-utilize program with which you can set up a wide variety of software, folder, and document keyboard shortcuts without cluttering the Windows desktop. WinHotKey’s only notable shortcoming is that you can’t set up website hotkeys with it, but it’s still a very handy app nonetheless.