How To Create Keyboard Shortcut To Open A File In Windows 11

Do you have a file that you need to open quite often? Would you like to assign a keyboard shortcut to the file so that you can open it quickly? This guide shows you how to create a keyboard shortcut to open a file in Windows 11.

You can open any file with a keyboard shortcut. All you need to do is assign a keyboard shortcut to the file using a built-in feature of Windows File Explorer.

Windows 11 offers a relatively easy way to set a keyboard shortcut to a file. Here is how to do just that.

Create a keyboard shortcut to open a file in Windows 11

Step 1: Open the File Explorer and navigate to the folder where the file that you would like to open with a keyboard shortcut is located.

Step 2: Right-click on the file, click Show more options, click Send to, and then click Desktop (create shortcut) to create a shortcut to the file on the Windows 11 desktop.

 

Step 3: Now, right-click the file shortcut on the desktop and then click Properties to open the Properties dialog.

Step 4: Here, under the Shortcut tab, select the Shortcut key field. Press the keys that you would like to use to open it. Note that you need to use Ctrl + Alt combinations, and you cannot use Windows logo key in the keyboard shortcut.

For instance, you can use something like Ctrl + Alt + F to open a file.

Step 5: Once done, click the Apply button. That’s it! From now onwards, you may use the keyboard shortcut to open the file. Note that Windows 11 might take a few seconds to launch the file when a keyboard shortcut is used.

NOTE: Deleting the file shortcut icon from the desktop would stop the keyboard shortcut from working. So, do not delete the file shortcut from the desktop unless you want to turn off the keyboard shortcut.

Our How to create app shortcuts on Windows 11 desktop guide might also interest you.