Media Platforms Design TeamI use the keyboard shortcuts for cut, paste, and copy all the time on my computer. They’re real timesavers, and I’d love to have a lot more of them. Is there any way to make my own shortcuts with my operating system? Windows makes the process a bit tricky. But, with some free software, it’s possible to give nearly any menu-item command in any program a keyboard shortcut. If you’re keen on learning a niche scripting language that applies to only one program, use AutoHotkey, a powerful application that allows you to write a ton of shortcutsfor keyboard commands, for mouse buttons, and for shortened text inputs, among others. But if you’re just looking to assign a quick window-close shortcut or two, try HotKeyz. The program comes with some hot keys already written, which serve as good reference for your own shortcuts based on, for example, if a window title includes the text Microsoft (you might want a specific command to close a Microsoft Word document). On a Mac, keyboard shortcuts are included in the Keyboard section of System Preferences. There, find the application in which you want to use the shortcut, and enter the to-be-shortcut menu-item text exactly as it appears. Simultaneously press the keys you want to assign and, voilà, you’re spared some mouse movement. So, for instance, if you want to make a shortcut to insert a page break in a Microsoft Word document, you’d choose Word as the application and then type Page Break, which is the exact menu text.Rachel Z. ArndtRachel Z. Arndt is the author of the essay collection Beyond Measure. Her writing has appeared in Quartz, The Believer, Fast Company, and elsewhere. She lives in Chicago.
