Hotkeycontrol

I use Notepad a lot. To launch it, I just need to double click the Notepad link I put in the taskbar. Or better still, I just need to use the Alt + N hotkey. You see, this is one of the many keyboard shortcuts that Hotkeycontrol has to offer. This is an application that you can use to create and manage keyboard shortcuts for all sorts of tasks, like launching an application, opening a file, or adjusting the volume.

Hotkeycontrol is compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2012/2008/2003. A setup wizard will help you install Hotkeycontrol on any of these Windows editions. When you’re done installing Hotkeycontrol and you launch the application for the first time, you will be informed that by left clicking the system tray icon you can view a list of keyboard shortcuts; and by right clicking the system tray icon you can configure hotkeys.

Actually, when you right click the Hotkeycontrol system tray icon, you are presented with a context menu that features several options: quit Hotkeycontrol, display help (opens a PDF manual), register Hotkeycontrol, pause hotkey monitoring, configure hotkeys. Select the option to configure hotkeys and you will be presented with a window that features 5 tabs at the top:
Launch/Open – set hotkeys to launch applications and open files.
Volume/Brightness – set hotkeys to adjust the volume and brightness; set hotkeys for media playback.
Windows/System – set hotkeys to close a window, hide a window, show a window, shut down the PC, activate the screensaver, turn off the monitor, and more.
Macro/Automation – configure macros, set hotkeys to launch macros.
Plugins – select and configure plugins, assign hotkeys to plugins.

Hotkeycontrol is not free, it is only free to try. You may use an unlicensed copy for a trial period of 15 days.

Thanks to hotkeys you can easily launch applications, open files, and so on. And thanks to Hotkeycontrol you can easily assign and manage hotkeys for a variety of tasks.