Windows 10 tips and tricks 3

[admin]

Launch taskbar shortcuts with keyboard shortcuts

But we’re looking for speed. Unless you’re summoning a jump list to leap back quickly into a specific file, even clicking those icons in your taskbar can be sped up—by not clicking on them. Power users swear by the speed of keyboard shortcuts, and you can open a program on your taskbar without having to lift your hand to your mouse.

You used to be able to open specific programs pinned to your taskbar by pressing the Windows key simultaneously with a number associated with where the program is located to the right of the Start Menu—pressing Win + 1 to open your first pinned option, Win + 2 to open the second option, and so on. That seems to have disappeared in Windows 10, though it still works in older versions of the operating system.

If you want to use your keyboard to open programs pinned to your taskbar in Windows 10, press Win + T. You’ll see a box appear around the first pinned item to the right of the Start Menu. Press Enter to open it, or keep pressing T to cycle through all your pinned programs from left to right.