Excel: Open Excel with Ctrl+Alt+X

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Problem: I love keyboard shortcuts in Excel. Why isn't there a keyboard shortcut to open Excel?

Strategy: You can assign a keyboard shortcut to Excel.

Go to your Start menu and find the icon for Excel. Right-click the icon and choose Properties. In the properties dialog, there is a Shortcut Key box. Click in the box and type Ctrl+Alt+X. Click OK.

  1. Assign a shortcut key to the program.

    You can now launch Excel with Ctrl+Alt+X. You might wish to add other shortcuts, such as Ctrl+Alt+N for Notepad, and so on.