CREATE A RUN COMMAND SHORTCUT

As you know, using the Run dialog box to quickly launch certain applications or utilities can come in handy in a number of situations. For example, suppose you regularly use the Run dialog box to open a command prompt by typing Cmd in the Open text box.

You can access the Run dialog box by clicking the Start button and then clicking Run, or by pressing [Windows]R. However, both of these methods require two steps to open the Run dialog box. Wouldn't it be nice if you could access the Run dialog box with a single click?

You can create a shortcut to the Run command. Simply select the Run command on the Start menu, and drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar. The new shortcut uses the same icon, so it's easy to identify.

However, the shortcut's name will be &Run. . ., which you'll see in a popup when you hover your mouse pointer over the shortcut. These extra characters come from the Start menu command configuration.

In this case, the ampersand character signifies that the R is underlined and acts as the hotkey. The ellipsis signifies that accessing the Run command from the Start menu opens a secondary dialog box. You can rename the shortcut to something more appropriate, such as Run Command, by right-clicking the shortcut and selecting Rename.