January 2002

Computer / Automation Technique
ShortKeys
More techniques

There is a downloadable software on the market that has saved me an enormous amount of time and energy. This software is called ShortKeys. ShortKeys allows me to simply type in a few pre-selected keys and have text, up to 3000 keystrokes, pop up without my having to type what I need every time. ShortKeys can be used in any Windows based program. For any of you who are constantly typing in your e-mail address, phone number, URL, or any number of items that are included in all of your correspondence, you must read on.

When you are dealing with repetitive keystrokes and phrases, ShortKeys is a miracle time saver. 

Consider yourself composing an e-mail that is going to have several references to a particular website or a specific URL, or any other phrase, for that matter. With the ShortKeys program running, once you have your pre-programmed phrases in place, you will only have to type in the code you assign to that phrase, which is much quicker than having to take the time to type in some of those horribly long URL addresses. 

You can also used ShortKeys for entire paragraphs or multiple paragraphs, for use when responding to common customer questions as an alternative to using your signature file function as we covered last month. Not only does this save you time but it also saves you the aggravation of retyping the same exact phrase over and over again. 

The reason ShortKeys is handy to have in addition to using your signature file function is that the signature file function only works when you are writing emails. ShortKeys allows you to pop in text, URLs, phone numbers and all kinds of repetitive text anywhere, anytime.

When you are not using the ShortKeys program for e-mail composition and only for single letters, they can still be very helpful. You can program any phrase, reference, or number into this software. When you need to type in a phone number, or any other reference material you use frequently, all you have to do is type the pre-programmed code and it does it for you. 

Programming these phrases is really very simple. You type in the text you want to appear and then assign a code to that phrase. For instance: If I want to type the URL of one of my sites "The Advanced Public Speaking Institute," I simply type "P" and then "1" and I get http://www.public-speaking.org  .

Sometimes the ShortKeys program can be a bit of a pain in the neck. If you are going to be typing in individual references that include any of your codes, the ShortKeys program kicks in anyway and types the entire pre-programmed string that you told it to. For example, if you are sending an e-mail to jane@fr1.com, and you have a code in ShortKeys for "r1", this could create a problem because as soon as ShortKeys sees the "r" and then the "1" next to it, it throws in all your preprogrammed text. 

There are several ways around this. If you think about it beforehand, you can hit the space bar after the "r" and then hit the backspace key before you type in the "1". Or it is very simple to disable specific ShortKeys. All you need to do is maximize the ShortKeys program, highlight the annoying programmed short key and click on the light bulb. 

You will need to remember which ones to turn off before you start on any other project. Another way to stop ShortKeys is simply to close the program. In that case, you will not be able to reference any ShortKeys you might find useful as your work progresses. 

You can find this software as a free download (ShortKeys Lite) at www.download.com, or go directly to the ShortKeys site at www.shortkeys.com. The free download version gives you up to 35 ShortKeys. If you find that you need more than this, you can buy the unlimited version for $19.95 from the ShortKeys website. 

In short, the ShortKeys ability to make your life easier all depends on the amount of repetition in your daily work routine. If you find yourself typing your telephone number, website, or a number of any additional repetitive phrases, more than you'd like to, then ShortKeys is for you. 

More techniques:

• In Internet Explorer all you have to type in the domain name and hold the control key down while hitting enter. If the website is a dot com, then Internet Explorer puts in the http://www and the .com for you. Go ahead and try it. Type in antion then hold the control key and hit enter.

• To send an email in Outlook and AOL or to send an Instant Message in AOL hold the control key and hit enter.

• Want your windows calculator handy without going through a bunch of menus to get it? Click "Start" then click "Run" Type in "Calc" Then click "OK" Your calculator will come right up and will be waiting for you in the "start" "run" menu the next time you need it (as long as you don't use the "run" menu for something else in the mean time.

Upcoming topics for this section

• Pop in strings of repetitive text anywhere (not just in email)

• Organize your email

• Reduce the impact of SPAM email

• The greatest keyboard shortcuts

• Respond to emails while you sleep with autoresponders

• Using templates so you never have to reinvent the wheel

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