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Tech Tips: Run, Don't Click!
Faster and Easier. Two key reasons why we use computers in the first place. (And one key reason why I don’t always use complete sentences.) This edition of Tech Tips is all about an under-utilized tool in the Microsoft Windows start menu that can help you accomplish many computing tasks with greater speed and simplicity.
Run, Don't Click
If you have ever experienced the frustration of hunting through a menu of programs to find the application you want, or found that clicking, hovering, looking, clicking, hovering and clicking again seemed a bit awkward, then this tip may be just what you need. When using a computer with Microsoft Windows, you can save time and frustration by using a powerful, built-in tool known as the Run Dialog Box.
Toward the bottom of the Windows Start Menu you’ll find a selection entitled “Run.” Many people will successfully operate their computers for years without ever selecting this item from the menu. Many others will use it only occasionally, for launching relatively rarely used applications and utilities like the System Configuration Utility. Others however, find that the Run Dialog Box is so fast and simple to use that they use it daily in order to work as efficiently as possible.
Uses
Here are a few of the many handy uses for the Run Dialog Box:
- Enter “cmd” or “command” for a command prompt or DOS prompt window.
- Enter a directory path to open an explorer window displaying the contents of the specified directory.
- Click the “Browse” button in the Run Dialog Box if you want to browse to the path of the program you wish to run.
- Enter “control” to open the control panel. (There are numerous options which can be added to this one. For example, “control appwiz.cpl” will bring up the Add/Remove Programs tool which is found in the control panel.)
- Enter “calc” to launch the Calculator application.
- Enter a URL to go directly to a web site without first launching your web browser manually. (This is a big time saver, especially for dialup users who often wait for slow-loading home pages to display before typing their desired web destination.)
How To
Here are the steps to follow in order to use the Run Dialog Box:
- Click start, then click run…
- In the “Open…” field type the command, directory, URL etc., then click “O.K.” or simply press Enter. (Alternatively, click “Browse” in the bottom-right corner of the dialog box and navigate to the desired application.)
A quick alternative to clicking on the start menu to find the Run Dialog Box is to use keyboard shortcuts to launch it. Control-Escape, followed by R will bring it up. An even simpler combination is The Windows key and R key. (For more information on Keyboard Shortcuts, see our Tech Tips article entitled The Mouse Trap.)
Try the Run Dialog Box and if you find it to be a faster and easier way to launch some of your commonly used computer applications.
This article will appear in an upcoming issue of News from a Light in the Valley.