Do you ever wish there was a simple shortcut on the desktop to “safely remove hardware” rather than having to go hunt for it in the system tray menu? Or maybe you would like to toggle the screensaver from a shortcut on the desktop or you could use quick, one-click access to the device manager, etc.
Handy Shortcuts is a little free program that can place a number of Windows 7 functions and services as shortcuts on your desktop (a total of 20 different shortcuts in the version I tested, displayed in the screenshot above).
Here’s a list of my top 4 favorites of the bunch:
- Safely Remove Hardware: No more hunting for it in the System Tray menu.
- Run Screensaver: I like to try screensavers for possible reviews on this site. This shortcut will probably serve me well.
- Device Manager: if I had a nickel for every time I ran the device manager I would have enough for a coffee at Starbucks (yes, an astronomical amount!)
- Flip3D: Microsoft’s 3D application switcher is on your Vista or Windows 7 PC. This is a handy way to use it, say via a shortcut on the taskbar.
List of supported shortcuts: Lock WorkStation, Switch Account. Shutdown, Restart, Log Off, Hibernate, Show Desktop, Uninstall Programs, Device Manager, Security Center, Windows Defender, Windows DVD maker, Flip 3D, Launch Screen-saver, Disable Windows Firewall, Enable Windows Firewall, Clear Clipboard, Connect to Internet, Safely Remove Hardware and a Master Control Panel.
The verdict: I found this whilst searching for a way to put “safely remove hardware” as a shortcut on the desktop. The rest to me are an added bonus, but, I am sure, will be variously useful to users as well. My advice: check out the screenshot above and see if there’s anything you want that you think would be useful.
I’ve seen similar apps to this before, and I like that it creates shortcuts with distinct iconss ; if you want more of this sort of thing check out previously mentioned (but by now perhaps somewhat aged) Tooler and Fastkake.
Compatibility: Windows 7 & Vista, 32-bit & 64-bit.
Go to the program download page to download the latest version (approx 215K).
Thank you for this nice find. This worked on my XP system for safely remove hardware anyway. So people that still use XP, give it a try. There is no install required, just download the file, unzip, and run it. Question…. why does it seem windows always requires 2 or 3 attempts to safely remove a usb memory stick? Not just my computer but at work too. Anyway have a nice weekend and enjoy Memorial Day.
Yes, yes, but please rid the pic of all those meaningless arrows pointing to nothingness.
Looks good, but as only one of my computers is XP I will pass. I would, however, apss along my own method for shortcuts. Note that I hate desktop icons, and love hot keys.
I use PStart (http://www.pegtop.net/start/). It still works perfectly with Win7, is portable, and allows Hot Keys.
Then I look for command line sequences to do the things I want to do automatically
e.g. To Safely Remove Hardware, I found the command line sequence is
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL HotPlug.dll
So the shortcut runs %system%\Rundll32.exe and the parameters are
shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL HotPlug.dll
The advanced tab allows me to assign a hot key (Win+Alt+J for eJect)
I put the hot key in the title, so if I forget, it is there.
Thanks for wonderful ideas.
@ Cornflower: thanks for sharing.
BTW this software is designed for Vista and Windows 7. It is not XP-specific.
Any idea how to remove Handy Shortcuts? Since I installed it, when my computer isn’t crashing; it’s terribly slow!!!
Eric: Handy Shortcuts doesn’t install itself on your system. Simply move it to the trash bin and it is removed. Any shortcuts it leaves behind will still work, because they are simply Windows shortcuts.
I would doubt that any performance issues you are experiencing are related to Handy Shortcuts. Perhaps there are other relevant factors?