Hello. This is Gerry Chevalier from the GTT Edmonton Chapter. This weekly blog provides tips that I find useful as a keyboard user of Windows. The information is for Windows10 and Office 365, although many tips still apply to older versions.  The tips do not require a screen reader unless specifically noted. Thus, the tips apply whether you are a keyboard user or low vision mouse user. Here is this week’s tip.

Windows Run Dialogue

A quick way to run some programs or access specific resources is to use the Windows Run dialogue. Hold down the Windows logo key and press R. This opens the Windows Run dialogue with focus in an edit box. The      edit box will show the command that was last typed into the Windows Run dialog. You may repeat this previous command by just pressing Enter or, since the command is highlighted, you may just type a new command which will replace it. After typing a new command, press Enter to execute it.

In this command edit box you may type the name of some programs such as Notepad. Or, you can type the path to a device drive such as c: to open the root of your main hard drive, or F: to open the SD or USB in drive slot F. Or, you can type a folder path name such as C:\Users\Gerry\Documents to open your main documents folder. Or, you can type a web address such as www.cnib.ca to open that specific web page. In all cases, end your typing by pressing Enter.

The Windows Run dialogue remembers  the previous commands you have typed so, instead of typing a command, you may simply arrow down to choose from the list of previous commands. When you find the desired previous command, just press Enter to execute it.

Unlike the Windows search, which is invoked by pressing the Windows logo key, the Windows Run command will not perform a search. It requires that you type exactly the name of the resource you wish to run. It is useful if the resource name is fairly short and you know it precisely.  Otherwise; the more general Windows key search discussed in a previous tip is more efficient because it will search for matches to what you type including desktop apps, documents, or web sites and bring them up in a search results list simultaneously as you type.

That’s it for this tip. Until next Wednesday, happy computing.