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Edited by Rojo Don Poho, Cipher_nemo, Kals, Chris Hadley and 7 others

Trick is to create a simple MS-DOS Batch file. Explore the rest of this article for more information on how you can do it step by step.

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Edit Steps

  1. 1
    Open Notepad ("Start" menu > "Run" > type notepad > press Enter).
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  2. 2
    Click on "File" > "Save As...", and name the file with a batch file extension (ie: "startmyprg.bat"). Save the file somewhere easily accessible such as your desktop. The .bat extension is a must in the name.
  3. 3
    Type in the first line of the newly created file: @echo off
  4. 4
    Following lines should begin with "start", and contain a name of the executable file (.exe or .com) you want to include. For example: To run calculator, from your Windows "Start" menu, go to "Accessories", right click on calculator and select properties. Copy the shortcut path by highlighting it and pressing Ctrl-C. It should be similar to %SystemRoot%\system32\calc.exe
  5. 5
    Find all the programs you want to include. In this example, calculator and paintbrush are added, batch file will look like:

    @echo off
    start %SystemRoot%\system32\calc.exe
    start %SystemRoot%\system32\mspaint.exe
  6. 6
    Click on the "File" menu and select "Save" and close the file, your job is done.
  7. 7
    Go to the folder where you saved the file (the desktop in this example) and launch your newly created file (startmyprg.bat in this example) and enjoy.
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Edit Tips

  • Use "start /max" instead of just "start" in batch file, for opening the applications in full window.
  • Windows systems may be configured to run programs with either a single or double-click.
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Edit Warnings

  • Works in Windows operating system only.
  • N.B. The path to the programs must be in old DOS style (unbelievable but true) i.e. c:\progra~1\... instead of c:\program files\...

Edit Related wikiHows

How to
Learn Common Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows

How to
Use the Microsoft Batch File Language

How to
Write a Batch File

Article Info

Categories: Hacks

Recent edits by: Chris, BR, Louielou315

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