In my old post I described a simple trick that shows how to set up a hot key that can be assigned to execute shortcuts (.LNK files) placed on a Desktop or in a Start Menu. This action survives reboots and logon/logoffs so it’s a nice, and somehow accidental persistence mechanism.

Turns out there is one more variant of this trick that relies on using the .URL files.

Placing a .URL files containing the following data:

[InternetShortcut]
URL=file:///c:/windows/system32/calc.exe
HotKey=768

on a Desktop will assign CTRL+SHIFT sequence to an action that will trigger the execution of the calculator.

The Hotkey can be assigned either manually (via properties):

– in such case you won’t be able to assign the more trickier combinations like CTRL+SHIFT. Or we can do it manually, and in such case all the hotkey tricks are available. All you have to do is to assign a proper value to the HotKey parameter inside the .url file.

You can find out what values represent what codes or by experimenting… or… you can cheat and read this old guide: An Unofficial Guide to the URL File Format.