Automatically Run Programs at Windows Startup

My primary computer is a laptop. When I start my computer — either in my office using a docking station or when I’m on the road — I usually open Outlook (my preferred email client) and Chrome (my favorite browser) immediately after the computer finishes its startup sequence.

If you always open the same programs after starting your computers, such as a web browser or email program, you might find it convenient to have these programs start automatically when you start Windows. The Windows operating system provides an easy way for you to tell it what programs to start automatically. Programs or shortcuts placed in the Startup folder will run whenever Windows starts.

It is easy to add shortcuts to this folder. Here are the steps for Windows 7:

• Click the Start button, click All Programs, scroll down to the Startup folder and right-click, and then click Open. This will open the folder in File Explore.
• To find a program you want to add to this folder, click the Start button again and using the search box to locate the program you wish to add to the Startup folder. You can also open the location that contains the item you want to create a shortcut for.
• Right-click the item, and then click Create Shortcut. The new shortcut appears in the same location as the original item.
• Drag the shortcut to the Startup folder. You can also navigate to the Startup folder and select Paste to add the shortcut to the folder.

The next time you start Windows, the program will run automatically.

Note: You can also make an individual file, such as a word processing document, open automatically by dragging a shortcut to the file into the Startup folder.

While this may seem like a small savings in time and effort, I believe anytime you can automate a repeating task the savings add up quickly. What tricks do you use to save time?