How to Activate a Screensaver Keyboard Shortcut

A screensaver shortcut immediately activates your desktop screensaver, rather than waiting a set number of idle minutes. Windows 7 does not ship with such a shortcut, but you can easily create one. Although a desktop shortcut allows you to double-click it to activate the screensaver, the mere act of moving your mouse while double-clicking can deactivate the screensaver. Setting up a keyboard shortcut key prevents this from happening by activating the desktop shortcut without ever touching your mouse.

Instructions

1. Right-click an empty area of your Windows 7 desktop, point to "new" and select "Shortcut."

2. Type "C:\Windows\System32\scrnsave.scr" in the "Create Shortcut" window and click "Next."

3. Type "Screensaver" as the name of your shortcut and click "Finish."

4. Right-click the newly created shortcut and select "Properties."

5. Enter a shortcut key combination in the field labeled "Shortcut key." If you type a single letter, it will be preceded by "Ctrl + Alt + ." The displayed key is what you would type to activate your screensaver keyboard shortcut. For example, you would activate "Ctrl + Alt + S" by holding the "Ctrl" and "Shift" keys while pressing "S."

6. Click "OK" to apply your new shortcut key.