Adding Shortcuts to the Tools Menu

On the Tools tab of the Customize dialog (see Customize Dialog: Tools Tab), you can add shortcuts to outside applications to the Tools menu in Designer to give you immediate access to these applications.

To add a shortcut to a tool, complete the following:

1. Click View, then select Customize.

2. Click the Tools tab.

3. Click New (Figure) on the icon bar above the Menu Contents pane.

   New Shortcut Icon

   
   

   A placeholder for the tool appears in the pane.

   Insert your cursor in the Command text field and type the full path for the executable file of the application you want to be available from the Tools menu.

   or

   With your cursor in the Command text field, click the Open (Figure) button opposite the field. In the Open dialog, locate the executable for the application you want to add. Select the file and click Open.

   Open Icon

   
   

   Instead of typing the full path for the executable in the Command line, you may type the file name of the executable only and type the directory for the executable in the Initial Directory field.

4. You can use the Arguments field to direct the application to open a certain file. The argument requires the full path and file name for the executable followed by the full path and file name for the document you want to open. In this instance, the path for the executable should have forward slashes, there should be a space between the two paths, and the path off the document should be enclosed in quotation marks. For example:

   C:/Program Files/Office/winword.exe "C:\Documents\sa.doc"
   

5. In the Initial Directory field, type the directory for the executable only if the executable file name by itself is entered in the Command field (step 4). Otherwise, leave it empty.

6. Click Close to close the Customize dialog.

   The shortcut for the application is now available on the Tools menu. If you have entered an argument, not only does the application open when you select it from the Tools menu, but the document specified in the argument opens, too.

You can delete a tool at any time by selecting the tool in the Menu Contents pane and clicking Delete (Figure).

Delete Icon

You can change the order in which tools are displayed in the Tools menu by clicking the Move Up or Move Down icon (Figure and Figure, respectively).

Move Up Icon

Move Down Icon