Assign VBS Script to a Keyboard Shortcut

Question

I have a very basic VBS script that I plan on using frequently on my Windows 7 machine. Is there any way I can bind it to a keyboard shortcut so I don't have to navigate to it through Explorer obnoxiously.

I realize this question does not directly pertain to programming, or even scripting for that matter, but I could not find a straight answer online or through my own experimentation. I'm sure that there is a simple solution somewhere...

Thank you for taking the time to read, and hopefully respond to my inquiry. Evin Ugur.

Solution

Windows does have built-in support for shell shortcut keys, where a keypress is used to invoke an *.lnk file that launches your VBScript (using either cscript or wscript).

Create a shortcut file, have it invoke your VBScript file directly or run cscript or wscript with the appropriate arguments, then save it and open its Properties sheet and set a keystroke in the "Shortcut key" field (I suggest something like Ctrl+Alt+K).

Like so:

Then, whenever you press Ctrl+Alt+K, regardless of the active application, your script will be invoked.

A more heavy-duty alternative is AutoHotKey: http://www.autohotkey.com/