Patent ID: 8849260

Claim:
A method for providing a shortcut service in a portable terminal, the method comprising: in response to a selection of a shortcut setup mode, displaying a visual user interface configured for operation on the portable terminal's touch screen, wherein the visual user interface includes an array of icon slots including icons of candidate applications for shortcut setup operation and a shortcut setup area and wherein the shortcut setup area includes a vacant icon slot for receiving an icon moved from the list via a drag operation by a user; registering an application among the plurality of applications to the shortcut setup area in response to detecting a drag of a displayed icon for the application onto the vacant icon slot; upon detecting presence of the dragged icon in the vacant icon slot and a selection of a shortcut button, mapping the shortcut setup area to a shortcut button based on a number of times the shortcut button was input or a shortcut button input duration; and executing the registered application in response to detecting an input of the shortcut button.