You can assign function hotkeys to your most commonly used spells/skills. If you go into the hotkey section of the options, you can reassign some of the default keys to free up the function keys for spells or potions (for example, I freed up F1 to F5 by removing the 'switch leader' key and changing the character selection hotkeys to 1, 2, etc and 'select all' to ` ).
You can also assign ctrl-Fx hotkeys to skills and potions.
Only the right click 'give to' command automatically equips the item, if that is possible. To transfer an item without equipping it, you can drag and drop it into another inventory window, or (more conveniently) onto the character's portrait.
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