|
Stop
Mousing Around! Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts Time is money. When
you constantly divide your time between your mouse and your keyboard, your productivity
can be slowed down. Particularly if you use a laptop and you don’t
have a mouse or the pointing device is slow, or so small you can barely get your
finger on it. Can’t grow another arm no matter how much you wish for
it? Check out this list of shortcuts. You might not have a use for
them all, but we guarantee you’ll love at least a few, and wonder what you
ever did without them. Learn them, use them, save LOTS of time and give
your over-worked mouse a well-deserved break.
| Primary Key
|
Additional Key(s)
|
Action |
| ALT
|
+ F4 = |
Terminates
any program immediately |
| +
TAB = |
Hold down ‘Alt’
key and press ‘tab’ to cycle through open windows. |
| + ENTER = |
Display
a file’s properties |
| Primary Key
|
Additional Key(s)
|
Action |
WINDOWS
KEY
(Start Key)
Opens the Start Menu |
+
M = |
Terminates any program immediately |
| + M + SHIFT
= |
Hold down ‘Alt’ key
and press ‘tab’ to cycle through open windows. |
| + E = |
Display
a file’s properties |
| +
D = |
Switches between
minimizing all open programs and showing them all |
| + F = |
Opens
“Find” window (in Windows Explorer) |
| + R = |
Opens
“Run” window |
| + BREAK/PAUSE =
|
Opens Systems Properties |
| +
TAB = |
Cycles through
items on the task bar. ‘Enter’ to open. |
| Primary Key
|
Additional Key(s)
|
Action |
| CTRL |
+
ESCAPE = |
Terminates any program immediately |
| + X, C, V =
|
Cut, copy and paste respectively |
| + B, I = |
Highlight
text, then Ctrl + B or Ctrl + I. Presto…instant bold or italics respectively. |
| +
Y = |
Repeats last
action. i.e. you just added a row to a table. Click Ctrl +Y and add another one.
Keep doing it and add even more |
| +
Z = |
Undoes anything |
| + SPACEBAR = |
Removes
all local formatting |
| + HOME/END =
|
Move to the top and bottom of a document,
respectively |
| +
SHIFT = |
While dragging
a file – creates a shortcut to the file |
| Primary Key
|
Additional Key(s)
|
Action |
| SHIFT |
+
TAB = |
Move backwards through a form |
| + RESTART =
|
To restart Windows and not your whole
computer. Hold down the ‘Shift’ key when you click the OK button on
the shutdown screen. Save lots of time. |
| +
DELETE = |
Deletes an item without sending
it to the recycle bin |
| +
F3 = |
Toggles case.
Hate it when people type in all uppercase? If ripping their caps lock key off
their keyboard might get you fired, then simply highlight the text and use Shift
+F3 to switch case from upper, to lower. Press Shift +F3 again, and initial caps
will appear at the beginning of each sentence. Try it - you’ll love it! |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joseph Stoll is the founder and president
of The Technical Action Group Inc. (TAG) that helps small to medium-sized companies
that depend on computer systems to conduct their business. By TAG assuming the
burden of managing their technology and keeping all systems running at their optimum,
these companies can stay focused on their core business. For more information
please visit http://www.TechnicalActionGroup.com
or email JStoll@TechnicalActionGroup.com
.
NOTE: You may “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete
and unaltered (including the “ABOUT THE AUTHOR” information), and send a copy
of the reprint to
JStoll@TechnicalActionGroup.com
. |
