Keyboard Shortcuts

By knowing the correct keyboard shortcuts you can manipulate items on your screen as fast (sometimes faster) as your mouse can.

If your computer mouse suddenly stopped working and all you had left to use was your keyboard, what would you do?

Well, for starters, you would want to check and make sure that the mouse is plugged into your computer securely.

If that doesn't fix it, and you are using a USB type connector mouse, you may want to try a different USB port on your computer.

If the mouse still doesn't work, you should perform a RESTART on your PC. A restart will allow your computer to "find" all of the peripheral hardware (keyboard, mouse, printer, etc.) you have connected to your computer.

But wait, let's say that even restarting your computer can't revive your mouse, and it is truly "dead". Would you feel completely helpless without the use of your mouse? I believe a lot of people would.

Well, don't worry, all is not lost. By knowing the correct keyboard "key combinations" you can manipulate items on your screen as fast (sometimes faster) than your mouse can.

Note: When you see a shortcut such as CTRL+SHIFT+TAB. This means you must press and hold the CTRL key, the SHIFT key, and the TAB key at the same time to perform the corresponding function. In this case CTRL+SHIFT+TAB would allow you to move backward through tabs in a dialog box.

Here is just a sample of some of the more common "keyboard shortcuts" and what they do:

  KEY COMBO		DOES WHAT?
=============        ================
		
CTRL+A		     Select all items
		
CTRL+C		     Copies selected item
		
CTRL+X		     Cuts selected item
		
CTRL+V		     Pastes selected item
		
CTRL+Z		     Undoes what you just did
		
CTRL+ESC	     Display the Start menu
		
DELETE		     Deletes selected item
		
F2  		     Renames selected item
		
F3  		     Search for a file or folder
		
F5		     Refresh the active window
		
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW     Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word
		
CTRL+LEFT ARROW	     Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word
		
CTRL+DOWN ARROW	     Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph
		
CTRL+UP ARROW	     Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph
		
ALT+F4		     Closes the active item or program.
		
ALT+SPACEBAR	     Opens menu for the active window.
		
ALT+TAB		     Switch between open items.
		
ESC		     Cancel the current task.

The key to using these commands is practice. Print a copy of this list and keep it near your computer. As you type, try some of the commands to get a feel for using them. The more that you use them, the quicker they will become second nature to you.

For a more complete list of Windows keyboard shortcuts click here.

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