Have you ever noticed that in the menu bar at the top of the screen some of the letters are underlined? For instance, the letter "F" in the word File is underlined. If you look closely at a few different programs, you will see that usually the first letter is underlined, but sometimes a different letter is the chosen one. You may see the "o" in Format underlined or the "a" in Favorites. These keys are marked as shortcut keys. Press and hold down the ALT key while you press the indicated letter and you can access your chosen menu without lifting your fingers off the keyboard to use the mouse.
After you have chosen one of the items from the menu bar, a drop-down menu will appear with further choices. (Try it by clicking on the word File in the upper left corner of your screen, or use the shortcut explained above of Alt+F.) Again, some of the letters in the words will be underlined. You can use any underlined letter to choose that option. Pressing the chosen letter is the same as clicking your mouse on the chosen word. However, you will also notice that some of the words in the drop-down menu have another shortcut shown to the right of the word. For instance, the word save has a CTRL-S next to it. This means that you can use the CTRL-S shortcut even if the menu is not shown. For example, you press and hold down the CTRL key and the "s" key simultaneously to save a file even if you did not open the File drop-down menu first.
The Menu Bar
After you have chosen one of the items from the menu bar, a drop-down menu will appear with further choices. (Try it by clicking on the word File in the upper left corner of your screen, or use the shortcut explained above of Alt+F.) Again, some of the letters in the words will be underlined. You can use any underlined letter to choose that option. Pressing the chosen letter is the same as clicking your mouse on the chosen word. However, you will also notice that some of the words in the drop-down menu have another shortcut shown to the right of the word. For instance, the word save has a CTRL-S next to it. This means that you can use the CTRL-S shortcut even if the menu is not shown. For example, you press and hold down the CTRL key and the "s" key simultaneously to save a file even if you did not open the File drop-down menu first.
Keyboard shortcuts are very useful. As a matter of fact, they can help to make your computing life much more pleasant. They are available in most Windows programs, but finding them can be a tiresome task. Many, but not all, Windows programs share the same shortcuts.
The Basics
Start with the most obvious ones, the shortcuts found on the menu bar, as described above. Of these shortcuts, here are a few of the most useful:
- DELETE removes the file, text, or graphic that you have highlighted and sends it to the recycle bin.
- CTRL+S Saves the current file.
- CTRL+X Removes the current highlighted selection and places it in an area of the computer memory.
- CTRL+C Copies the current highlighted selection. It removes it from the document and places it in the clipboard.
- CTRL+V Pastes whatever is in the clipboard into the document at the current location of the cursor.
- CTRL+A Selects or highlights all of the text and/or objects in a document. This is handy when you want to move or copy everything in the current document.
- CTRL+P Prints the current document.
- CTRL+O Opens a new document. This is especially useful surfing the Web. In Netscape Navigator and newer versions of Internet Explorer, this will bring up a window where you can enter a Web address. (Older versions of Internet Explorer use CTRL+L instead of CTRL+O.
In addition to these shortcuts, each program has other, less obvious shortcuts. You can usually find these by going to the Help menu and typing in the word "shortcut" or "keyboard shortcut". However, sometimes it is difficult to unearth these tips. A few of them are completely undocumented so you won't even find them in the help menu. Let me share with you a few of my favorites.
Windows Key
If you have a Windows keyboard, in Windows 95/98, you have some extra shortcuts at your fingertips. How do you know if you have a Windows keyboard? It's easy. Look at the keyboard; a Windows keyboard labels one or two keys on the bottom row with the Microsoft Windows logo. These keys are very handy. Pressing the Windows key alone will display the Start menu.
One of my favorites is to use the Windows key +D to minimize all the open windows and quickly return to the Windows desktop. Pressing Windows +D again will restore all windows to their previous location.
If you have a Windows keyboard, you will also see a key with a design that looks like a list of words on a piece of paper. This is called the application key. It is a shortcut for right clicking. It will display an item's shortcut menu.
Function Keys
Most computer keyboards have a row of function keys at the top of the keyboard. These keys are marked F1 through F12. While they were widely used with older DOS programs, they are seldom used today. However many programs, including most of Microsoft's popular products, support use of the function keys. As a throwback to DOS days, you will find that the F1 key will often bring up a help menu. The function keys are also often used in combination with other keys like the CTRL key, the ALT key, and the Shift key. This results in a plethora of possible keyboard shortcuts. Look in the help menu of the program that you are using to find a list of the function keys and their uses.
Shortcuts to Help You Navigate
Ever want to move quickly to the beginning or end of a document? Most programs will take you there immediately when you use CTRL+Home or CTRL+End.
If you have several windows open at the same time, using ALT+Tab will switch you to the window that you last used. Holding down ALT while repeatedly pressing TAB will cycle you through all of the open windows.
Shortcuts to Help You Find Things
If you have a Windows keyboard, pressing Windows+F at the Windows desktop (the main Windows screen) will bring up the find window which is a help when you can't find a file. If you don't have a Windows keyboard, F3 will bring up the find window.
If your Windows desktop is cluttered with icons and files, you may have trouble finding the one that you are looking for. If that's the case, simply press the first letter of the name of program or icon that you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking for Internet Explorer, press the "I" key. If Internet Explorer is the only icon on your desktop that starts with the letter I, it will be highlighted. If there are other icons or shortcuts that start with the letter I, pressing the I key again will highlight each I icon in alphabetical order.
Power User Shortcuts
You can delete an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin by pressing Shift +Delete. But be careful. Once you do this, there is no way to retrieve the item.
When you are at the Windows desktop, use Windows+E to pop up Windows Explorer. If you have been using My Computer to view or move files, Windows Explorer is like My Computer, but a bit more powerful. If you have never used Explorer, try it. It's worth a look.
Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties to get to the System Properties screen where you can find some of the inner workings of the computer. To get there even faster, hold down the ALT key and then click on My Computer. For those of you who don't want to get that intimate with your computer, this shortcut may still be useful since it takes you to the screen which tells you which operating system you are using, the type of processor in your computer, and the amount of memory that your computer has.
Shortcuts for the Mac User
If you are a Mac user, you should rejoice. There are even more, and sometimes better, shortcuts for the Mac. If you jumped right here from the top of the page, please go back and read the above information in this article. Even though it is written for the PC, you will find that quite a bit can be used for the Mac as well.
Mac shortcuts revolve around the Command key, which is the key with the Apple on it, plus the symbol that looks like a freeway interchange, the Control key, and the Function Keys. Although the Mac does not have underlined letters in the main menu bar, when you open any item on the menu bar, you will see the shortcut keys listed next to each item. In many cases, the shortcuts are similar to PC shortcuts. For example, use Comand+S to save, Command+W to close a window, and Command+F to open the find screen. Fortunately for you Mac users, most of the shortcuts are easy to find. Just click on Help and type in "Shortcut".
The End
Whatever you are doing, there are probably shortcut keys to help you. Even if you love using the mouse, there are times when you will find shortcuts keys will save you time and energy. Just think if you discovered only one shortcut a month and learned to use it, by the end of the year not only would you be more productive, but you might also like your computer more.
