Speed up your computer commands with shortcuts
Shortcut keys give you a quicker method for controlling the programs on your computer. Shortcut keys often need you to press two or more keys at once and will usually involve the use of the Alt, Ctrl, Shift or Command Key in addition to another single letter key.
A typical example of a written shortcut key is “Ctrl + S”. This indicates that you need to hold down the Ctrl key and then tap the S key at the same time.
As you start to use shortcut keys and remember them you will notice that a number of different applications share the same ones.
Shortcuts In Microsoft Office Applications
Ctrl + N - New File
Ctrl + O – Open new design file
Ctrl + S – Save Changes
Ctrl + P – Print
Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + R – Undo, Redo
Ctrl + X / Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V – Cut, Copy, Paste
Ctrl + A - Select All
Ctrl + B / Ctrl + I / Ctrl + U - Bold, Italic, Underlined
Shortcuts in Skype
Alt + Page Up - Answer Call
Ctrl + Alt + Page Up - Answer call with video
Alt + Page Down - Hang up
Ctrl + U - Show/Hide Offline Contacts
Shortcuts in Internet Explorer
Alt + Home - Go to Home webpage
Alt + arrow right - Go to next webpage
Alt + arrow left – Go to previous webpage
Alt + D (or just F6) - Jump to address bar
Ctrl + T - Open new tab
Ctrl + Enter - Complete a .com address by adding http:// as a prefix and .com as a suffix
Ctrl + +(plus sign) or Ctrl + forward mouse scroll – Zoom in or increase text size
Ctrl + – (minus sign) or Ctrl + backwards mouse scroll - Zoom out or decrease text size
Shortcuts in Safari (for Mac users)
Command + Home or Command + Shift + H - Go to Home webpage
Shift + Delete - Go to next webpage
Delete – Go to previous webpage
Command + click a link - open link in new window
Spacebar - Scroll screen down by a screenful
Windows 7 Shortcuts
Alt + Tab - Cycle through open programs. Hold Alt and continuously press Tab
Windows key + E – Start Windows Explorer
Windows key + L – Lock the computer
Windows key + D - Minimise all windows, press again to restore to previous state
F11 – Turn full-screen view on or off
Mac OS X Shortcuts
Command + Tab - Cycle through open programs. Hold Command and continuously press Tab
Shift + Command + A - Open the applications folder
Shift + Command + H – Open the home folder for logged-in user
Option + Command + M – Minimise all windows
Command + W – Close Window
These aren’t all the shortcuts available by any means, but I have highlighted some of those I believe can be very useful in popular programs – remember that some may overlap from program to program.
You can also find shortcuts in the other programs by looking for either underlined letters in the menus or the more common shortcuts used will be written next to the task they perform. Why not share your favourite shortcuts with us in the comments below?
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Ian Dixon
How about the obvious ones of Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V and Ctrl-X?
Copy, paste and cut respectively
I can use them on Linux as well as Windows since I switch between the two
boxey
The most useful key for me is PrtScr. In days of DOS this used to send a picture of your screen to a Line Printer . Nowadays it copies a picture of your screen to the clipboard. From there you can paste it into Paint and copy the part you are interested in (say a box of text in a pdf file) and paste that as a picture into a document.
Speaking of DOS days, you can still use Ctrl-insert and Shift-Insert keys instead of Ctrl-V and Ctrl-C. And of course the most valuable of all is Ctrl-z = Undo last change. The one I want more than anything os a shortcut for minimising restoring windows
Michael Gilson
Print Screen is a great feature and thanks for mentioning it.
Here is a great guide for taking screenshots.
http://take-a-screenshot.org/
I was once called a wizard by a family member after recovering her work using the undo shortcut key.
Martin Ross
Alt+Spacebar………….N to mimimise and x to maximise -works in Wdddindows and Linux.
Windows+D will quickly minimise all windows in Winows OS – all versions.
Terry Farrell
Oops! In Microsoft Office, Ctrl+Z and Ctrl +Y are shortcuts for Undo and Redo. Ctrl+R varies in different apps (RightPara in Word).
A useful shortcut in Windows 7 is Windows Key + right arrow key, Enter for Shutdown.
Graham Cox
Thanks for this
lynda
i DESPERATELY NEED FOR CHANGING TEXT FROM UPPER TO LOWER CASE AND VICE VERSA. i’M ALWAYS DOING THAT!
Mark
Lynda – in Microsoft Word, highlight the text you want to change, then press Shift + F3. The text will change each time you press that pair of keys – UPPER CASE – lower case – Sentence – First Letter Capitals.
If you’d like an audible warning that you have pressed Caps Lock, then enable “togglekeys” to get a beep: this site describes how http://www.computerfreetips.com/window_xp/e_toggle_xp.html
Gary
Or … you desperately need to slow down – and pay more attention! :-)
Fergus
Hilite text then SHIFT+F3 for lowercase, UPPERCASE & Capital First Letters in sequence one after the other!!
Ned
tOO TRUE LYNDA:
- aND WHY DO KEYBOARD PRODUCERS MAKE THE CAPS LOCK KEY BIGGER THAN THE CAPS KEY?
- aND WHY CAN THEY NEVER WRITE ON THE KEYBOARD WHAT TYPE IT IS, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO FIND OUT BY EXPERIMENTING WITH EVERY CONCEIVABLE KEY ARRANGEMENT IN WINDOWS SETTINGS? (wINDOWS COULD ALSO HELP BY SHOWING KEY LAYOUT DIAGRAMS)
sylvia
I used to work in an office where trying to get people to use shortcuts or indeed any other time-saving features of a computer was pointless – they didn’t want to know. One woman used to type the same letter every time it was required – she was worried that if she saved it, she would run out of computer space!!!!!
Gavin Bushell
And as a variation, there is also Alt + PrtSc, which does a screen dump but of the current Window only rather than the whole screen.
pwpriory
The most timesaving thing for me would be a way of writing something like your email address by pressing 1 or 2 keys. I know you can do this with Word, but just think how much time you spend in a year typing the email address! any suggestions?
Sandie
pwpriory – download a programme called Auto Hot Key which will print your e mail (or anything else you specify). I have it set up for my e mail with Alt +K, since this combination doesn’t appear to do anything else. It will work anywhere – but most Browsers can also be set up to auto complete e mails.
John
Most forms requiring your email address will respond to you typing the first character of it if you have downloaded the Google Toolbar and filled in your details on the Autofil form.
Lynne
My fave is the F4 function key which repeats your previous action in Office applications.
boxey
Thanks to all. The Alt-Prtsc and Auto Hotkey and Alt-Spacebar… were fantastic time saving tips for me. Now if I could just remember how to save and restore a workspace (I once saw it somewhere) for any given arrangement of applications and windows my life would be complete. There might not be a shortcut key but you never know.
Adam Farah
Ever wanted to view two windows side by side on a single screen, perhaps to compare things?
Well, Windows 7 comes with a nice “snap” feature that can be used to display two active program windows on a single screen.
To get two windows displayed side-by-side on a screen follow these steps:
1. Open the first window (from any program).
2. Press the windows key + ← from your keyboard. The open Window will get re-sized and shifted to the left side of the screen.
3. Open second window (from different or same program).
4. Press the windows key + → from your keyboard. The 2nd windows will get re-sized shifted to right of the screen.
5. You should now have the two open windows side by side proportionately on split screen.
6. Pressing the windows key + ↑ on your keyboard will maximize the active Window.
7. Pressing the windows key + ↓ on your keyboard will “restore down” the active Window if it is maximised, or it will minimize the window if it is not maximized.