Fast Keyboard Tips
Learning Keyboard shortcuts can make life much easier if you do a great deal of typing. Many users are not introduced to keyboard short cuts, because more of the books and training tools out there focus on Mouse commands.
Without a mouse, a great many options and commands are simply not practical, for example; getting to a program on the Start Menu that is three of four levels deep. However, there are keyboard commands for a many of your common needs, and using them can help speed up your computer tasks. In this article we are going to go through several of these.
The most common keyboard commands I use are Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-X, Ctrl-W, Ctrl-S, Alt-Tab, and Windows Key-L.
Ctrl-C: The Copy command. Highlighting anything in just about any program (browsers, MS Word, MS Excel), normally allows you to copy that item. You can highlight a word, choose a picture or even a file in a folder and press Ctrl-C to copy that item to the Clipboard.
Ctrl-V: The Paste command. Once the item is copied, to recover it from the clipboard into a Word Document, Excel Spread Sheet or into a folder, we use the Paste command.
Not every program allows Copy and Paste, but the ones that do usually respond to the same key combinations.
Ctrl-X:The Cut command. Cut is like Copy, only we don’t want the original. If you highlight a file in a folder, like we did with the Copy command, and then use Ctrl-X, the file disappears. It is not deleted however; it is moved to the Clipboard. If the computer shuts down at this point we loose the file. Using Ctrl-V (Paste) moves the file from the clipboard, into the active program or folder.
Ctrl-W: Close Current Window. This command works for open programs, and even file directories. Ctrl-W closes the current focused program. However, if that program has the ability to open several files in the same window, typically Ctrl-W closes the current file first, and if no files are open, it then closes the program. This is different than the way Alt-F4 works. Alt-F4 closes the focused program.
In Tabbed browsers, such as Firefox for instance, if you have several tabs open, Ctrl-W starts by closing the active visible Tab. Hit multiple times, Ctrl-W closes all open tabs, and finally the FireFox program. After that is closed, it works on the next open program.
Ctrl-S:Save File. This should be one that you train yourself simply to hit periodically while working on documents, spreadsheets and other data areas. Most programs these days have auto-save functions, but I never rely on those functions. It is really easy to pause for a moment after every few minutes and hit Ctrl-S. Hands never leave the keyboard and my data is safe even if the power suddenly goes out.
Alt-Tab: Cycle through open programs. If you need to jump back and forth between programs, such as a browser to a spreadsheet, or mail program; you can use the mouse to click on the Start bar, or you can press the key combination Alt-Tab. Alt-Tab cycles quickly through the programs you have running, allowing easy and fast switching between them, without having to take your hands off the keyboard.
WindowsKey-L: Lock down the computer. To keep your computer secure when you are heading for lunch or called away from your desk for a quick meeting, you can go through the log-out process, or just key the Windows Key with L. Not all keyboards have a Windows-Key, it is a key with the MS Windows Logo on it, and those keyboards that do have it, don’t seem to follow any specific placement for the key. However, if you do have one, this combination is one that you may want to get use to using. (Like the Ctrl-S combination).
Other Windows Key combinations are:
Windows: Display the Start menu
Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
Making your own HotKeys
Keyboard combinations do save a great deal of time, and also keep creative flow going. Making our own hot key combinations to start programs we use often can be just as rewarding, and very simple to setup.
To do this we work with Short Cut links. There are only two places (that I know of) where this process works with the Short Cut links. One, is any short cut link on your desktop, and the other is any short cut link in the Programs area of your Start Menu.
To setup a key combination to start a program, Right Click on the short cut, and then choose Properties (at the bottom of the floating menu). Then use the mouse to click once into the Shortcut Key: text field area. Now we are ready to press on the keyboard the combination we want to assign to this program.
You will want to choose a combination that is not already being used. For example you wouldn’t want to use Ctrl-C or something like that. Using Ctrl-Alt- and then a letter or number is usually fairly safe. If the key combination is already assigned, then the action will be taken, and the field won’t change.
If the Link is ever deleted, then the key combination will not work any longer. For this reason I prefer to set up Hot keys using the links on the Start Menu, rather than the ones on the Desktop.
There are many more keyboard combintation which you can use, and some fairly cool mouse tricks as well which can speed up your computer tasks, and make time at the computer much more enjoyable. If you need further help with key combinations or anything else for that matter, touch base with us in the Help Forum.
