Newsletter Archives

July, 2006

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PC Tips & Tricks #7
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This month, we’re going to show you how to save time by using some of the most common keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard Shortcuts
ALT + Tab – Switch between open programs.
ALT + F4 – Close the active program.
Win + M – Minimizes all active programs to the taskbar, showing the desktop.
Win + E – Opens Windows File Explorer.
SHIFT + DEL – Delete the selected file(s) immediately without placing the file(s) in the Recycle Bin. Eliminates the need for emptying the Recycle Bin but you won’t be able to undo your deletion without using special file recovery software like Media Investigator.
F1 – Help.
CTRL + F – Find a word or phrase in a document.
CTRL + A – Selects an entire document’s contents. Equivalent to clicking and dragging so as to highlight the entire document.
CTRL + X – Cuts the selection.
CTRL + C – Copies the selection.
CTRL + V – Pastes the selection from the point where the cursor is.
CTRL + B – Bold font.
CTRL + I – Italic font.
CTRL + U – Underline.
CTRL + Z – Undo last action. Can often be used repeatedly to undo several actions.

Mouse Shortcuts
Double click on a word – Select the word.
Triple click on a word – Select the paragraph.
Left click in the left margin – Selects the whole line.

Where To Find More
Want to learn more shortcuts? Simply enter the keywords “windows shortcuts” or “keyboard shortcuts” in your favourite search engine and you’ll find URL’s like:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449/
http://www.computerhope.com/shortcut.htm
http://www.worldstart.com/guides/shortcuts.htm

Also, most programs have a letter underlined in their file menus at the top of the screen. Pressing ALT plus the underlined letter is the same as clicking on that menu option.

Summary
Using the shortcuts above for frequently used actions will save you more time than it takes to learn them, so spend a moment learning a couple now. Most programs will also have their own shortcut keys listed beside their menu options.

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