Weekly Tip #9: Windows Shortcut Keys

Hello there,

Sorry for skipping out on the weekly tip last week - it was a very busy week here in NerdLand.

This week I'm going to go over a few of the most useful windows shortcut keys. It is possible to navigate through Windows using only your keybard if you know how to!

Tab Key
Most users know that hitting the tab key will move your cursor to the next available area/line/field. But did you know that SHIFT-TAB allows you to do the same thing, except backwards? So if you're filling out a form that has
Name:
Address:
Phone Number:

You type your name, tab to Address, tab to Phone Number, but whoops, you made a mistake with the address. Don't touch your mouse! Just hit shift-tab to make the cursor jump back to the Address field automatically!

Also, ALT-TAB brings up a window showing you all the open programs on your system. Once you press alt-tab, keep holding alt, then tap the TAB key to highlight the program you want to bring to the front (in focus). Release the TAB key and that windows pops to the front!

CTRL
The CTRL is very useful. The most commonly used CTRL shortcuts are:

CTRL-C (copy highlighted selection)
CTRL-V (paste)
CTRL-X (cut highlighted selection (deletes it but stores it in memory to be pasted lateR)

But did you know that:

CTRL-ESC opens the Start Menu?
CTRL-Z undoes your last action (let's say you accidentally erased a paragraph in Microsoft Word - just hit ctrl-z and it magically reappears as it was!)
CTRL-B turns on/off bold text
CTRL-I turns on/off italics
CTRL-U turns on/off underlining

Windows Key
Most new keyboards have a Windows Logo key on them. This button has shortcuts associated with it as well.

WIN+M minimizes all open windows to show the desktop
WIN+D minimizes/restores all open windows
WIN+R shows the "Run" line
WIN+Pause/Break shows "System Properties" window (same as if you right click "My Computer, and click "Properties".
WIN+E opens Windows Explorer in Folder View

There are plenty more, just do a search on "Windows Shortcut Keys" in Google. These are some of the most useful, in my opinion.

Until next time!
Ben