Whether you’re a PC or Mac user, you’ve likely come across the term “shortcut.” You may not know exactly what it means, but chances are you’ve used one before. Shortcuts are handy shortcuts that allow you to start your work faster and easier.
Shortcuts have been around for a long time, and they have evolved as technology has. Each operating system creates its own set of keyboard shortcuts, and this article will be an easy-to-follow guide on what these shortcut keys are and how to use them. The goal is to make sure that your computer is running at full steam so that it allows for quick access to all the applications on your desktop.
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What Are Shortcuts?
Shortcuts are basically actions that can be initiated with a key on your keyboard.
For example, pressing “Ctrl+C” will copy whatever is currently on your clipboard to the computer’s clipboard.
Computer Shortcut Keys – Basic Key
Shortcuts Work of shortcuts Alt + F File menu options in the current program Alt + E Edits options in the current program F1 Universal help (for any sort of program) Ctrl + A Selects all text Ctrl + X Cuts the selected item Ctrl + Del Cut selected item Ctrl + C Copy the selected item Ctrl + Ins Copy the selected item Ctrl + V Paste the selected item Shift + Ins Paste the selected item Home Takes the user to the start of the current line Ctrl + Home Go to the beginning of the document End Go to the end of the current line Ctrl + End Go to the end of a document Shift + Home Highlight from the prevailing position to the start of the line Shift + End Highlight from the prevailing position to end of the line Ctrl + (Left arrow) Move one term to the left at a time Ctrl + (Right arrow) Move one term to the right at a time
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Computer Shortcut Keys-MS Word
Shortcuts Work of shortcuts Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection Ctrl + C Copy selected text Ctrl + X Cut selected text Ctrl + N Open new/blank document Ctrl + O Open options Ctrl + P Open the print window Ctrl + F Open find box Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection Ctrl + K Insert link Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection Ctrl + V Paste Ctrl + G Find and replace options Ctrl + H Find and replace options Ctrl + J Justify paragraph alignment Ctrl + L Align selected text or line to the left Ctrl + Q Align selected paragraph to the left Ctrl + E Align selected text or line to the centre Ctrl + R Align selected text or line to the right Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph Ctrl + T Hanging indent Ctrl + D Font options Ctrl + Shift + F Change the font Ctrl + Shift + > Increase selected font +1 Ctrl + ] Increase selected font +1 Ctrl + [ Decrease selected font -1 Ctrl + Shift + * View or hide non printing characters Ctrl + (Left arrow) Move one word to the left Ctrl + (Right arrow) Move one word to the right Ctrl + (Up arrow) Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph Ctrl + (Down arrow) Move to the end of the paragraph Ctrl + Del Delete the word to the right of the cursor Ctrl + Backspace Delete the word to the left of the cursor Ctrl + End Move the cursor to the end of the document Ctrl + Home Move the cursor to the beginning of the document Ctrl + Space Reset highlighted text to the default font Ctrl + 1 Single-space lines Ctrl + 2 Double-space lines Ctrl + 5 1.5-line spacing Ctrl + Alt + 1 Change text to heading 1 Ctrl + Alt + 2 Change text to heading 2 Ctrl + Alt + 3 Change text to heading 3 Shift + F3 Change case of selected text Shift + Insert Paste F4 Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) F7 Spell check selected text and/or document Shift + F7 Activate the thesaurus F12 Save as Ctrl + S Save Shift + F12 Save Alt + Shift + D Insert the current date Alt + Shift + T Insert the current time Ctrl + W Close document Ctrl+= Set chosen text as a subscript. Ctrl+Shift+= Set chosen text as superscript.
Computer Shortcut Keys-Microsoft Windows
Shortcuts Work of shortcuts Alt + Tab Switch between open applications Alt + Shift + Tab Switch backwards between open applications Alt + Print Screen Create a screenshot for the current program Ctrl + Alt + Del Reboot/Windows task manager Ctrl + Esc Bring up the start menu Alt + Esc Switch between applications on the taskbar F2 Rename selected icon F3 Start to find from the desktop F4 Open the drive selection when browsing F5 Refresh contents Alt + F4 Close the current open program Ctrl + F4 Close window in the program Ctrl + Plus Key Automatically set widths of all columns in Windows Explorer Alt + Enter Open properties window of selected icon or program Shift + F10 Simulate right-click on selected item Shift + Del Delete programs/files permanently
Computer Shortcut Keys- Powerpoint
Shortcuts Work of shortcuts Esc Exit the slide show and go back to the earlier live view. Ctrl+K Enter a hyperlink. Ctrl+M Include a new, blank slide after the chosen slide. Ctrl+N Open a new, blank slide in a different PowerPoint program window. CTRL + D Duplicate the current slide Ctrl+Shift+> Increases the chosen text size by one font size. Ctrl+Shift+< Decreases the chosen text size by one font size. CTRL + G Group things together F5 Start presentation from the initial slide
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Computer Shortcut Keys- MS Excel
Shortcuts Work of shortcuts F2 Edit the selected cell F5 Go to a specific cell F7 Spell check selected text and/or document F11 Create chart Ctrl + Shift +; Enter the current time Ctrl +; Enter the current date Alt + Shift + F1 Insert new worksheet Shift + F3 Open the Excel formula window Shift + F5 Bring up the search box Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection Ctrl + D Fill Ctrl + K Insert link Ctrl + F Open find and replace options Ctrl + G Open go-to options Ctrl + H Open find and replace options Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection Ctrl + Y Underline selected text Ctrl + 5 Strikethrough highlighted selection Ctrl + O Open options Ctrl + N Open new document Ctrl + P Open print dialog box Ctrl + Z Undo the last action Ctrl + F9 Minimize current window Ctrl + F10 Maximize currently selected window Ctrl + F6 Switch between open workbooks/windows Ctrl + Page up & Page Down Move between Excel worksheets in the same document Ctrl + Tab Move between two or more open Excel files Alt + = Create the formula to sum all of the above cells Ctrl + Insert the value of the above cell into the current cell Ctrl + Shift + ! Format number in comma format Ctrl + Shift + $ Format number in currency format Ctrl + Shift + # Format number in date format Ctrl + Shift + % Format number in percentage format Ctrl + Shift + ^ Format number in scientific format Ctrl + Shift + @ Format number in time format Ctrl + (Right arrow) Move to next section of text Ctrl + Space Select entire column Shift + Space Select entire row Ctrl + W Close document
Conclusion
Now that you know about shortcuts, let’s see what shortcuts you should be using to make your computer work for you.
In this article, we have given you a list of the most common shortcuts that you should start using on your computer. There are many other shortcuts out there; these are just some of the most important ones. We hope that this article helped you understand how to use computer shortcut keys and put the power back in your hands!