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.
Admission Open For
- LPU University 2022 Application Open. Apply Now >
- Manav Rachna University 2022 Application Open. Apply Now >
- MIT Pune 2022 Application Open. Apply Now >
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 |
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 |
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!