Keyboard Shortcuts Revisited
Ami Kastner

Do you find yourself constantly moving from program to program or copying information from one location and pasting it in another? Are you continuously changing the format of your text? Do you often make mistakes and wish there was an easier way to "undo" what you just did. Well, read on to learn about some very simple keyboard shortcuts that will ease your flow when working with multiple programs or trying to do basic formatting.

Ctrl + Z:
Ctrl + Z is one of the most handy keyboard shortcuts to remember. This is the undo combination. If you hit a wrong letter or you do not like the formatting you just did, Ctrl + Z will undo it for you. Maybe you have a child who decided to hit a few keys while you weren't looking, Ctrl + Z will take care of it almost every time!

Highlighting Text:
Do you ever get tired of having to grab your mouse to do your highlighting? Well, there is another option. By holding down the Shift and then using the arrow buttons, you can easily highlight text. Using the left and right arrow buttons while holding down the Shift key will highlight one letter at a time. Using the up and down arrows will highlight one line at a time. Want to highlight a whole word or paragraph? Hold down both the Shift key and Ctrl key and then use the arrows. The left and right arrows will highlight one word at a time while the up and down arrows will highlight by paragraph.

Basic Formatting

Ctrl + B:
Holding down the Ctrl button and then pressing B will bold any text that you have highlighted or will bold any text you type until you turn off the bold feature by using the same combination.

Ctrl + I:
Ctrl + I will make any highlighted text show in italics or will italicize any text that you type until you turn the formatting off.

Ctrl + U:
To underline text, simply hold down the Ctrl key and press U.

Ctrl + C:
This combination will copy any text or item that you have highlighted.

Ctrl + X:
Ctrl + X will cut any text or objects that you have highlighted.

Ctrl + V:
After you have either done the Ctrl + C or Ctrl + X combinations, you can press Ctrl + V to paste the item(s) wherever your curser is.

Other Shortcuts

Ctrl + S:
Ctrl + S is a very important combination to remember. This will save your work the same as if you were to go to File and Save. If you are getting ready to move to another program, it is always a good idea to save. You can never save too often!

Alt + Tab:
Holding down the Alt button and then pressing the Tab button is an extremely simple way to jump between programs. If you have several programs running and are typing something in Word and decide you want to check your email, simply hold down the Alt button and press Tab. This will bring up a little window that shows all of the programs or documents you have open. You can then easily jump to the one you want by pressing Tab. When you release the Alt button you will be right where you left off in that program or document.

Alt + F4:
Using the Alt + F4 combination will close the current window you are viewing. Maybe you have a web browser open and are ready to close it. Simply press Alt + F4, and you are on your way.

Ctrl + Esc:
Pressing the Ctrl button and then pressing Escape will bring the Start menu into view.

These are just some of the basic keyboard shortcuts that can help you move around your system or help you do some quick formatting. Enjoy testing some of them out, and if you have any questions, please call Drake Hardware & Software at 319.752.1155.