Kill the mouse: Keyboard Shortcuts

by Doug DeVries

There are dozens of keyboard shortcuts to speed up your computing experience. I am always surprised by how rarely people use them.  Here are the biggest time savers:

CTRL-A will select all of the items in the current window. This includes selecting multiple emails at one time in Outlook or Outlook Express.

CTRL-C will copy and CTRL-X will cut the selected text and hold it on your "clipboard" until you paste it somewhere (see next item).

CTRL-V will paste the selected text into a document or email.

ALT-F4 will quit the current program

ALT-TAB will switch between the programs you currently have open.

F5 will refresh the current window or web browser.

Windows Logo Key + M will minimize all windows. Shift-Windows Logo Key + M will undo "minimize all."

Pressing the space bar or enter is equivalent to clicking on the selected item—such as a "Submit" button--which can be a great time saver.

CTRL-F will initiate a "Find/Search" on the current page. This can be handy when trying to find stuff on a webpage.

CTRL-Z will undo your last action. This is most effective in Word documents or emails when you accidentally hit a key and delete all your work.

Shift-Delete will permanently delete a file or email. This will bypass the recycle bin, so be careful - there is no "undo" for this one.

Using one new shortcut may save you dozens of hours in the next year. Just think, you'll have more time to browse random websites and delete your spam email.

Really excited about shortcuts? Check out: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301583