Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

There are “mouse” people and then there are “keyboard” people.   I have to admit that I fall into the category of a keyboard person as I always find it much faster to use shortcuts.  But then if you are trying to teach others how to use a program, I run into the problem of using shortcuts and confusing people.   You can usually find the shortcuts in programs as they are usually right beside the command, but some shortcuts are not obvious.   My favourite two shortcuts are for copy and paste and I am always amazed how many people don’t know these shortcuts.   For those of you who really want to know some of the shortcuts, a very brief listing of some is below.

Windows program key combinations

• CTRL > C Copy
• CTRL > X Cut
• CTRL > V Paste
• CTRL > Z Undo
• CTRL > B Bold
• CTRL > U Underline
• CTRL > I Italic

General Folder/Windows Explorer shortcuts

For a selected object

• F2 Rename object
• F3 Find all files
• CTRL > X Cut
• CTRL > C Copy
• CTRL > V Paste
• SHIFT > DELETE Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
• ALT > ENTER Open the properties for the selected object
• To copy a file – Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.
• To create a shortcut – Press and hold down CTRL > SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.

General folder/shortcut control keys

• F4 Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
• F5 Refreshes the current window.
• F6 Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
• CTRL > G Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
• CTRL > Z Undo the last command
• CTRL > A Select all the items in the current window
• BACKSPACE Switch to the parent folder
• SHIFT > click > Close button For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders

Enjoy!