Shortcut keys ABCs

Shortcut keys help provide an easier and usually quicker method of navigating and using computer software programs. Shortcut keys are commonly accessed by using the Alt (on IBM compatible computers), command key (on Apple computers), Ctrl, and/or Shift in conjunction with a single letter. The de facto standard for listing a shortcut is listing themodifier key, a plus symbol, and the single character. Or in other words, "ALT+S" is telling you to press the Alt key and while continuing to hold the Alt key, press the S key to perform the shortcut. In addition to the shortcuts listed on this page, users can find the shortcut keys to their most popular program by looking for underlined letters in their menus. For example, in the picture to the right you'll can notice that the "F" in File has been underlined. You will then know that you can press the Alt key and F to access the File menu (Note: Some programs require the user press and hold ALT to see the underlined characters). Finally, as can also be seen some of the common features such as Open (Ctrl+O) and Save (Ctrl+S) have shortcut keys assigned to them. As you begin to work with shortcut keys you will notice that several applications share the same shortcut keys. We have listed many of these keys in our basic PC shortcut keys section. Note: Users outside the United States or users using a foreign copy of a Microsoft Windows or Microsoft application may not be able to get all the below shortcut keys to perform the function listed below.

Basic PC shortcut keys

The below basic shortcut keys are a listing of shortcut keys that will work with almost all IBM compatible computers and software programs. It is highly recommended that all users keep a good reference of the below short cut keys and/or try to memorize the below keys. Doing so will dramatically increase your productivity. Shortcut Keys Alt + F Alt + E F1 Ctrl + A Ctrl + X Shift + Del Ctrl + C Description File menu options in current program. Edit options in current program Universal Help in almost every Windows program. Select all text. Cut selected item. Cut selected item. Copy selected item.

Ctrl + Ins Ctrl + V Shift + Ins Home Ctrl + Home End Ctrl + End Shift + Home Shift + End Ctrl + Left arrow

Copy selected item Paste Paste Goes to beginning of current line. Goes to beginning of document. Goes to end of current line. Goes to end of document. Highlights from current position to beginning of line. Highlights from current position to end of line. Moves one word to the left at a time.

Ctrl + Right arrow Moves one word to the right at a time.

Question:

What are the F1 through F12 keys?

Answer: Commonly known as "function keys", F1 through F12 may have a variety of different uses or no use at all. Depending on the installed operating system and the software program currently open will change how each of these keys operate. A program is capable of not only using each of the function keys, but also combining the function keys with the ALTand/or CTRL keys, for example, Microsoft Windows users can press ALT + F4 to close the program currently active. Below is a short-listing of some of the common functions of the functions keys on computers running Microsoft Windows. As mentioned above not all programs support function keys and/or may perform different tasks then those mentioned below. If you are looking for more specific shortcut keys and function key examples we suggest seeing our shortcut key page. F1

Almost always used as the help key, almost every program will open the help screen when this key is pressed. Windows Key + F1 would open the Microsoft Windows help and support center. Open the Task Pane.

F2

In Windows commonly used to rename a highlighted icon or file. Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens a new document in Microsoft Word. Ctrl + F2 displays the print preview window in Microsoft Word.

F3

Often opens a search feature for many programs including Microsoft Windows. Shift + F3 will change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.

F4

Open find window. Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) Alt + F4 will close the program currently active in Microsoft Windows. Ctrl + F4 will close the open window within the current active window in Microsoft Windows.

F5

In all modern Internet browsers pressing F5 will refresh or reload the page or document window. Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word. Starts a slideshow in PowerPoint.

F6

Move the cursor to the Address bar in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Ctrl + Shift + F6 opens to another open Microsoft Word document.

F7

Commonly used to spell check and grammar check a document in Microsoft programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, etc. Shift + F7 runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted. Turns on Caret browsing in Mozilla Firefox.

F8

Function key used to enter the Windows startup menu, commonly use to get into Windows Safe Mode.

F9

Opens the Measurements toolbar in Quark 5.0.

F10

In Microsoft Windows activates the menu bar of an open application. Shift + F10 is the same as right-clicking on a highlighted icon, file, or Internet link.

F11

Full-screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.

F12

Open the Save as window in Microsoft Word. Shift + F12 save the Microsoft Word document. Ctrl + Shift + F12 prints a document in Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Windows shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Windows as well as the versions of Microsoft Windows they're supported in. If you're looking for shortcut keys or information about how to navigate Microsoft Windows using your keyboard instead of the mouse see document CH000791. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys Alt + Tab Alt + Shift + Tab Alt + double-click Ctrl + Tab Ctrl + Shift + Tab Alt + Print Screen Ctrl + Print Screen Ctrl + Alt + Del Ctrl + Esc Alt + Esc F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Ctrl + F5 F10 Shift + F10 Description Switch between open applications. Switch backwards between open applications. Display the properties of the object you double-click on. For example, doing this on a file would display its properties. Switches between program groups or document windows in applications that support this feature. Same as above but backwards. Create a screen shot only for the program you are currently in. Creates a screen shot of the entire screen Reboot the computer and/or bring up the Windows task manager. Bring up the Windows Startmenu. In Windows 3.x this would bring up the Task Manager. Switch Between open applications on taskbar. Activates help for current open application. Renames selected Icon. Starts find from desktop. Opens the drive selection when browsing. Refresh Contents to where you were on the page. Refreshes page to the beginning of the page. Activates menu bar. Simulates right-click on selected item.

F4 Alt + F4 Ctrl + F4 F6 Alt + Space bar Ctrl + (the '+' key on thekeypad) Alt + Enter Alt + Space bar Shift + Del Holding Shift Holding Shift Enter Alt + Down arrow * (on thekeypad) + (on the keypad) - (on the keypad)

Select a different location to browse in the Windows Explorer toolbar. Closes Current open program. Closes Window in Program. Move cursor to different Windows Explorer pane. Drops down the window control menu. Automatically adjust the widths of all the columns in Windows explorer Opens properties window of selected icon or program. Open the control menu for the current window open. Delete programs/files without throwing them into the recycle bin. Boot Safe Mode or by pass system files as the computer is booting. When putting in an audio CD, will prevent CD Player from playing. Activates the highlighted program. Display all available options ondrop down menu. Expands all folders on the currently selected folder or drive in Windows Explorer. Expands only the currently selected folder in Windows Explorer. Collapses the currently selected folder in Windows Explorer.

Windows key keyboard shortcuts

Below is a listing of Windows keys that can be used on computers running a Microsoft Windows operating system and using a keyboard with a Windows key. In the below list of shortcuts, the Windows key is represented by "WINKEY".
Shortcut Keys WINKEY Description Pressing the Windows key alone will open Start.

WINKEY + F1 WINKEY + F3 WINKEY + D WINKEY + M

Opens the Microsoft Windows help and support center. Opens the Advanced find window in Microsoft Outlook. Brings the desktop to the top of all other windows. Minimizes all windows.

WINKEY + SHIFT Undo the minimize done by WINKEY + M and WINKEY + D. +M WINKEY + E WINKEY + Tab WINKEY + F WINKEY +CTRL + F WINKEY + F1 WINKEY + R Open Microsoft Explorer. Cycle through open programs through the taskbar. Display the Windows Search / Find feature. Display the search for computers window. Display the Microsoft Windows help. Open the run window.

WINKEY + Pause / Open the system properties window. Break key WINKEY + U WINKEY + L WINKEY + P WINKEY + LEFT ARROW WINKEY + RIGHT ARROW WINKEY + UP ARROW WINKEY + DOWN ARROW Open Utility Manager. Lock the computer (Windows XP and above only). Quickly change between monitor display types. (Windows 7 only) Shrinks the window to 1/2 screen on the left side for side by side viewing. (Windows 7 only) Shrinks the window to 1/2 screen on the right side for side by side viewing. (Windows 7 only) When in the side by side viewing mode, this shortcut takes the screen back to full size. (Windows 7 only) Minimizes the screen. Also, when in the side by side viewing mode, this shortcut takes the screen back to a minimized size. (Windows 7 only)

Microsoft Word shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.
Shortcut Keys Ctrl + A Description Select all contents of the page.

Ctrl + B Ctrl + C Ctrl + E Ctrl + F Ctrl + I Ctrl + J Ctrl + K Ctrl + L Ctrl + M Ctrl + P Ctrl + R Ctrl + T Ctrl + U Ctrl + V Ctrl + X Ctrl + Y Ctrl + Z Ctrl + Shift + F Ctrl + Shift + > Ctrl + ] Ctrl + Shift + < Ctrl + [ Ctrl + Shift + * Ctrl + <left arrow> Ctrl + <up arrow> Ctrl + Del Ctrl + Backspace Ctrl + End Ctrl + Home Ctrl + Spacebar

Bold highlighted selection. Copy selected text. Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen. Open find box. Italic highlighted selection. Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen. Insert link. Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen. Indent the paragraph. Open the print window. Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen. Create a hanging indent. Underline highlighted selection. Paste. Cut selected text. Redo the last action performed. Undo last action. Change the font. Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts. Increase selected font +1pts. Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt. Decrease selected font -1pts. View or hide non printing characters. Moves one word to the left. Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph. Deletes word to right of cursor. Deletes word to left of cursor. Moves the cursor to the end of the document. Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document. Reset highlighted text to the default font.

Ctrl + <right arrow> Moves one word to the right. Ctrl + <down arrow> Moves to the end of the paragraph.

Ctrl + 1 Ctrl + 2 Ctrl + 5 Ctrl + Alt + 1 Ctrl + Alt + 2 Ctrl + Alt + 3 Ctrl + F1 F1 Alt + Ctrl + F2 Ctrl + F2 Shift + F3 Shift + Insert F4 F5 Ctrl + Shift + F6 F7 Shift + F7 F12 Shift + F12 Ctrl + Shift + F12 Alt + Shift + D Alt + Shift + T

Single-space lines. Double-space lines. 1.5-line spacing. Changes text to heading 1. Changes text to heading 2. Changes text to heading 3. Open the Task Pane. Open Help. Open new document. Display the print preview. Change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word. Paste. Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word. Opens to another open Microsoft Word document. Spell and grammar check selected text and/or document. Runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted. Save as. Save. Prints the document. Insert the current date. Insert the current time.

In addition to the above shortcut keys users can also use their mouse as a method of quickly do something commonly performed. Below some are examples of mouse shortcuts.
Mouse shortcuts Click, hold, and drag Double-click Double-click Double-click Description Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go. If double-click a word, selects the complete word. Double-clicking on the left, center, or right of a blank line will make the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned. Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line will set a tab stop.

Triple-click

Selects the line or paragraph of the text the mouse triple-clicked.

Ctrl + Mouse wheel Zooms in and out of document.

Mozilla Firefox shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Mozilla Firefox. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.
Shortcut Keys Alt + Left Arrow Backspace Alt + Right Arrow F5 F11 Esc Ctrl + (- or +) Ctrl + Enter Description Back a page. Back a page. Forward a page. Refresh current page, frame, or tab. Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode. Stop page or download from loading. Increase or decrease the font size, pressing '-' will decrease and '+' will increase. Quickly complete an address. For example, type computerhope in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER to get http://www.computerhope.com. Complete a .net instead of a .com address. Complete a .org address. Open the Clear Data window to quickly clear private data. Add a bookmark for the page currently opened. Display available bookmarks. Display the download window. Open New browser window. Print current page / frame. Opens a new tab. Closes the currently selected tab. Undo the close of a window. Moves through each of the open tabs.

Shift + Enter Ctrl + Shift + Enter Ctrl + Shift + Del Ctrl + D Ctrl + I Ctrl + J Ctrl + N Ctrl + P Ctrl + T Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W Ctrl + Shift + T Ctrl + Tab

Spacebar Shift + Spacebar Alt + Down arrow

Moves down a page at a time. Moves up a page at a time. Display all previous text entered in a text box and/or available options on drop down menu.