Just a few of the
thousands of bits of information that could help
you every day.
TIPS
Almost all programs allow
you one "oops" -- the ability to undo
your last action; some give you many. See Undo shortcut
below.
Did a toolbar (or all
of them) disappear? Toolbars can be turned on and
off. Some programs have views that hide toolbars.
See Internet Explorer shortcut below.
Get in the habit of
saving regularly when you're happy with the changes
you've made.
If you have a laptop, you
have not been cheated out of keys. To save
space, some commands require that you hold down
the Function or FN key.
LIES
Some computer terms really
suggest things that aren't true.
This IS NOT the "ANY"
key.
There is NO any key.
If you see an instruction to hit any key, tap a
key -- it doesn't matter which one.
The "Print Screen"
key on your keyboard does not print the screen.
It copies what is on the screen so you can paste
it into some other program.
Bigscreen Lies
Like TV sets, computer monitors
are measured diagonally. Manufacturers measure the
plastic frame around the screen, adding a couple
of inches to the actual screen size. 17" screen
= a little less than 15". Look
for the "viewable area" on print ads (fine
print).
Kilobyte, Megabyte, and
Gigabyte Lies
These are metric, (decimal names - powers of 10),
but Computer hardware is measured in powers of 2
(binary). A kilobyte is not really 1000 bytes, but
1024 bytes. The thousand,
million and billion are a shorthand for the real
numbers. A megabyte is a kilobyte squared, or 1,048,576.
a gigabyte is a kilobyte cubed, which is 1,073,741,824.
No, you don't get the extras. you normally get an
approximate, but lower, number than that stated.
SHORTCUTS
Many shortcuts
are almost universal. Try them on any program and
they are likely to work. The same shortcuts
often have just slightly different (Cmd key instead
of Control) Mac versions. Here are just a few you
may find helpful.
| Shortcut |
Use in |
What it
does |
| CTRL + roll scroll wheel on mouse
|
Windows |
Zoom in and out of documents
quickly; forward bigger, back smaller |
| Esc |
Many Programs |
Close drop down, close
context menu, close preview, stop download,
Cancel entry |
| Ctrl + A |
Most programs |
Select all contents of
the page |
| Ctrl + S |
Most programs |
Save |
| Ctrl + B |
Most programs |
Bold selection. |
| Ctrl + C |
Most programs |
Copy selected text. |
| Ctrl + X |
Most programs |
Cut selected text. |
| Ctrl + P |
Most programs |
Open the print window. |
| Ctrl + F |
Most programs |
Access the Find dialog
box |
| Ctrl + V |
Most programs |
Paste |
| Ctrl + Z |
Most programs |
Undo last action. |
| Ctrl + Y |
Most programs |
Redo the last action performed. |
| Ctrl + Home |
Most programs |
Moves the cursor to t
he beginning of the document. |
| Ctrl + End |
Many programs |
Moves the cursor to the
end of the document. |
| PAGE DOWN |
Many programs |
Moves one screen down
|
PAGE UP
|
Many programs |
Moves one screen up |
| Shift F10 |
Many programs |
context menu like right
click |
| F7 |
Office |
Access spelling command |
| Shift + F3 |
Word, PowerPoint |
Change the case of letters |
Shift + F7
|
Word |
Activate the thesaurus. |
| Alt + Shift + D |
Word |
Insert the current date. |
| Shift before File menu command |
Word, Excel |
Discloses Close All button |
| CTRL Shift $ |
Excel |
Format selected cells
as currency |
| CTRL ; |
Excel, Access |
Insert the current date. |
| F11 key |
Internet
Explorer, Firefox |
Toggles
full screen view on and off |
| F5 |
Internet Explorer, Firefox,
Windows |
Refresh contents |
| Backspace |
Internet Explorer, Firefox |
Previous page |
| Ctrl + d |
Internet Explorer, Firefox |
Add to favorites |
| CTRL + Enter |
Internet Explorer
and Firefox |
Completes web address
with www and dot com |
| ALT F4 |
Windows |
Close the current program |
| ALT TAB |
Windows |
Switch between open applications |
| CTRL + ALT + DELETE |
Windows |
Reboot computer and/or
open Windows task manager.
|
| Cmd ~ |
Mac |
Switch between windows |
| Cmd click |
Mac |
Context (shortcut) menu |
