Handy Keyboard Tips!

a) Copy and Paste
Select the text or image that you want to copy, highlight it and press Ctrl and C. Then position your cursor in the spot you’d like to copy it to and press Ctrl and V. Like magic...it copies!

b) Cut and Paste
Select the text or image that you want to cut, highlight it and press Ctrl and X. The text or object will disappear. Then to paste it in a different location, position your cursor in the desired spot and press Ctrl and V.

c) Select All
Holding down Ctrl and A selects all the text or objects in the open window. This is a great feature---use it when you are trying to copy large areas of text in your word processing document, or a whole page of information on the Internet.

d) Increase/Decrease Font Size
Here’s a little trick to help you emphasize your words, or make them fit better into the space you have. Just highlight the words you want to change, hold down the Ctrl key and press one of the bracket keys---left bracket to shrink--right bracket to enlarge. You change the font size by one point each time.

e) To Print
Sure, you can use the pull down menus if you want to print an e-mail, a word processing document or even a an Internet page. But, here’s an easier way. Just hold down the Ctrl key and press P.

f) To Save
It’s always important to save your work often. You never know when you might have a power surge or outage that could ruin hours of effort. That’s why this keyboard shortcut is especially helpful. To save your document, simply press Ctrl and S every five minutes or so while you type.

g) To Undo
Pencils aren’t the only writing instruments with erasers. Computers have them too. If you would like to undo some typing, press Ctrl and Z as soon as you realize your mistake to restore your document to the way you want it.

h) To Use Mouse
You may at some point experience problems with a
program or Windows that disables your ability to use
your mouse. This usually calls for restarting your
computer, but you'll want to save your work and shut
down any applications you're using first. You can do
this without a mouse.

To select an open application, use Alt + Tab. A small
box will pop up showing icons for all your running
applications. You can choose any of them by continuing
to hold down your Alt button while pressing Tab until
you reach the program you want. When you release the
buttons, that application window will come up.

To save your work, press Alt by itself. You should
notice that the 'File' menu, usually in the program's
upper left corner, will be selected. Use your up and
down arrows (not your Page Up & Page Down buttons) to
choose 'Save' or 'Save As' and press your Enter button.
You can then close the program by pressing Alt again
and using your arrows to select 'Exit', 'Quit' or
'Close'.

Once all the applications are closed, pressing Tab will
select your Start menu at the lower left corner of your
screen. Press your Enter button to open the menu, then
use your arrows to choose 'Shut Down'. You'll see the
familiar Shut Down window. Use your arrows to make your
selection, then press Enter.

There may be times when you're unable to use your
mouse, but want to run a virus scan, ScanDisk or
defragment your hard drive before shutting down. Once
again, save your work, close your programs, press Tab
to select the Start menu, press Enter and use your
arrows to choose the application you want to run.

i) Other Common And Useful Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL + P to print a document, CTRL + F to bring up a Find window (if the program uses one), CTRL + A to select all
(highlight all), CTRL + O to choose a file to open and
CTRL + Z to undo your most recent action.

j) Typing URLs
If the site you want starts with "www" and ends with "com", just type in the part between the two and use CTRL + Enter. Here's an example: You want to visit Knowledge Hound (of course
you do!). Just type in "khound", then press CTRL + Enter. See? The "www" and "com" parts got added
automatically! It sure saves those fingers.

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