Computer Keyboard Shortcut Keys

Computer Keyboard Shortcut Keys

F1 to F12

F1

* Almost always used as the help key, almost every program will open the help screen when this key is pressed.
* Enter CMOS Setup.
* 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.
* Enter CMOS Setup.

F3

* Often opens a search feature for many programs including Microsoft Windows.
* In MS-DOS or Windows command line F3 will repeat the last command.
* 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 used to access 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.
* Access the hidden recovery partition on HP and Sony computers.
* Enter CMOS Setup.

F11

* Full-screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.
* Ctrl + F11 as computer is starting to access the hidden recovery partition on many Dell computers.
* Access the hidden recovery partition on eMachines, Gateway, and Lenovo computers.

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.

Some More Shortcut Keys

Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert

Copy the highlighted text or selected item.

Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert

Paste the text or object that's in the clipboard.

Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y

Undo any change. For example, if you cut text, pressing this will undo it. This can also often be pressed multiple times to undo multiple changes. Pressing Ctrl + Y would redo the undo.

Ctrl + F

Open the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.

Alt + Tab or Alt + Esc

Quickly switch between open programs moving forward.

Bonus Tip Press Ctrl + Tab to switch between tabs in a program.

Bonus Tip Adding the Shift key to Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab will move backwards. For example, if you are pressing Alt + Tab and pass the program you want to switch to, press Alt + Shift + Tab to move backwards to that program.

Bonus Tip Windows Vista and 7 users can also press the Windows Key + Tab to switch through open programs in a full screenshot of the Window.

Ctrl + Back space and Ctrl + Left arrow / Right arrow

Pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete a full word at a time instead of a single character.

Holding down the Ctrl key while pressing the left or right arrow will move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time you can hold down Ctrl + Shift and then press the left or right arrow key to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.

Ctrl + S

While working on a document or other file in almost every program pressing Ctrl + S will save that file. This shortcut key should be used frequently anytime you're working on anything important.

Ctrl + Home / End

Move the cursor to the beginning or end of a document.

Ctrl + P

Print the page being viewed. For example, the document in Microsoft Word or the web page in your Internet browser.

Page Up / Space bar and Page Down

Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet pressing the space bar will also move the page down one page at a time. If you press Shift and the Space bar the page will go up a page at a time.