Tech Tips:

The Magic of Hot Keys

Ever watch someone work on a computer and wonder how they manage to do some tasks so fast, and without the aid of the mouse? The trick is that they are using the Magic of Hot Keys. But what are Hot Keys you ask? They are simply a combination of keys on the keyboard, that when pressed at the same time preform a special function. Learning to use Hot Keys can decrease the time it takes a person to preform a task, and can become more comfertable then using the mouse to do the same task.

Hot Key Combonations, and what they do.

Ctrl + P = Holding down the Ctrl key and the pressing P in most programs will bring up the Print Menu. Allowing you to print whatever is being displayed in that program. Weather its a web browser or word document.

Ctrl + C = Holding Ctrl then pressing C is a fast way to use the Copy function. Instead of Right Clicking with the mouse, then Left Clicking on Copy.

Ctrl + V = Holding Ctrl then pressing V is a fast way to use the Paste function. This replaces Right Clicking with the mouse, then Left Clicking on Paste.

Ctrl + X = Holding Ctrl then pressing X is a fast way to use the Cut function. This function replaces the need to Right Click, then Left Click on Cut.

Alt + F4 = This is a very powerful function. When you hold down the Alt key and press the F4 key, it will close any window or program that is currently on top or selected. This is the best way to close out popup windows that do keep opening themselfs up again. By holding down both Alt and F4 you can effectively close everything that is open on your computer.

Ctrl + Z = In most programs holding Ctrl and pressing the Z button will undo the last action you took within that program. For example if you deleted a large section of text in an email, or word processing program, using Ctrl + Z will replace the text you just deleted by mistake.

Tab = In most word processing programs using the Tab key will indent the text on the line you use it on. This can be useful when formatting text. Tab will also allow you to cycle through text boxes when inputing information into a website or program. For example; When you need to type in your username and password. You would type your username in, then press Tab, and you could then type your password without having to touch the mouse.

Alt + Tab = when you hold down the Alt key and press the Tab button, it will allow you to cycle through programs, windows and screens that are open on your computer. For example; you could be checking your email and have music playing on your computer at the same time. You decide you want to skip a song playing in your music player. So instead of using the mouse to minimize your email, you simply press Alt + Tab to switch to your music player. This would mean the music player is now on top of your email window. You can also cycle through more then two programs.

Windows + L = Holding down the Windows button and pressing L will automaticly lock the computer. This is useful if you want to make sure no one can use the computer while you have steped away. Assuming of course that your User Account on your computer has a password. If you have to type a password when you start up your comptuer then this will work for you.