Andrew’s Computers & Networking

Autoboot Commander

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shortcuts on the keyboard

For years I have been perplexed by the people that use their mouse for absolutely everything when are a number of perfectly good keyboard short-cuts that will do the job in a fraction of the time. Why people don't take advantage of these shortcuts is arguable however I personally believe the primary reason is that most just don't realise there is another way, otherwise why else would you hunt around for an item on a menu bar if you can quickly hit a key and achieve the same effect?

Funnily enough, now that Microsoft have hidden or moved all my commonly used menus in Windows Vista I find myself relying on these short cuts a great deal more than I used to. I'm sure that trying to convey these to you in a list format probably isn't going to make this one of the most exciting Click articles that I've ever written but I do know that it's one of the most useful.

The shortcut keys require you to press two keys at the same time. These keys are usually some combination of the ALT, CTRL, Windows, Shift and Tab keys, which are all located on the left hand side of a standard keyboard. I have split the following list into sections for ease of use, but they should be the same on all recent versions of Windows.

General

Alt+Enter View properties for the selected item

Alt+Esc Cycle through windows in the order they were opened

Alt+F4 : Close the active window

Alt+ Spacebar Open the shortcut menu for the active window

Alt+Tab Switch between open windows

Shift+Insert : Hold this down whilst inserting a CD and it WON'T autoboot

End : Display the bottom of the active window or move to the end of the line if you are typing

Home Display the top of the active window

Windows key Displays the start menu

Windows key+D Minimizes all windows

Windows key + E Opens a new Explorer window

Windows key + F : Displays the find all files box

Windows key + L Locks your computer

Windows key + R Displays the Run command box

Explorer

Shift+Delete : Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the recycle bin

Left arrow Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder

Right arrow : Expand the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first sub folder

Clipboard

Ctrl+C : Copy an item to the clipboard

Ctrl+X : Cut an item to the clipboard

Ctrl+V Paste an item from the clipboard

Internet Browsing

F11 Full screen mode

Ctrl+Mouse wheel forward : Zoom in

Ctrl+Mouse backward Zoom out

Ctrl+0 : Reset zoom level

Alt+Home : Go to homepage

Ctrl+T Open a new tab

Ctrl+Tab Switch between tabs

Ctrl+W : Close tab

Alt+D : Go straight to the address bar

Alt+Left Go back to the previously viewed page

Alt+Right Navigate forward through viewed pages

Navigating to menu options within programs is also easy when using keyboard short-cuts. To select the edit menu press 'Alt+E' together, for the file menu press 'Alt+F' and so on then once the menu option has been opened you can navigate around them using the cursor keys then select an option with the enter key.

I did say that this wouldn't be Shakespeare but cut out the list above, have a play around, and I promise you'll find at least some of these key combinations useful. Once you've used them a couple of times it will then become second nature to hit the keyboard shortcut rather than relying solely on your mouse.

About the Author

Chris Holgate writes a weekly article of all things tech related. He is a director and copyrighter of the online computer consumables business Refresh Cartridges who sell cheap ink cartridges ,toner cartridges, computer hardware and other computer consumables online. An archive of his work can be found at
www.computerarticles.co.uk.