KEYBOARD

Using computer programs like Word and Excel to process work files has long become part of the routine for today’s office workers. As one of them, you may already know using shortcuts can save your time on clicking mouse and greatly improve work efficiency in the long run. So, what shortcuts do you use most frequently at work?

It’s a fact that there are so many useful function keys and shortcuts that you can hardly remember all of them. For your reference, I’d like to list some of my favorite shortcuts here. You can give it a shot whichever you haven’t used.

1. Ctrl+C (X)/Ctrl+V: copy (cut) and paste

It’s probably one of the most well-known shortcuts in Window.

Press [Ctrl+C] to copy the selected text and press [Ctrl+V] to paste it after your cursor. And if you want to cut the text, just press [Ctrl+X].

It’s much more convenient than finding copy or paste button in the right-click menu every time.

2. Ctrl+A: select all

[Ctrl+A] enables you to select all the content in a page. It works well in browsers and most of software. After selecting, you can also press [Ctrl+V] to paste the content.

Note: if you press [Ctrl+A] inside an Excel table, it will select the entire table; if you press [Ctrl+A] at a blank cell outside the table, it will select the whole worksheet.

3. Ctrl+B/U/I:  overstriking/underline/italic text

If you edit text a lot on computer, you must have use these shortcuts before.

Pressing [Ctrl+B] can make the selected text bold; [Ctrl+U] can underline the selected text; [Ctrl+I] can make the selected text italic.

Using these shortcuts, you can save a lot of time no matter writing in Microsoft Word or on Internet.

4. Ctrl+N: create new file

Do you sick of clicking FileNewBlank workbook (or Blank document) to create a new file in Excel or Word just like me?

In fact, you can press [Ctrl+N] to open a new file directly and avoid all these troubles.

5. Alt+=: quick SUM

You may already know how to sum the data in Excel with SUM function, which is much quicker than calculate them on your own. But inserting right formulas into every cells can also take much time.

To save your effort, You can press [Alt+=] instead. It will quick sum all the data beside the cell automatically.

6. Ctrl+Z: undo your last action

No one can avoid misoperation completely when using computer. What’s important is how to make up for the mistake.

Luckily, you don’t need to remember each step you’ve done. Just press [Ctrl+Z] to undo your last action. It works not only in Office apps but also browsers and most of computer software.

7. F4/Ctrl+Y: redo your last action.

These two shortcuts mainly work in Microsoft Office programs, and the function is contrary to Ctrl+Z.

For example, if you want to shade some specific words in MS Word with a customized color, you don’t need to find the color in More Colors… every time. Just do it for once as an example, then you can select another word and press [F4] or [Ctrl+Y] to repeat the action.

8. Win+D/M: back to the desktop

When working with computer, it’s almost impossible to open only one or two files. You must quit or minimize a lot of windows to get back to the desktop, which is too much trouble.

With the shortcut [Win+D] or [Win+M], you can minimize all the windows and see your desktop in a second. Moreover, you can press it again to get back to where you were just now, and continue working seamlessly.

9. Alt+Tab: switch the active window

It’s true that you can switch between multiple windows by clicking the specific file on the task bar. But if there are too many windows, the file names may not be displayed completely and you can hardly to distinguish them.

In this case, you can press [Alt+Tab] to see the preview of all the windows, then click the mouse or use direction keys to choose the one you want.

10. Win+L: quick lock the screen

If you have to leave your seat for a while, or you are doing an important task and suddenly someone comes, you can press [Win+L] to lock the screen immediately so that your privacy won’t be disclosed.

If you didn’t set a password for the computer yet, you can press any key on the keyboard or click the mouse to active your screen easily. Otherwise you need to input the corresponding password before entering the system.

Among all the Windows and Microsoft Office tips, shortcuts are very practical and also easy to grasp. Here’s a list of some other useful shortcuts except for what I mentioned above. Hope it can improve your productivity and make work a more interesting thing.

Shortcuts Function
[F2] Rename a file
[F5] Refresh the page
[F11] Enter and quit the full screen mode
[PageUp] Turn to the previous page
[PageDown] Turn to the next page
[Ctrl+F] Find specific content
[Ctrl+W] Quit a web page in browsers or a file in Office programs
[Ctrl+Shift] Switch the input method
[Shift+Left mouse] Select continuous content
[Ctrl+Left mouse] Select discontinuous content
[Win + ←] Maximize the window and assign it to the left of the screen
[Win + →] Maximize the window and assign it to the right of the screen
[Win + ↑] Maximize the current window
[Win + ↓] Minimize the current window
[Win+Home] Minimize all the windows expect for the currently one
[Shift+Delete] Permanently delete the selected file
[Alt+F4] Close the currently active window
[Ctrl+mouse wheel] Change the icon and page size
[Win+E] Open this PC
[Win+R] Open Run window
[Ctrl+Shift+Esc] Open Task Manager
[F12] Save As in Office programs
[Ctrl+F12] Open a file in Office programs
[Ctrl+S] Save this file in Office programs
[Ctrl+H] Open Find and Replace in Office programs
[Ctrl+G] or [F5] Go To a specific place in Office programs
[Ctrl+~] Display all the formulas in Excel
[Ctrl+-] Delete Excel cell/row/column (choose in check box)
[Ctrl+;] Insert the current date into Excel cell
[Ctrl+Shift+;] Insert the current time into Excel cell
[Ctrl+Shift+7(&)] Apply border to the select area in Excel
[Ctrl+Shift+-] Cancel the border of selected area in Excel
[Ctrl+Shift+<] Shrink the font size of selected text in Word
[Ctrl+Shift+>] Enlarge the font size of selected text in Word
[Ctrl+Shift+C] Copy the format in Word
[Ctrl+Shift+V] Paste the format in Word
[Ctrl+Q] Remove the paragraph format in Word
[Ctrl+Enter] Insert page break in Word
[Alt+Ctrl+M] Insert comment in Word

About 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.