Windows, Menus, and Universal Document Shortcuts

Transcription

1 Computer Shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts can increase productivity by limiting the number of times your hands need to move away from the keyboard or need to move into uncomfortable positions. The following sections contain shortcuts that I regularly use. My suggestion for learning the shortcuts is to look over the list and pick a few that you immediately recognize as useful, and then begin to use them. As you continue working, note actions that take your hands away from home position (i.e., right hand fingers on a, s, d, and f; left hand fingers on j, k, l, and semicolon; thumbs on the space bar). There are two types of shortcuts in Word: preset and custom. As you identify functions you d like to use shortcuts for, follow the instructions in the Shortcut Basics and Preset Shortcuts sections to determine whether a shortcut already exists. If you identify a shortcut that s not on this list, let me know and I ll add it. If you can t find a shortcut, let me know and I ll do some research. Bold Blue text indicates a key to press or a button or option to click. A plus sign (+) indicates that two or more keys should be pressed simultaneously. Sequential key presses are indicated by commas. Many shortcuts use the Windows key ( ), which is usually found between the left-side ctrl and alt keys (sometimes between function [Fn] and alt). Shortcut Basics In Word 2007, the Office Button > Customize > Customize (next to Keyboard Shortcuts: ) window is a great place to explore existing shortcuts or find new functionality within Word. The top left box in this window allows you to select a category (to explore all commands, simply click all commands in this box). The top right box shows all commands for a given category. I ve often discovered new functionality by browsing through the commands listed in this box. The Current Keys: box will show all existing shortcut keys for any given command. This is square one for identifying what (if any) shortcut keys exist for a given function or character. Preset Shortcuts Many functions in Word already have shortcuts. The trick is simply to find out what they are. Below are some common shortcuts. Most are for Word, but many will work in almost any program. Use the tips in Shortcut Basics to identify additional preset shortcuts. Windows, Menus, and Universal Document Shortcuts Delete word (from cursor position to end of word): ctrl + backspace Minimize all windows (show desktop) or restore previously minimized windows: + d Switch widows: alt + tab (repeatedly hit tab until the window you want is highlighted, then release both keys) Change document zoom: ctrl + mouse scroll up/down Save document: ctrl + s Save all open Word documents: shift + click File > Save All Save as: F12 Open new (blank) document: ctrl + n Close current window (works for any program): alt + F4

2 Print: ctrl + p Help: F1 Access menus (e.g., File, Edit, View, Format): Each menu has an underlined letter. This is its shortcut letter. To access menus using the keyboard, press and release alt followed by the underlined letter of the appropriate menu. o File: alt, f o Edit: alt, e o View: alt, v o Insert: alt, i o Format: alt, o Font: alt, o, f Paragraph: alt, o, p o Tools: alt, t Word Count: alt, t, w Compare and Merge: alt, t, d Windows key: Use the key (between ctrl and alt) to access the Start Menu. As in menu shortcuts, underlined letters in the Start Menu items indicate shortcut keys. Formatting Many formatting shortcuts simply toggle formatting on or off. For example, ctrl + b can turn regular text into bold text or vice versa. However, some formatting shortcuts constitute an adjustment rather than an on/off option. For example, you can t turn left justification off; it must be replaced with one of the other justification options. Bold: ctrl + b Italic: ctrl + i Underline: ctrl + u Superscript: ctrl + shift + = All caps: ctrl + shift + a Add Hyperlink to selected text: ctrl + k Left justify: ctrl + l Right justify: ctrl + r Center: ctrl + e Justify: ctrl + j Increase/decrease font size: ctrl + shift + > or ctrl + shift + < Selecting Text character: shift + right arrow/left arrow word: shift + ctrl + right arrow/left arrow or double click on word entire paragraph: ctrl + shift + down or triple click on paragraph paragraph (beginning at cursor position): ctrl + shift + up/down copy: ctrl + c cut: ctrl + x paste: ctrl + v delete current word (from cursor position to end of word): ctrl + delete

3 Find and Replace Find: ctrl + f Replace: ctrl + h Go to page: ctrl + g When searching or replacing formatting (e.g., bold or italic text), there s no need to use your mouse, click the formatting button, select the formatting you want, and click ok. Simply use the keyboard shortcuts in the formatting section. To turn them back off, you can either click the No Formatting button or press the keyboard shortcut twice more (the first time toggles to not the formatting [e.g., find all text that isn t bold], the second toggles it off entirely). Move Cursor To start of line: home end of line: end start of next paragraph: ctrl + down start of current/previous paragraph: ctrl + up start of document: ctrl + home end of document: ctrl + end next word: ctrl + right arrow previous word: ctrl + left arrow Launch Program Start > Run or + r opens the Run window. Programs can be opened by typing the applicable shortcut text and hitting enter. Word: winword Excel: excel Calculator: calc Notepad: notepad PowerPoint: powerpnt Websites: simply type the appropriate URL Windows Explorer (for folder navigation): + e Track Changes Toggle track changes on and off: ctrl + shift + e Laptop Keyboards The biggest limitation of a laptop keyboard is the lack of a numeric keypad. Many laptops have a function key (Fn, located along the bottom left on Dell laptops) that can alleviate (at least partially) this limitation. Several of the alphabet and punctuation keys near the right sight of the keyboard can be used to key number pad characters (including the numpad hyphen required for the em and en dashes) simply by holding down the Fn key (located along the bottom left of the keyboard) and simultaneously keying the appropriate character (in this example, the colon/semicolon key). To key the en dash on a laptop keyboard, for example, press Fn + ctrl + semicolon. In this example, the semicolon becomes the numpad hyphen while the Fn key is pressed.

4 Reassigning Preset Shortcuts Many characters and functions already have shortcut keys built into Word, but some existing shortcuts involve difficult keystrokes, require you to move your hand from home position, or are difficult to remember; in such cases, you can create a new shortcut rather than dealing with a difficult shortcut or forgoing a shortcut altogether. For less frequently used shortcuts, you can also use Window s built-in ANSI shortcuts (see below). Instructions for Reassigning a Preset Shortcut Here s an example of when it makes sense to reassign a shortcut. Imagine that you work on a laptop that is normally attached to a full size keyboard and that you frequently use the en and em dashes. The preset shortcuts for these characters are: En dash: ctrl + numpad hyphen Em dash: ctrl + alt + numpad hyphen Because you frequently use these characters, the existing shortcuts create two problems. First, your right hand has to leave home position on your keyboard to access the numpad hyphen, which can get tiresome in a document with a lot of dashes. Second, whenever you have to use a laptop keyboard (e.g., when you travel), the numpad hyphen is, depending on your laptop, either unavailable or difficult to key. To resolve this issue, simply create an alternate shortcut: 1. Click Tools > Customize > Customize 2. In the Categories: box, click Common Symbols (the very last option), or whatever category corresponds to the character or function you d like to create a shortcut for. 3. In the Common Symbols: (or Commands: ) box, click the symbol (or character) you d like to set up a shortcut for. Existing shortcuts will appear in the Current Keys: box. 4. Click on the Press new shortcut key: box 5. Type the key combination you d like to use (I use ctrl + hyphen and ctrl + alt + hyphen because they are similar to the pre-assigned shortcuts for en and em dashes and therefore easier to remember) 6. After you ve typed your new shortcut, the words Currently assigned to: may appear under (the Current Keys: box) along with a description of a command to which your shortcut is already assigned (under the Press new shortcut key: box); before proceeding, be sure that the command you re replacing isn t one you d like to use a shortcut for 7. Click the Assign button, then repeat steps 5 9 for any remaining shortcuts 8. Click Close 9. Click Close Windows ANSI Code Shortcuts Rarely used characters (e.g., letters with foreign accents) can be accessed using the builtin ANSI codes in Windows. These are built into Windows (rather than Word), which means you can use these shortcuts in most Windows programs. Because these characters are so rarely used, it makes little sense to go to the effort of assigning a shortcut that you ll never use again or (even worse) that you won t remember the next time you need it. However, it is often the case that, when you do need one of these characters, you need

5 it a lot for a single document. Use the following steps to discover the ANSI code and corresponding keyboard shortcut or sequence for such characters. 1. Click Start > Programs (or All Programs) > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map. 2. Change the font to match the font you re using in your document. 3. Scroll through the symbols until you find the symbol you re looking for, then click on the symbol. 4. In the lower right of the window, Keystroke: will appear, followed by a key combination; note this combination. 5. Return to your document and enter the previous keystroke, making sure to use the numeric keypad for any numbers. 6. If for some reason the keystroke doesn t work, return to the Character Map, select the character, click Select, click Copy, return to your document, and use the paste command (ctrl + v or Edit > Paste). 7. If you write down and keep the keystrokes, you can skip steps 1 4 the next time you need to use a symbol, unless you had problems and had to utilize step 6. ANSI codes I ve used: ä: alt + 0, 2, 2, 8 Ä: alt + 0, 1, 9, 6 ö: alt + 0, 2, 4, 6 Ö: alt + 0, 2, 1, 4 ü: alt + 0, 2, 5, 2 Ü: alt + 0, 2, 2, 0 ß: alt + 0, 2, 2, 3 Customized Shortcuts Many commands and characters do not have existing shortcuts, but this doesn t mean you can t create one. If you identify a function you d like a shortcut for, check the Tools > Customize > Customize window to see if a shortcut exists. If a shortcut doesn t exist, you can create one from this window. Use the steps in Track Changes Navigation as a guide to creating new shortcuts. Track Changes Navigation Using the mouse gets cumbersome in a document with 1,500 tracked changes. One way to deal with the tedium of repeatedly clicking next change and accept change is to highlight a section of text and click accept change. If the highlighted section contains both insertions and deletions, you ll have to click accept change twice to accept both. However, if you need to reject even one change in a paragraph, the highlight method will get cumbersome. I use custom shortcut keys to simplify the process. Here s how to set custom shortcut keys. 1. Click Office Button > Customize > Customize 2. In the Categories: box, click Review Tab 3. In the Commands: box, click AcceptChangesSelected, NextChangeOrComment, or PreviousChangeOrComment. 4. Click on the Press new shortcut key: box 5. Type the key combination you d like to use (I use alt + up arrow, alt + right arrow, alt + left arrow, and alt + c, respectively, for accept change, next change, previous change, and insert comment)

6 6. Repeat steps 2 5 using All Commands for step 2 and the RejectChangesSelected command. I use alt + down arrow to delete comments and/or reject changes. 7. By default, Word contains a number of preset shortcuts. After you ve typed your custom shortcut, the words Currently assigned to: will appear (under the Current Keys: box) if that shortcut is already in use. Be aware that the preset shortcut will be deleted if you proceed, so be sure the shortcut you re replacing isn t one you want to use. 8. Click the Assign button, then repeat steps 5 9 for the remaining shortcuts 9. Click Close 10. Click Close

7 Universal Shortcuts minimize all windows (show desktop) + d switch windows alt + tab change document zoom ctrl + mouse scroll up/down save document ctrl + s save all open Word documents shift + click File > Save All save as F12 open new (blank) document ctrl + n close current window (works for any program) alt + F4 print ctrl + print help F1 file menu alt, f properties alt, f, i format alt, o font properties ctrl + d paragraph properties alt, o, p tools alt, t word count alt, t, w compare and merge alt, t, d start menu, arrow keys move window to another monitor + arrow keys Formatting bold ctrl + b italic ctrl + i underline ctrl + u superscript ctrl + shift + = toggle to initial caps, all caps, or lower caps shift + F3 hyperlink existing text/create hyperlink ctrl + k internal hyperlink alt + k left justify ctrl + l right justify ctrl + r center ctrl + e justify text ctrl + j increase font size ctrl + shift + > decrease font size ctrl + shift + < Highlight Text character word entire paragraph paragraph (beginning at cursor position) copy cut paste delete word (from cursor position to end of word) shift + right arrow/left arrow shift + ctrl + right arrow/left arrow triple click on paragraph ctrl + shift + up arrow/down arrow ctrl + c ctrl + x ctrl + v ctrl + delete find Find and Replace ctrl + f

8 replace go to page next word previous word start of line end of line start of next paragraph start of current/previous paragraph start of document end of document ctrl + h ctrl + g Move Cursor To ctrl + right arrow ctrl + left arrow home end ctrl + down arrow ctrl + up arrow ctrl + home ctrl + end Word Excel PowerPoint calculator notepad websites Launch Program + r, winword + r, excel + r, powerpnt + r, calc + r, notepad + r, URL toggle Track Changes on/off next change previous change accept change reject change insert comment en dash em dash Track Changes ctrl + shift + e alt + right arrow alt + left arrow alt + up arrow alt + down arrow ctrl + alt + m or alt + c Customized Shortcuts ctrl + hyphen ctrl + alt + hyphen Common Symbols (All Use the Number Pad) en dash ( ) ctrl + hyphen em dash ( ) ctrl + alt + hyphen ä alt Ä alt ö alt Ö alt ü alt Ü alt ß alt alt alt alt