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Geek Tips And Tricks For Keyboard Shortcuts

Posted August 18, 2011 by GeeksInPhoenix in Blog | No comments yet

Guest Blogger Geeks in Phoenix – Scott St. Gelais

We are all looking to save a little time where we can. Shortcuts allow us to get work done faster and more efficiently.  One of the most useful items I use on a daily basis are keyboard shortcuts. Especially shortcuts that I can perform with just my left hand, allowing me to keep my right hand on the mouse. You can use keyboard shortcuts to open frequently used files, folders and programs like Windows Explorer. Windows has a ton of built-in keyboard shortcuts (see links at bottom of article), plus you can create your own custom keyboard shortcuts.

Here are my favorite left hand keyboard shortcuts:

Press	To
+ E	Open My Computer / Windows Explorer
+ R	Open the Run dialog box
+ D	Display the desktop
+ F	Search for a file or folder
CTRL + A	Select all
CTRL + X	Cut
CTRL + C	Copy
CTRL+ V	Paste
CTRL + ALT + (KEY)	Custom keyboard shortcut (see below)

Create your own Windows keyboard shortcuts:

You can create keyboard shortcuts that use CTRL + ALT + (your choice of key) for frequently used files, folders and programs. You will need to have a shortcut to the file, folder or program you want to open first. You can use an existing shortcut (on your desktop or on the Start menu) or create a new one. Once you have a shortcut:

1. Right-click on the shortcut
2. From the context menu click Properties
3. On the Properties box select the Shortcut tab
   
4. Click inside the Shortcut key box and press the key in which you want to combine with CTRL + ALT

Note:
You cannot use the following keys for keyboard shortcuts: ESC, ENTER, TAB, SPACEBAR, PRINT SCREEN, SHIFT, or BACKSPACE

Pick out a few of these shortcuts and list them on a cheat sheet that you stick on your monitor.  Practice them for a week or two, and soon they’ll become second nature saving you time and making you more efficient!

These are a few of my favorite shortcuts that I hope you will find useful.  What are some that you can’t live without?

For more information on Windows keyboard shortcuts, just follow the links below:

Windows logo key keyboard shortcuts
General keyboard shortcuts
Natural keyboard shortcuts
Dialog box keyboard shortcuts
Accessibility keyboard shortcuts
Windows explorer keyboard shortcuts