Tip of the Day The BIG Keyboard Shortcut List

The BIG Keyboard Shortcut List

What is the allure of keyboard shortcuts? Do they really save time? Why bother since my mouse is permanently attached to my hand?

I like to use keyboard shortcuts, especially if someone is watching me, because they make me look like a pro. With just a few key strokes I can leave a mouser spinning his wheel! Whatever your motivation, here's a big list of keyboard shortcuts:

General Shortcuts

ALT- F4 - Quit a program / Shut down

ALT-TAB - Hold down the ALT key and hit tab to cycle through open windows.

MS Office General MS Office Shortcuts:

General MS Office Shortcuts:

Ctrl + Shift + > : Increases the selected text's font size to the next one on the font size list (except in Excel).
Ctrl + Shift + < : Decreases the selected text's font size to the previous one on the font size list (except in Excel).
Ctrl + ] : Increases the selected text's font size by 1 point (except in Excel).
Ctrl + [ : Decreases the selected text's font size by 1 point (except in Excel).

Word:

Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar : Inserts a "nonbreaking" space... a space between words that will not allow Word to separate the words with text wrapping.
Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen : Inserts a "nonbreaking" hyphen... a hyphen between words that will not allow Word to separate the words with text wrapping.
Ctrl + T : Formats paragraph with a hanging indent. (Repeat to increase the indent size.)
Ctrl + Shift + T : Removes paragraph hanging indent formatting. (Repeat to completely remove the indent if indented more than one tab stop.)

Excel:

Shift + F11 : Inserts a new worksheet into the current workbook.
Alt + Shift + F1 : Inserts a new worksheet into the current workbook. (Yep - they both work. Pick the one you can remember the easiest!)
Ctrl + Shift + * : Selects the range of cells the selected cell is in, as defined by empty cells around the data.

Outlook:

Ctrl + Shift + H : Deletes the word to the right of the cursor.
Ctrl + F : Forwards the selected message.
Ctrl + Alt + F : Forwards the selected message as an attachment.
Ctrl + R : Replies to the selected message.
Ctrl + Shift + R : Replies to All for the selected message.
Ctrl + Enter : Sends an open and addressed message.

Office 2007 SmartArt:

Shift + Right Arrow : Increases the size of the selected shape(s) horizontally.
Shift + Left Arrow : Decreases the size of the selected shape(s) horizontally.
Shift + Up Arrow : Increases the size of the selected shape(s) vertically.
Shift + Down Arrow : Decreases the size of the selected shape(s) vertically.
Ctrl + any of the above combinations : Increases or decreases the size of the selected shape(s) in smaller increments.

More General MS Office Shortcuts:

Ctrl + Shift + C : Copies only formatting.
Ctrl + Shift + V : Pastes only formatting.
Ctrl + Spacebar : Removes formatting of selected text
(except in Excel).

Word:

Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the current line.
Ctrl + Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the document.
End : Moves cursor to the end of the current line.
Ctrl + End : Moves cursor to the end of the document.
Page Up : Moves the document up one screen length.
Ctrl + Page Up : Moves the document up one page.
Page Down : Moves the document down one screen length.
Ctrl + Page Down : Moves the document down one page.

Excel:

Home : Moves cell selection to column A of current row.
Ctrl + Home : Moves cell selection to cell A1.
Ctrl + End : Moves cell selection to bottom right corner of used portion of the worksheet.
End then Up Arrow : Moves cell selection to the first row of the worksheet.
End then Down Arrow : Moves cell selection to the last row of the worksheet.
End then Left Arrow : Moves cell selection to the first column of the worksheet.
End then Right Arrow : Moves cell selection to the last column of the worksheet.

Outlook:

Ctrl + Shift + M : Creates a new message from any Outlook view.
Ctrl + Shift + A : Creates a new sppointment from any Outlook view.

In Calendar View:

Alt + 0 : Dispalys 10 days on the calendar.
Alt + 1 : Dispalys 1 day on the calendar.
Alt + 2 : Dispalys 2 days on the calendar.
Alt + 3 : Dispalys 3 days on the calendar.
... continues on to Alt + 9

Office 2007 SmartArt:

Alt + Right Arrow : Rotates the selected shape to the right.
Alt + Left Arrow : Rotates the selected shape to the left.
Ctrl + either of the above combinations : Increases or decreases the size of the selected shape(s) in smaller increments.

Tab : Moves the selection to the next shape.
Shift + Tab : Moves the selection to the previous shape.

Enter : Edit text in the selected shape.
F2 : Edit text in the selected shape. (Yep... they both work. Pick the one you like the best!)

Quick Tips What the F-key F1 Through F4

What the F-key F1 Through F4

See that line of keys ranging from F1 to F12 at the top of your keyboard? Wonder what all of 'em do? Yeah, so do I, and that's why today we're going to take a trip down funky f-key lane to discover the fun of Function Keys!

Function keys have many, many uses, some of which are specific to the program that's running at the time. They're mainly used as shortcuts or in conjunction with the CTRL, ALT, and Shift keys, which I'll get more into in another article.

For now, here are the basics of function keys F1 – F4.