In todays Tech-savvy world, everyone is using a computer for something, writing an email, paying a bill, processing data, watching a video. Could you get by without a computer? They are a vital tool for our business and personal lives.

Given the amount of time we spend on computers, the more efficient we can be, the better. This leads me to keyboard shortcuts. It is well publicised that each time you take your hand off your keyboard, to use your mouse, you are losing time. If you can perform tasks via your keyboard, the more efficient you will become.

So, below are some of the common shortcuts that are cool and can be used every day by most programs. Rather than bombard you with hundreds at once, below are some of the more common shortcuts. In a future blog, I will provide more advanced time savers.

So, give them a try, practice makes perfect!

Ctrl+C: Copy

This copies a selected item.

Ctrl+V: Paste

Pastes a selected item.

Ctrl+P: Print

Opens the print window.

Ctrl+Z: Undo

By choosing Ctrl+Z in many programs will roll back your last action. Whether you have just overwritten an entire paragraph in Microsoft Word or deleted a file you didn’t mean to, this one can be an absolute lifesaver.

Ctrl+W: Close

Another shortcut that works just about everywhere, Ctrl+W will close whatever you’re viewing. Shut that File Explorer window, browser tab, or open image file without bothering to hone in on the close button with a mouse.

Ctrl+A: Select all

This command lets you highlight all the text in a document or select all the files in a folder. Hitting Ctrl+A can save you time you would otherwise spend clicking and dragging your mouse.

Alt+Tab: Switch apps

This is one of the classic Windows shortcuts, and it can be hugely useful when you’re running multiple applications. Just press Alt+Tab and you’ll be able to quickly flick through all your open windows.

Alt+F4: Close apps

Another old-school shortcut, Alt+F4 shuts down active apps so you can skip the process of hunting down their on-screen menus. Don’t worry about losing unsaved work with this command—it will prompt you to save your documents before closing them.

Win+D: Show or hide the desktop

This keyboard combo minimizes all your open windows, bringing your home screen into view, great when I’m present shopping for my partner or five-year-old daughter and need to close everything, quickly! If you store rows and rows of files and shortcuts on your desktop, Win+D will let you access them in moments.

Win+left arrow or Win+right arrow: Snap windows

Snapping a window simply opens it on one side of the screen (left or right, depending on which arrow you hit). This allows you to compare two windows side-by-side and keeps your workspace organized. I find for splitting windows, bigger is better, screen size I am meaning of course.

Win+Tab: Open the Task view

Like Alt+Tab, this shortcut lets you switch apps, but it does so by opening an updated Windows application switcher. The latest version shows thumbnails of all your open programs on the screen.

Ctrl+Esc: Open the Start menu

If you are using a keyboard that does not have a Windows key, this shortcut will open the Start menu. Otherwise, a quick tap of the Windows key will do the same thing. From there, you can stay on the keyboard and navigate the Start menu with the cursor keys, Tab, and Shift+Tab.

If you have questions in relation to the above, or any other matters, please do not hesitate to contact our office on 1300 620 345.