The BIG Keyboard Shortcut List

What exactly is the allure of keyboard shortcuts? Do they really save time? I mean, why bother if your mouse is permanently attached to your hand, right?

Well, I like to use keyboard shortcuts quite a bit, especially if someone is watching me, because they make me look like a pro! With just a few key strokes, I can leave a mouse spinning his wheel. So, whatever your motivation, here’s a big list of keyboard shortcuts for you to try out. I hope you enjoy them!

General Shortcuts

ALT + F4 - Quit a program/Shut down.

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

CTRL + ESCAPE - Display the Start menu.

SHIFT + TAB - Tab backward through a form.

CTRL + X - Cut

CTRL + C - Copy

CTRL + V - Paste

F1 - Help menu

CTRL + Z - Undo

SHIFT & Restart - To restart just Windows and not your whole computer, hold down the Shift key when you click the OK button on the shutdown screen. This will save you a lot of time.

CRTL + TAB - Navigate tabs on a tabbed screen.

File and Desktop Shortcuts

Hold SHIFT while inserting a CD - Prevents the CD from “autorunning.”

If an item is selected:

CTRL while dragging a file copies the file.

CTRL + SHIFT while dragging a file creates a shortcut to the file.

SHIFT + DELETE - Deletes an item without sending it to the Recycle Bin.

ALT + ENTER - Display a file’s properties.

F2 - Rename a file.

In Windows Explorer:

LEFT ARROW - Collapse the current selection if it’s expanded.

NUM LOCK + MINUS SIGN ( – ) - Collapse the selected folder.

NUM LOCK + PLUS SIGN ( + ) - Expand the selected folder.

RIGHT ARROW - Expand the current selection if it is collapsed or select the first subfolder.

NUM LOCK + * (asterisk sign) – Expand all folders below the current selection.

F6 - Switch between left and right panes.

In My Computer:

BACKSPACE - View the folder one level up.

ALT + RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to a previous view.

ALT + LEFT ARROW - Move backward to a previous view.

Internet Browser Shortcuts

For Internet Explorer 6 (may work in older versions as well):

Open History Window	Ctrl + H
Reload	Ctrl + R
Back (Previous Page)	Alt + Left Arrow or Alt + Backspace
Forward (Next Page)	Alt + Right Arrow
Stop	Esc
Home	Alt + Home
Go to Bottom of Page	End
Go to Top of Page	Home
New Window	Ctrl + N
Close Window	Ctrl + W
Go Up One Line	Up Arrow
Go Down One Line	Down Arrow
Full Screen (toggle)	F11
Find on Page	Ctrl + F
Add Current Page to Favorites	Ctrl + D
Print Current Page or Active Frame	Ctrl + P
Organize Favorites (Internet Explorer) and Manage Bookmarks	Ctrl + B
Maximize a Window	Alt + Space + X
Minimize a Window	Alt + Space + N
Scroll Page Up	Alt + Up Arrow
Scroll Page Down	Alt + Down Arrow

Internet Explorer Only

Open Favorites Bar	Ctrl + I
Select Text in Address Bar	Alt + D
Force Reload (not from cache)	Ctrl + F5

A faster way to type in addresses with Internet Explorer is to just type in the name of the site:

For example, just type “worldstart” into your address bar and hit Ctrl + Enter. The “http://www.” and the “.com” parts will be added for you!

Windows Key Shortcuts

The Windows key can be used in conjunction with other keys to act as a keyboard shortcut for faster access to menu commands. Now, while the Alt key tends to open program menus (for example, Alt + F opens the File menu and Alt + E opens the Edit menu) and the Ctrl key performs actual operations (such as Ctrl + C will copy and Ctrl + V will paste), the Windows key will open various Windows tools.

Win key + R will open the Start menu’s Run box.
Win key + F will open the Start menu’s Find window.
Win key + E will quickly launch Explorer.
Win key + Pause/Break will open the System Properties window.
Win key + M will Minimize all open windows.
Win key + Shift + M will undo the minimize of all open windows.
Win key + D will switch between minimizing all open programs and showing them all.
Win key + Tab will cycle through items on the taskbar.

The Windows key by itself will open the Start menu.

You can also open programs or folders on your desktop by pressing the Windows key + the first letter of the program/folder/shortcut + Enter. Sounds kind of tedious, but if you’re in a bind with your mouse, it can come in quite handy!

Arrow Tricks

Here’s a cool little arrow trick to try with word processing programs. The next time you’re using your arrow keys to go from one area of a sentence to another (left and right arrows), hold down your Ctrl key. Instead of moving one space at a time, you’ll go one word at a time.

If you’re using the up and down arrows to go from line to line, holding down the Ctrl key will make your cursor jump from paragraph to paragraph (well, from carriage return to carriage return anyway).

One last thing: If you hold down the Shift key while you do this (for instance, hold down Shift + Ctrl at the same time), you select text as you arrow along.

I’ve tested this in MS Word and Wordpad, but it should work no matter what word processing program you use.

Home/End Key Fun

Do you ever find yourself scrolling through a huge folder? Well, if you need to get to the beginning or the end quickly, just press Ctrl + Home. If you want to get to the end, click Ctrl + End.

And hey, that’s not all!

This little trick works on more than just folders. If you use the Home key in a word processor, it goes to the beginning of the line you’re currently working on. If you hit the End key, it should head to the end of the current line. If you pair Home and End up with the Ctrl key in a word processor, you will be whisked away to the beginning or end of the document. Again, this should work, but it depends on your word processing program.

Wow, that should be enough to keep you busy for awhile. Have fun!

~ Steve

If you enjoy our tips, tell your friends. That’s what keeps this newsletter growing. 
http://www.worldstart.com/referafriend.htm

Streaky Printing, Which is Worse?

Streaky Printing

So, tell me, do you ever have trouble with streaky printing? You know, when you print something, it just comes out all blended together and well, streaky! I’ve dealt with it before and I’m telling you, it’s one of the most frustrating things in the world. It’s so hard to understand why your printer is printing like that and it’s even harder to figure out how to fix it. But you can do that easily with the tip we’re featuring on our homepage today. It will help you get rid of your streaky blues once and for all. Don’t miss it!

Which is Worse?

Do you enjoy taking surveys? Well, you might change your mind when I tell you they’re fun surveys! That’s right, the cool site we’re showcasing on our homepage today is filled with fun surveys just waiting to be taken. It’s called Which is Worse and it basically gives you two options to choose from. You pick which one you think is worse and then you can see how everyone else voted as well. It really is a lot of fun and the only way you can join in is by checking out our homepage sometime today. Get to it!

Here’s the link you need: http://www.worldstart.com/ Enjoy!

captions to your pictures in MS Word

Do you ever find yourself looking to add captions to your pictures in MS Word?

If you did a quick scan through the menus, you probably didn’t run across anything that looked helpful, but if you take a deeper look into the submenus, you’ll find that Word does have a caption feature. You just have to know where to look!

To begin, you need to select the picture, table, equation, etc. you want to caption.

For users of older versions of Word, go to the Insert menu, Reference submenu, Caption choice.

Word 2007 users can either right click on the selected item and choose Caption or go to the References tab on the ribbon and click on the Insert Caption button.

The Caption dialogue window will then open:

You can then choose what type of label you need (Figure, Equation, Table) or you can choose to create your own label with the New Label button.

I must warn you: this feature automatically numbers the label (you can alter how it numbers with the Numbering button) and you’ll have to wait until you’re back in your Word document to remove the number if that’s what you’re looking to do.

You can also choose where the caption should be located relative to the object, so don’t forget to make a selection in the Position field as well.

Click OK when you’re all done.

You’re then returned to your document where your caption is now visible!

At this point, you can click into the caption and do some more editing. For example, you could remove the number or change the font formatting.

I would also recommend you use the Shift key to select both the item and the caption simultaneously and then right click to group them. They’re obviously a matched set, so it makes sense to group them into one.

There you have it. The basics of Word’s caption feature in a nutshell!

~ April

I think I have a virus on my computer and I can’t seem to get rid of it.

Q:
I think I have a virus on my computer and I can’t seem to get rid of it. If I were to format or even erase my hard drive, would that remove the virus? Please help!

A:
I received this question the other day and I figured it was something everyone could benefit from. So, to make sure you’re all aware, here’s a little blurb about it for your viewing pleasure! As you can see, today’s question is pretty intense. It’s also a basic “will that work?” type of question, so that’s exactly what we’re going to find out. Listen up, because this one’s a definite must read!

The short answer to the question is a simple yes. If a virus is infecting your computer, you can format your hard drive (erasing everything on it) to remove it for good. Doing that is just like starting over, so it’s definitely an option if you’ve already run out of other choices. On the other hand, there is a “but” that comes along with that. (You probably knew that was coming, didn’t you?!)

While the format process will take care of the virus, you have to be careful when you’re putting everything back on your computer. For example, if any one of the programs, files, etc. you put back on your computer contain a part of the virus, it will go right back on your PC as if nothing changed. That includes any backups you did, any media drives you may use and so on.

The virus could be stored anywhere, so you really have to pay attention when you’re reloading your computer. Make sure you put your virus scan programs back on first and run them continuously until you have everything installed again. Take your time and be patient. Otherwise, the virus will be back in action in no time at all and that’s just not acceptable. Be safe!

~ Erin