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):

Internet Explorer Only

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

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!

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

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

A:
Oooh, great question! First of all, you’re absolutely right. In recent newsletters, we here at WorldStart have told you how to create a shortcut to shut down your Windows XP or Windows Vista computer. If you happened to miss out on those two tips, you can read here for XP and here for Vista. Both have similar instructions, but it’s very important to follow along with the directions for the operating system you use. Otherwise, who knows what you might create!

Now, since you now know how to quickly shut your computer down, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to restart it just as fast? You know, maybe your computer froze up on you and you need a speedy escape route. Or, perhaps you’re just trying to restart your computer after a program install. Either way, there is, in fact, an easy way to create a restart shortcut for your computer as well. I’ll go over the directions for XP first and then move on to Vista.

In Windows XP, right click on your desktop and go to New, Shortcut. In the wizard box for “Type the location of the item,” enter this in: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -r. (It may be best to copy and paste that into the box to make sure you have it correct). Click Next when you’re done and then Finish to complete the process.

In Windows Vista, right click on your desktop and go to New, Shortcut. You will then see the New Shortcut wizard pop up on your screen. The first box will ask you for the location of your shortcut. In the box, type “shutdown.exe -r -t 01″ (without the quotations). Then just simply hit the Next button to finish out the process.

No matter which operating system you use, you will now see a new icon on your desktop and you can test it out by double clicking on it. Once you do, your computer will restart for you, just like it would if you went to Start, Restart. You can also rename your shortcut by right clicking on it and choosing Rename. You can name it whatever you’d like. I went the simple route and named mine “Restart,” but I’m sure you can come up with something a little more clever!

Either way, you now have a restart shortcut for your computer, just like you wanted. I bet your computer has the fastest shutdown and restart times in town and I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it gets any better than that!

For More Keep Reading Computer Software Tips

First, you can just do a simple copy and paste. Go up to the address bar in your Web browser, highlight the link, right click on it and choose Copy. Then go to your e-mail program and open up a brand new message box. Place your cursor in there, right click again and click on Paste. The Web link will then appear in the e-mail. You can then write a little message to your friend and tell them to click on the link to go to the site. If you want to paste the link in another program (like MS Word, for instance), just do the same exact thing.

Now, if you’re on a site and you see a link within it that you want to share with someone, right click on it and choose Copy Shortcut or Copy Link Location. You can then go and paste that link in an e-mail or wherever you’d like (just like I explained above). You can also use that method to copy a photo link from a Web site. If the picture has a link included with it, you can right click on it and choose the same options. Then just paste it and everyone you send it to will be able to see the image. Pretty cool, huh? Give it a try today!

Print Some or Print All

Today’s tip comes from a reader who wanted to know how to print an entire MS Excel workbook all at once.

That’s a good question. After all, it’s a royal pain to print each worksheet individually.

So, how exactly can you print an entire workbook at one time?

The answer takes you back to the Print dialogue window (Ctrl + P).

Once again, you’re looking for the “Print what” section.

This time, you’ll want to select the “Entire workbook” choice and then proceed with the printing.

Now, let’s take this one step further.

What if you want to print multiple worksheets, but not all of them?

No problem!

Before you start the printing process, hold down the Ctrl key and select the tabs of the worksheets to be printed.

At this point, you’re ready to move on to the Print dialogue window (Ctrl + P).

In the “Print what” section, make sure the “Active sheet(s)” option is selected and then proceed as usual.

Print one, print some or print it all. It’s all up to you!

Yep, you read that right! With the newer versions of MS Outlook (2002, 2003 and 2007), you can surf the Web, without ever leaving Outlook.

First, you need to display the Web toolbar. It’s located under the View menu, Toolbar submenu, Web choice.

To switch to the Internet from one of your usual Outlook functions, simply enter a Web address into the Web toolbar and hit the Enter key.

Immediately, the main screen becomes a browser, but the Outlook Bar/Navigation Pane on the left is still visible, like this:

To return to whatever Outlook function you choose, simply click in the Outlook Bar/Navigation Pane as usual.

Now, I’m sure there are several of you who are quite content with separate browser and e-mail programs, but it never hurts to know what can be done with the other programs you use. You never know when a little tidbit of information may come in handy!

~ April

It’s Official: Mozilla Sets Record

I know I’m a little behind on this piece of news, but I still wanted to share it with all of you, just in case you haven’t heard yet. On July 2, 2008, it was announced that Mozilla has officially been added to the Guinness World Records for the most downloads of one application in one day. The new Firefox 3 Web browser was released back on June 18, 2008 and it was declared “Download Day,” because Mozilla was trying to make history. And needless to say, they passed with flying colors!

The final tally of downloads for that day came to 8,002,530. In one day? How cool is that?! Of course, the number of downloads to date has surpassed 28 million, but that’s a pretty amazing total for a 24 hour period. So, if you look up the latest version of Guinness World Records, you will see Mozilla’s accomplishment mixed in with all the other feats. The Mozilla company has to feel on top of the world right about now!

This is what the Records manager Gareth Deaves had to say about the whole thing, “As the arbiter and recorder of the world’s amazing facts, Guinness World Records is pleased to add Mozilla’s achievement to our archives. Mobilizing over eight million Internet users within 24 hours is an extremely impressive accomplishment and we would like to congratulate the Mozilla community for their hard work and dedication.” It doesn’t get much better than that, now does it?!

~ Erin

Re-Posted By Computer Software Tips

Do you ever find yourself looking to repeat the last string of typing you did in MS Word?

Perhaps you have a phrase that needs to be repeated throughout a document or maybe it’s a repetitious list. Whatever the case may be, I simply have to ask: what did you do?

Maybe you went the difficult route and retyped the text each time.

Maybe you highlighted the text and then copied/pasted it. That’s definitely a shorter way, but it’s still not the shortest.

How would you like an easy key combination that will put your last typed string of text anywhere you place the cursor in your document?

That sounds like a good idea to me and fortunately, I’ve got just the thing!

To repeat your last typed text, simply use Ctrl + Y.

Yep, it’s that easy! Just place the cursor at the next insertion point and press Ctrl + Y. You then have an instant insert of text without any extra fuss!

~ April