Hey How’d You Do That?

by Ang Biondo

 

Like a lot of other old timers who kind of evolved with computers from the infancy of the first home PC’s and the old “DOS” days, much of what I do in the process of using a computer is second nature to me. That doesn’t make us any smarter than the person just getting into computing and certainly am more than likely to be at a disadvantage to the younger computer age generation.

 

My two year old grand-daughter may not be fully conversational yet, but she is well adapted to the computer.  She has a computerized game interface Vtech unit which plugs into the TV which is quite intricate for an adult let alone a 2 yr old, and believe me she knows what buttons to push to select the game she wants to play and the buttons to use while in the game.  I suspect she’ll be teaching me a thing or two before you know it.  My older grand kids ranging in age from 7 to 17 already are teaching me a thing or two.

 

I still however, feel good when they ask for help, but I often think that it is a jesture to make me feel needed. For example, My 13 yr old grand-daughter happen to be watching over my sholder one day when I was cleanin up the “desktop” on my computer and happen to delete one of her icon’s.  I didn’t recognize it and didn’t realize she had placed a shortcut their for a project she was working on. She saw me delete before she coulc stop me and was a little upset about it.  I asked her what it was, when she told me I told her it wasn’t a problem. When she hollered out “Don’t!”, me first reaction was to hit “Ctrl” + “z” reversing the action.  She looked back at the screen and stood there with open mouth, “But I just saw you delete that.”  I of course denied deleting anything and told her she must have been day dreaming.  But, she insisted and wanted to know the deep down techy secret to its reapearance.  When I showed her what I had done she naturally wanted to know what other shortcut secrets I was keeping from her.

 

Anyone interested can obtain the full list of the Microsoft Windows shortcuts can be found on the Microsoft Web Site at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301583 

 

The site lists the shortcuts for Windows XP, but I have Vista Ultimate on my Notebook and all of the shortcuts I use also work with Vista.  I mostly use a number of  the General keyboard shortcuts, but I have downloaded the entire set and review it from time to time just to keep them in memory so I don’t forget them. (It doesn’t work - I forget those I don’t usually use any way).  All of the shortcuts are listed bellow for those who don’t want or like to search the site for the info.  I hope you find them as handy as I  have.

 

General keyboard shortcuts

• CTRL+C (Copy)

• CTRL+X (Cut)

• CTRL+V (Paste)

• CTRL+Z (Undo)

• DELETE (Delete)

• SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)

• CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)

• CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)

• F2 key (Rename the selected item)

• CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)

• CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)

• CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)

• CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)

• CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)

• SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a

document)

• CTRL+A (Select all)

• F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)

• ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)

• ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)

• ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)

• ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)

• CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open

 

Dialog box keyboard shortcuts

If you press SHIFT+F8 in extended selection list boxes, you enable extended selection mode. In this mode, you can

use an arrow key to move a cursor without changing the selection. You can press CTRL+SPACEBAR or

SHIFT+SPACEBAR to adjust the selection. To cancel extended selection mode, press SHIFT+F8 again. Extended

selection mode cancels itself when you move the focus to another control.

 

Microsoft natural keyboard shortcuts

simultaneously)

• ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)

• ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)

• F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)

• F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

• SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)

• ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)

• CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)

• ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)

• Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)

• F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)

• RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)

• LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)

• F5 key (Update the active window)

• BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

• ESC (Cancel the current task)

• SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

• CTRL+SHIFT+ESC (Open Task Manager)

• CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)

• CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)

• TAB (Move forward through the options)

• SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)

• ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)

• ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)

• SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)

• Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)

• F1 key (Display Help)

• F4 key (Display the items in the active list)

• BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

• Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)

• Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)

• Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)

• Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)

• Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)

• Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)

• Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)

• CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)

• Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)

 

Accessibility keyboard shortcuts

 

Windows Explorer keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:

 

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) main window keyboard shortcuts

• Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)

• Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)

• Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

• Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)

• Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)

• Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)

• SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)

• NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)

• Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

• END (Display the bottom of the active window)

• HOME (Display the top of the active window)

• NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)

• NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)

• NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)

• LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)

• RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

• RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)

• LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)

• UP ARROW (Move up one row)

• DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)

• PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)

• PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)

• HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)

• END (Move to the end of the line)

• CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)

• CTRL+END (Move to the last character)

• SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)

• CTRL+O (Open a saved console)

• CTRL+N (Open a new console)

• CTRL+S (Save the open console)

• CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)

• CTRL+W (Open a new window)

• F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)

• ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)

• ALT+F4 (Close the console)

• ALT+A (Display the Action menu)

 

MMC console window keyboard shortcuts

Remote desktop connection navigation

Microsoft Internet Explorer navigation

Other information

• ALT+V (Display the View menu)

• ALT+F (Display the File menu)

• ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

• CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)

• ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)

• SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)

• F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)

• F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)

• CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)

• CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)

• ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)

• F2 key (Rename the selected item)

• CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes

the console)

• CTRL+ALT+END (Open the Microsoft Windows NT Security dialog box)

• ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)

• ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)

• ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)

• ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)

• CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)

• ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)

• CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard

and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

• CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard

and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

• CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)

• CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)

• CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)

• CTRL+H (Open the History bar)

• CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)

• CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)

• CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)

• CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)

• CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)

• CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)

• CTRL+W (Close the current window)

 

·      Some keyboard shortcuts may not work if StickyKeys is turned on in Accessibility Options.

·      Some of the Terminal Services client shortcuts that are similar to the shortcuts in Remote Desktop Sharing are not available when you use Remote Assistance in Windows XP Home Edition.

·      Some of the other Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that have similar information as this article are:

o     126449 ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449/ )  Keyboard shortcuts for Windows

o     255090 ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255090/ ) Keystroke navigation in Windows 2000 Help

 

·              Refer to Help for the most current information regarding keyboard navigation and visit the following Microsoft Accessibility Web site for additional information that relates to keyboard shortcuts and keyboard navigation in Windows and other Microsoft products: http://www.microsoft.com/enable