The PC Informant » Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcut to change font size in Microsoft Word

Vic Laurie — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:49:48 +0000

Here is another keyboard shortcut for Microsoft Word that I think is handy. I sometimes find that I want to make a sentence or particular piece of text display in a larger font size. You can do this through some menu manipulation but there is a quicker way. Select the text that you want to change, hold down the Ctrl key, and press ] (right square bracket) until the font is the size you want. Hold down Ctrl and press [ (left bracket) to make the font smaller.

Easy way to disable the keyboard

Vic Laurie — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:09:30 +0000

Do you have a cat that likes to jump on your computer keyboard? Or maybe there’s a three-year old in your house that loves to pound the keys when you’re not looking. Here is a little free application to turn the keyboard on and off. It’s called Keyboard Locker and it’s from the How-to Geek. It’ll let you leave your PC unattended for a few minutes without having to fear that strange things may be entered into your keyboard while you’re gone. Of course, assuming you use a USB connection, you can also just unplug the keyboard.

A complete compendium of Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts

Vic Laurie — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:01:00 +0000

The Windows Club has made available for download a free PDF file with a “complete” set of Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts. I put “complete” in quotes because there may be thousands of possible keyboard shortcuts in Windows; this ebook has just over 200. In any event, this is a useful reference work. The download includes an XPS formatted document as well as a PDF. Most home PC users can just keep the PDF.

Open file and folder properties sheets from the keyboard

Vic Laurie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:35:07 +0000

Some of the most common file or folder operations involve the properties sheet. It is usual to access this dialog box by right-clicking on the file or folder and then selecting “Properties” from the context menu. Another way that may be faster is to hold down the “Alt” key and double-click the file or folder. If the file or folder has already been selected, the keyboard combination Alt + Enter also works.

Quick keyboard launch of applications

Vic Laurie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:21:20 +0000

The Quick Launch toolbar has provided a way to easily open favorite applications with a mouse click ever since Windows 98. In Windows Vista, a hotkey function using the Windows key was introduced and then continued in Windows 7. Each icon in the Quick Launch Bar is assigned a number 1-9 from left to right. Number 10 is assigned “0″. (Eleven and up are out of luck.) Then the combination of the Windows key and a single digit will open the designated application or folder.

For example, if the icon is placed fourth from the left in the Quick Launch Bar, the keyboard combination “Windows key + 4″ will open it. By itself, this keyboard shortcut may not be faster than a click on the icon with the mouse but if your hands are already on the keyboard, it saves time.

Quick exits- shortcut to shut down your PC in Windows 7

Vic Laurie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:40:32 +0000

A very popular class of shortcuts consists of those that provide a quick way to shut down the PC. I have previously given some for Windows XP and Windows Vista and now here is one for Windows 7. Like the previous keyboard shortcuts, the Windows 7 procedure involves a sequence of keys individually pressed. To shut down, press one at a time Windows key, Right arrow, Enter

As a reminder, the shortcut sequence for Windows XP is Windows key, u, u

For Windows Vista the default action is not shutdown but a kind of sleep function. The sequence is Windows key, Right arrow, Enter

To actually shut down in Vista, a much longer sequence is required: Windows key, Right Arrow, Right Arrow, Right Arrow, u

The function of the Windows key in all these operations is to open the Start menu. If your PC lacks a Windows key, its function can be replaced by the keyboard combination Ctrl + Esc, which also opens the Start menu. (The Control key has to be held down while pressing the Escape key.) Thus, the Windows 7 shortcut would become Ctrl + Esc, Right arrow, Enter

Quick way to change text case in Microsoft Word

Vic Laurie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:20:12 +0000

I’m no Microsoft Word expert but every now and then I like to pass on a Word tip that I find useful. If you highlight some text in a Word document, you can cycle through all upper case, all lower case, and title case with the keyboard combination “Shift + F3″. Repeat the action to go through all the variations of case.

Unfortunately, this shortcut doesn’t work in Notepad or several other text editors I tried. Anybody know where else this might work?

The “undo” function

Vic Laurie — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:30:33 +0000

There must be thousands of keyboard shortcuts in Windows. Many of them are quite useful but a normal human will probably remember only a select few. One of the handiest shortcuts is well known but it’s worth repeating. If you are going to use any keyboard shortcuts, include this one in your repertoire. It is the closest thing to an “undo” function in Windows. I am referring, of course, to the combination Ctrl+z. In a large array of applications, this will cancel your previous operation.

For example, in many text editors, including Word, it will restore text that you just deleted or reverse other editing operations. If you move a file and decide you’d really rather have it back in the original location, Ctrl+z will undo the move. Put something in the Recycle Bin by mistake and Ctrl+z will restore it. And so on for many different situations. Check your software applications to see how the operation applies.

Remember that you must do Ctrl+z right after the operation you want to undo. Do something in between and you’ve lost your chance.

In some (but not all) cases, there is a redo shortcut. If you can’t make up your mind and want to restore something you just undid, Ctrl+y is often the shortcut. This applies in Word but doesn’t work for all types of operations.

Quickly find a desktop icon

Vic Laurie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:46:48 +0000

Do you have a forest of icons on your desktop and sometimes find it hard to pick out the icon you want? I previously posted a series of articles on how to unclutter your desktop. But if somehow those icons still seem to pile up, here’s a way to help find the icon you are seeking. Just type the first letter of the name of the icon that you are looking for. That will highlight it. Or if several icons have the same first letter, type the first several letters in the name. Note that this trick won’t work unless the desktop has the focus. Clicking on a blank spot on the desktop will ensure the correct focus.

Quick exits- how to close many open windows at once

Vic Laurie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:53:44 +0000

It’s easy to have a lot of applications open at the same time. If the time comes when you would like to close some or all of them, there is a quicker way than clicking one at a time on the close button for each. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the icon in the task bar for each window you want to close. Continue to hold down the Ctrl key and right-click on any one of the previously selected icons in the taskbar. In the context menu that opens, choose “Close Group”. All the selected applications will close. If any application has unsaved work, it will prompt you.

Another less selective way uses the combination of the Alt key and the F4 key. Hold down the Alt key and press the F4 key. This will close whichever window has the focus. Repeated pressing of the F4 key while holding down the Alt key will keep closing windows. If you press F4 too many times, the PC shutdown menu will come up. But that’s a tip for another day.