CTRL + Z = Undo! You were working on a document the other day and made a big mistake. You messed up just about the whole thing and it took forever to get it back to the way it was. Is there a better way? Yes. First, if you make a mistake, hit CTRL-Z. In most programs, that will undo whatever it was that you just did. Bad thing is that many programs only give you one or two of these undos. Then you're stuck - or are you? One clever way to make sure you can always go back is to save your file frequently - especially...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Word Processing Problems Are you having a hard time with your word processor? When you go to highlight a large section of text with your mouse (more than what's currently shown on the screen), you zip right past the point where you want to stop. So, you keep your mouse button down, and go back up only to zip by your stopping point again. This can go on and on in a vicious circle. Here's how to stop this hassle. The best way I know of is to lay off the mouse a little (they can get wild, ya know). First, put your cursor at the point...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Shifty Little Tabs Most people know if they hit the tab key, they can hop from control to control in a program. What most don't realize is that if they hold the shift key while they tab, they can go backwards through the controls. Sidebar: Before you ask, Controls are the "objects" you interact (play) with in a program. Stuff like buttons, checkboxes, text boxes, lists, etc. are all controls. Basically, if you can do something with it, it's considered a control. End SidebarFor example, say you're filling out a form on...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Don't touch that mouse! If you are a decent typist, you probably find it annoying to hop constantly between the keyboard and your mouse. I find it irritating and I'm not even that great of a typist! So, here are a couple of ways to help keep your fingers safely at the keyboard. Here's a trick for generating a "right-click" from your keyboard. Make sure your cursor is where you want it and hit the SHIFT & F10 keys together. You can then use your arrow keys to select the menu option you need (hit ENTER once you have made the selection)....

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Number Locking (Sorry, no picts on this one, I can't grab a screen shot without Windows running) Does your NumLock key need to be activated every time you boot your computer? Well, *most* computers have a setting that allows you to have it turn on automatically. Since this tip requires you to play around with your computer's system settings (NOT Windows settings), I need to tell you that it's a do-at-your-own-risk deal (more so than usual). Since all computers are a little different, you may find the instructions below aren't *exactly*...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Where Was I? Have you ever been working on a large document in MS Word? You know, one of those really long, several day projects that we all love? The bad thing (as if a several day project isn't bad enough) is when you open the document, your cursor sits at the very top. You end up scrolling all over the place just to figure out where you left off. Hmm, but do you have to? Nope, just hit SHIFT - F5 and you'll be transported to the position your cursor was at when you saved the document (be it top, bottom, or middl...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Arrow Tricks Here's a cool little arrow trick. 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 (i.e. hold...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

CTRL Your Folders (and more) Do you ever find yourself scrolling through a huge folder? 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. 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 probably 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. Use HOME & END with the CTRL key in a word ...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Find Stuff Has this ever happened to you? You're looking for something on a long web page with Internet Explorer. You think it's there, but you're faced with seemingly insurmountable number of paragraphs, sentences, and words to hunt though. Well, next time this happens to you, hit the Edit menu, Find (or CTRL-F for you shortcut lovers). You'll get a handy little "find" box that lets you type in a specific word. After you type in your search term, hit the Find Next button and Explorer will look for that word on the...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Wheel Mouse Trick Do you have one of those handy little wheel mice? If so, here's a cool trick for Internet Explorer that you'll like. Have you ever found yourself on a web page with a font so tiny it was almost unreadable? Well, don't strain your eyes a moment longer. Next time you visit a page like that, hold down your CTRL key and roll the wheel on your wheel mouse. You'll find that you can increase / decrease the font size as fast as your finger can spin that little wheel. Give it a try now if you like. Here's some small text...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Tips & Tricks Undo Tricks If you use computers a lot, you probably find yourself out in the real world wishing you had an Undo command (you know, like just before you're about to smash your new car). Well, the "universal" undo shortcut is: CTRL-Z CTRL-Z is normally used in word processing documents, but it also works just about anywhere in windows. Let's say you accidentally drag an icon to your desktop and really wish you had it to do over. Well, hit CTRL-Z and the icon vacates your desktop...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

A Fast System Properties Box Need to get to your system properties? Well, you *could* click the Start button, Settings, Control Panel, then open the System icon. Want a faster way? Hold down the ALT key and double click the My Computer icon on your desktop. And you get this: ...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Get Sticky I love using keyboard shortcuts. It's quick and makes me look like I'm a pro or something. However, I realize that many of you like to keep one hand on the mouse, so those three key combos are out. How about a way to type one key at a time rather than all at once? This feature is called "Sticky Keys" and gives you a delay between key strokes when doing a keyboard shortcut. Let's say you want to copy something-rather than hold down Ctrl + C you can type Ctrl then C. Ready to get sticky? Here's what to do... Head over to the ...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Instant Properties Here's a quick little trick you'll like. If you need to get the properties for something (like an icon, for instance), just hold down your ALT key and double-click it. Instant properties! Try it with "My Computer" or one of your regular desktop icons. And yes, I know that you can also right-click an item and select Properties from the resulting menu. I just thought this was cool...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Caps Lock Trick Don't you hate it when you accidentally hit the Caps Lock key? Sometimes I have a whole sentence typed in before I realize my mistake! (I know, GASP!) What if you could set your computer up so it alerts you when your pinky finger wanders off and taps the Caps Lock key? With this tip, I'll show you how to make your computer beep & flash the next time it happens. The first thing you'll need to do is get the computer to beep when you hit the Caps Lock key. Here's how: 1. Click the Start button, Settings,...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Tips & Tricks The BIG Keyboard Shortcut List What is the allure of keyboard shortcuts? Do they really save time? Why bother since my mouse is permanently attached to my hand? I like to use keyboard shortcuts, especially if someone is watching me, because they make me look like a pro. With just a few key strokes I can leave a mouser spinning his wheel! Whatever your motivation, here's a big list of keyboard shortcuts: GENERAL SHORTCUTS ALT- F4 - Quit a program / Shut down ALT-TAB - Hold down the ALT key and ...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Do You Know the Menu Key? I made a new friend today. It was there all along and I never noticed it on the right side of my keyboard between the Window Key and the Control Key. I don't even know its name, so I'll call it the Menu Key. Why? Because when you press it, it opens up a drop-down menu for whatever program you're in. The menu includes all the information you would see if you right clicked, so I guess you could also call it the Right-Click Key. So, next time you're typing away and need an edit menu or some other feature that...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips

Copy & Paste First off, you'll be glad to learn copying and pasting is easy. You can copy and paste just about anything your little heart desires: text, web pages, files, pictures, you name it. The idea behind the process is to take information from one place and deposit it into another. For an example, let's pretend you're working in a word processor and need to copy and paste a section of your document into an e-mail. Here's how: 1. First, you'll need to select the text you wish to copy. You do this by putting your mouse...

Read more »

Posted in: Keyboard Tips