Useful Windows Keyboard Shortcuts for IT Pros - Part 2 ~ Ask The Admin

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Useful Windows Keyboard Shortcuts for IT Pros - Part 2

Following on from Part 1, where I shared some useful keyboard shortcuts for general Windows usage, Part 2 covers useful shortcuts for working with Files and Text.

Working with Files and Text

F2
Rename the highlighted file in Explorer. Edits a Cell in Excel / OpenOffice Calc.

Alt + Enter
View properties of the selected item. Works in Explorer, but also works in other places, including Outlook.

Shift + Drag file
Moves files instead of copying them to separate volumes or disks.

Control + A
Selects all text, or all files in a directory. Very useful when you need to highlight everything and then Copy or Move (Cut) it somewhere.

Control + C
Copies the highlighted item (could be text, or a file/folder). Also, Control + X cuts the highlighted item.

Control + V
Pastes whatever you just copied.

Control + Z
Undoes your last action. This even applies when you've deleted a file and want to restore it. Always useful when writing up blog posts ;)

Control + Y
Reapplies the action you just "undid".

Text Specific

Control + B
Emboldens selected text, or starts to embolden text after you've used the shortcut. Use it again to turn off emboldening.

Control + I
Italicises selected text, or starts to italicise text after you've used the shortcut. Use it again to turn off italicise.

Control + U
Underlines selected text, or starts to underline text after you've used the shortcut. Use it again to turn off underline.

Control + Left or Right Arrow
Move forward to back a word.

Control + Shift + Left or Right Arrow
Highlight a word, backwards or forwards. Keep tapping to highlight more words

Control + Up or Down Arrow
Move to beginning or end of a line.

Shift + Up or Down Arrow
Highlight an entire line up or down.

Control + Backspace
Deletes one word to the left (behind).

Control + Delete
Deletes one word to the right (in front).


Have I missed any useful ones? What shortcuts do you use? Let me know in the comments! :)


Article originally published at Mind Circus - Inside the mind of a young IT Professional