Using your keyboard efficiently could make your life so much easier when it comes to operating a computer – so much easier, in fact, that you may not even need to use your mouse or trackpad ever again! You can start using keyboard shortcuts to complete tasks much more quickly. Something that may have taken forever in the past will soon become something you can do in minutes. Syntax IT support London has compiled a list of keyboard hacks and shortcuts you can start incorporating into your computer use.
1) The first shortcuts on the list will allow you to switch, minimise and close your windows with ease. There’s no longer any need to waste time reaching for your mouse – all you need to do is:
Windows + Up arrow key to maximise a program.
Windows + Down arrow key to restore and then minimise a program.
Alt + Space + N to minimise a maximised (non-restored) program.
Ctrl + Tab to switch between tabs on a browser.
Ctrl + W to close a tab.
Ctrl + T open a new tab.
These little keyboard shortcuts will allow you to work between a number of web pages in half the time.
2) The next keyboard trick lets you shut down, restart or lock your computer.
Alt + F4 to shut down your system
Alt + Ctrl + Delete to restart, lock or enter sleep mode.
3) Another good keyboard hack to remember lets you launch programs that are pinned on the taskbar. To open up your pinned programs, press the windows key followed by a number from 1 to 9. Each program pinned on the taskbar matches up with a number according to the position it is in. So for example, Win + 4 will open the fourth application in the task bar and so on.
4) The following keyboard hack is for those who want to become experts at Microsoft Word. Using these shortcuts, you can guide yourself through a Microsoft Word document like an absolute pro.
To select text by paragraph, you need to use Ctrl + Shift + Up or Down arrow key. Each press of the arrow – whether it is up or down – will select whole sentences. If you want to just select letters then it is Shift + Left or Right arrow keys.
Another nifty trick is Ctrl+Shift+F8 to select a rectangular block of text. You can use the arrow keys to determine the size of the selected text. If you want to exit the selection mode – Esc is all you need.
More general shortcuts for Microsoft Word, which work on many other programs too, include Ctrl + A to select all (this could be text, pictures or links), Crtl + Z to undo and Crtl + Y to redo any steps. To cut, copy and paste text and images use Ctrl + X to cut, Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste.
If you need to format any text, some simple shortcuts you can use are Ctrl + I for italic text, Ctrl + B for bold text and Ctrl + U for underlined text. It is important to be aware that these shortcuts do not work when manipulating or formatting texts on social media or other web pages.
There is a keyboard shortcut for almost every action you want to perform on a computer. This list just covers a few of the basics that we hope will make your life a little bit easier. Once you get the hang of these keyboard tricks and hacks, you can even try programming your own to say goodbye to your mouse for good.
