📅 18th February 2016 | Software & Tips
Superhero Shortcuts
I first came across these keyboard shortcuts when I entered the workplace a decade or two ago. A helpful colleague spotted me repetitively copying and pasting sections of a document and introduced me to the world of amazing keystroke combinations.
Often undervalued and sometimes neglected these few basic shortcuts can help you speed through your work. Here’s an introduction, or reminder, of the keyboard superheroes.
1. Cycling through options – the Tab key combination speeds up access.
Windows: Ctrl + Tab or Alt + Tab
Mac: Cmd + Tab
- In the operating system it cycles through open windows.
- In a tabbed program or browser it moves through the tabs.
- In online forms, spreadsheets and more Tab moves the cursor to the next field.
2. Find anything – searching a single web page, document, pdf or spreadsheet, it’s like a micro search.
Windows: Ctrl + F
Mac: Cmd + F
3. Selecting ‘All’ – if you need to underline, italicise or bold all the text in a section you’ll need to select it first. Use this shortcut and it’s done in an instant.
Windows: Ctrl + A
Mac: Cmd + A
4. Cut, Copy and Paste – removing, duplicating or inserting text saves time but applying these shortcuts provides a superboost! Highlight the required text first.
Windows: Cut = Ctrl + X, Copy = Ctrl + C, Paste = Ctrl + V
Mac: Cut = Cmd + X, Copy = Cmd + C, Paste = Cmd + V
5. Bold, Italicise and Underline – styling your text made simple. Just highlight the section you’re applying the style to.
Windows: bold = Ctrl + B, Italics = Ctrl + I, Underline = Ctrl + U
Mac: Bold = Cmd + B, Italics = Cmd + I, Underline = Cmd + U
Completing another repetitive tasks within your documents? There will be shortcut commands for them. Just check the pull down or right click menus to check, some of the shortcut keys will be underlined.