There are two important reasons why anybody should use keyboard
shortcuts instead of mouse.
-
The use of mouse is one of the main triggers of Repetitive Strain Injury,
tendinitis and other similar muscolosceletal disorders. Sufferers of these
disorders report that they feel less pain when typing compared to when mousing.
Thus, a desire to avoid mouse as much as possible.
-
Once keyboard shortcuts have been mastered then one can work much faster and be
more productive.
Both the above reasons apply a fortiori in the case of people who make
intense use of the computer, especially those who do a lot of word-processing.
Obviousty, translators fall on this category.
Personally I hardly ever touch the mouse when I use Microsoft Word and I am
sure that my output must have increased manyfold since the times I performed
most of the tasks through the mouse. It must be noted however that mice have
improved a lot and an optical mouse with a scroll wheel is definitely more
ergonomic (if used correctly that is).
Below I will mention the shortcuts I use more often and I will elaborate on my
methodology. At the end of this article you will find extensive lists of
keyboard shortcuts grouped in tables for Windows and
Word.
Keyboard shortcuts for Windows
Accessing Windows with keyboard shortcuts only is not that hard. The first
thing one needs to know is that the Start menu opens by pressing the Win key
(the one on the left of Alt which has the Windows icon) or by pressing Ctrl+Esc
in older keyboards. Moreover you can explore desktop items by using Tab ot
Shift+Tab and launch your favourite application by pressing Enter.
If what we want is to open a document that we had been working on then we can
go directly to it by pressing Start->Documents, and using the arrow
keys to reach the one we want and then press Enter to open it (Windows
stores shortcuts to a number of recently opened documents from different
applications).
There is an easy way to launch applications by assigning a keyboard shortctut
to a desktop or menu item. For example if you have a shortcut for Word on you
desktop you right-click on it an then select Properties. Then you
click in the Shortcut field and type a shortcut, ie Ctrl+Shift+K or
one of the Function keys, F11/F10/F9 would be a fairly safe options.
Then you click OK and you are done.
There is an extra trick you can use in this context, you can run the
application with parameters. For example when you right click on the Word
shortcut and click Properties you will see a Target field which
contains the following string or a similar one "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE". If you add to this field the /mFile1
parameter so that it reads "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE" /mFile1, then every time you click this
shortcut the last edited document will open automatically. Hence
you can have one simple shortcut for Word and another one (perhaps you could
rename it to Word - Last by pressing F2 when the item is
highlighted and then typing the new name) which will open the last edited
document. A useful utility for running programs with parameters (as well as
printing / saving folder contents) is
Magenta's Extensions for Windows.
If we have more than one windows open then we need a way to switch from one to
another. This can be done with Alt+Tab. Alt+Tab is my most used windows
shortcut. Press Alt with your left-hand thumb, and then quickly press Tab
(without lifting Alt!) and then you will see a square moving from one icon to
the next. Keep pressing Tab until you find the desired application and then
lift both fingers. If you want to close one of the open windows you can use my third
most used windows shortcut: Alt+F4. When there are no active
windows it brings up the "Windows Shut Down" dialogue box. In this case it is a
quick way to shut down your computer as all you do is press Alt+F4 and
then Enter (provided the Shut Down option is selected). In Windows XP
you also have to press the right arrow once before pressing Enter
in order to move to the Shut Down option. Hence in order to quickly shut
down your computer if you have Windows XP you press Alt+F4 ->Right
Arrow->Enter.
Last but not least I should mention that my second most used shortcut is Alt+Shift
- a quick way to change languages (a very common task for a translator). If you
do this and it does not seem to work you should check your Settings at Start->Settings->
Control Panel->Keyboard->Language->Switch Languages.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Word
Moving, selecting and formatting are three of the commonest tasks in Word.
Thankfully the programmers have provided all the appropriate keyboard shortcuts
that make life easier.
First of all though a life-saver: once you've messed up things (and you
quite don't know how you did it) simply press Ctrl+Z (if needs must more
than once). It will undo your latest actions and hopefully you will retrieve
your lost text! (It will not work however if what you see is a blank New
Document which you created accidentally by clicking Ctrl+N by mistake.
In this case simply close the blank document(s) pressing Ctrl+W and
hopefully your "lost" text will reappear.)
As far as moving is concerned the key players are Ctrl, the arrow keys
and the Home, End, Page Up, Page Down keys. By using any combination of
the above one can achieve almost anything. One thing we need to know is that Ctrl
adds an extra boost to whatever we do. For example, if we simply press the right
arrow key we move one character right; if we hold Ctrl whilst
pressing the right arrow key we move one word right. On the same
vein if we press the down arrow key we move one line down; if we
hold Ctrl whilst pressing the down arrow key we move one paragraph
down. You want to know more? Click for a listing of all the
navigation keyboard shortcuts.
Once you've mastered moving selecting is a piece of cake. To whatever action
you used to move you add the Shift button and it will select instead of
moving. For example, if we simply press the right arrow key we move one character
left; if we hold Shift and then press the right arrow key we select
one character right; Click for a listing of all
the selecting keyboard shortcuts.
When it comes to selecting text Word XP has a very helpful new feature
which is called multiple selection, ie you can select one chunk of text
and then go on to select another one in a different paragraph for example. This
is done with the aid of the mouse. First we select the desired text by clicking
and dragging the mouse. Then we hold down the Ctrl key and keep
selecting any other bits of text we want with the mouse. This technique can be
useful when, for instance, we want to italicize many different words or phrases
in the same document and we don't want to repeat the selection process for each
and every one of them.
Now since you've mastered how to move through the document and select text all
you need to know is how to quickly copy it, paste it, cut it, format it. By
using the Ctrl key and adding X, C, V you cut, copy and paste
respectively. By using the Ctrl key and adding B, I, U you make
the text bold, italics and underlined respectively. Do you
want to justify your paragraph? No problem. Just press Ctrl+J. As you
see Ctrl is the key to remember! More formatting shortcuts? Click
here.
My working methodology could be succinctly described with the following four
shortcuts. Alt+Tab, Ctrl+C/V, Shift+F5. First of all I use Alt+Tab
in order to move from one program to another (in my case from one dictionary to
another and then back to Word). Then I use Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V in
order to copy text from the dictionaries and paste it in word. Moreover, the
above too are used quite often whilst working in the document. For example if a
phrase has been repeated a few lines or paragraphs up I will locate it by using Page
Up, or Ctrl+F (Find), select it by using Ctrl+Shift+right arrow,
copy it by using Ctrl+C, then I will click Shift+F5 in order to
return to the same point in the document and then click Ctrl+V in order
to paste it. If you work with more than one document open at the same time then
you can use the Ctrl+F6 shortcut to navigate from one to another. Its
difference from Alt+Tab is that you can only move from one Word document
to another, whereas with Alt+Tab you can move through all your open
applications/documents.
My all time favourite shortcut in Word (as well as a number of other programs)
is Ctrl+H. Now most people who are involved with editing texts know the Ctrl+F
(Find) shortcut (which I already mentioned in the previous paragraph).
However, Ctrl+H goes a step further displaying the Replace field
as well (saving you an extra click on the Replace button). Thus we can
quickly perform a Find and Replace action. An extra shortcut that comes
in handy in case you' ve jumped a word or accidentally replaced one you
shouldn't replace is Shift+F5. What it does is move you to the previous
part of your document.
I would not want to do lip service to the many helpful options of the
Find/Replace function, of which you can get an idea by clicking on the More
button on the bottom left of the Find / Replace dialogue box. This will
be the subject of a different article.
In case some of the above shortcuts do not appear to work in your computer
don't worry. There are some reasons why this could be happening:
-
Sometimes Word does not appear to support the Ctrl+ Z, Y, X, C, V shortcuts
because it is using as default a set of slightly different ones (Alt+Backspace=Undo,
Alt+Enter=Redo, Ctrl+Delete=cut, Ctrl+Insert=copy, Shift+Insert=Paste
etc).
-
Another user might have assigned different shortcuts to these keys.
To ascertain which shortcuts work in your system just run a macro which will
list all of them. How do you do that? Simple: Press Alt+F8. The Macros
window appears. The second field should read Macros in: Select Word
Commands. Now, scroll down within the first field (Macro name) until
you locate ListCommands macro. When you do, select it and click on the Run
button. A dialog box appears asking you if you want to see the current commands
only or all of them. Choose any.
Moreover, if you want to assign a custom shortcut click on Tools-> Customize
-> Commands -> Keyboard. In the Categories box, click the
category that contains the command or other item. In the box to the right,
click the name of the command or other item. Any shortcut keys that are
currently assigned appear in the Current keys box. In the Press new
shortcut key box, press the shortcut key combination you want to
assign. For example, press Alt+ the desired key. Look at Currently
assigned to to see if the shortcut key combination is already assigned
to a command or other item. If so, select another combination. Click Assign.
Done!
A LIST OF WINDOWS SHORTCUTS
| Start Windows |
Win Key / Ctrl+Esc |
| Close the current window or quit a program (if no windows are active it brings
up the "Shut Down" dialog box). |
Alt+F4 |
| Display the Close Program (task manager) dialog box |
Ctrl + Alt + Del (pressing these keys a second time will re-boot the computer) |
| Display the Find File dialog box |
Win + F or F3 |
| Copy a screen-shot to the clipboard |
Print Screen |
| Show item properties |
Alt+Enter |
Switch to the window you last used or
Switch to another window by holding down Alt while repeatedly pressing Tab
|
Alt+Tab |
| Close a My Computer window and all its parrent windows |
Shift (while clicking the "X", Close button) |
| Cancel the current task
|
Esc |
| Quit a program that is not responding (in the Close Program dialog
box, click the program that is not responding, and then click End Task) |
Ctrl+Alt+Del |
| Bypass Auto run when inserting a CD
|
Shift |
| Right-click (make sure the desired object has the focus) |
Shift+F10 or application key (usually the third key on the right from the space
bar with a menu and pointer icon) |
| Permanently delete (bypassing Recycle Bin)
|
Shift+Delete |
Click a button if the current control is a button or
Select or clear the check box if the current control is a check box or
Click the option if the current control is an option button
|
Spacebar |
| Click the corresponding command |
Alt+underlined letter |
| Click the selected button |
Enter |
| Move backward through options |
Shift+Tab |
| Move forward through options |
Tab |
| Move backward through tabs |
Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
| Move forward through tabs |
Ctrl+Tab |
| Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open
dialog box |
Backspace |
| Help |
F1 |
| Rename an item |
F2 |
| Open Save In or Look In in the Save As or Open dialog box |
F4 |
| Refresh or Save As or Open dialog box |
F5 |
| Create a shortcut |
Ctrl+Shift while dragging the file |
| Select all items |
Ctrl+A |
| Toggle Languages |
Alt+Shift |
| Launch Windows Explorer |
Win+E |
A LIST OF WORD SHORTCUTS
| To move the insertion point |
| One character left |
Left arrow |
| One character right |
Right arrow |
| One word left |
Ctrl+left arrow |
| One word right |
Ctrl+right arrow |
| One paragraph up |
Ctrl+ arrow up |
| One paragraph down |
Ctrl+ arrow down |
| One line up |
arrow up |
| One line down |
arrow down |
| End of line |
End |
| One page up |
Page Up |
| One page down |
Page Down |
| Beginning of line |
Home |
| Previous point in the document
|
Shift+F5 |
| Top part of the window |
Ctrl+Alt+Page Up |
| Bottom part of the window |
Ctrl+Alt+Page Down |
| One screen up |
Page Up |
| One screen down |
Page Down |
| Beginning of next page |
Ctrl+Page Down |
| Beginning of previous page |
Ctrl+Page Up |
| Page number |
Ctrl+G |
| End of document |
Ctrl+End |
| Beginning of document |
Ctrl+Home |
| To select |
| One character left |
Shift+Left arrow |
| One character right |
Shift+Right arrow |
| One word left |
Ctrl+Shift+left arrow |
| To End of Line |
Shift+End |
| To Beginning of Line |
Shift+Home |
| One word right |
Ctrl+Shift+right arrow |
| One line up |
Shift+arrow up |
| One line down |
Shift+arrow down |
| One paragraph up |
Ctrl+Shift+arrow up |
| One paragraph down |
Ctrl+Shift+arrow down |
| One page up |
Shift+Page Up |
| One page down |
Shift+Page Down |
| To Bottom of document |
Ctrl+ Shift+End |
| To Top of document |
Ctrl+ Shift+Home |
| All document |
Ctrl+A |
| To select using keys or/and mouse |
| Select word |
Double click |
| Select sentence
|
Ctrl+click |
| Select paragraph |
Triple click or
Double Click on the left of the paragraph |
| Select vertically / column |
Alt+click |
| Select line |
Click on the left of the line |
| Select All |
Triple click on the left of the document or
Ctrl+ double click on the left of the document. |
| Multiple Selection (only for XP)
|
hold Ctrl+select all areas with the mouse one after
another |
| To Undo/Redo |
| Undo |
Ctrl+Z or Alt+Backspace |
| Redo |
Ctrl+Y or Alt+Enter |
| To Find/Replace
|
| Find |
Ctrl+F |
| Find/Replace |
Ctrl+H |
| Repeat the last Find or Goto |
Shift+F4 (very useful!) |
| To delete
|
| One character left |
Backspace |
| One character right |
Del |
| One word left |
Ctrl+Backspace |
| One word right |
Ctrl+Del |
| To format
|
| Bold |
Ctrl+B
|
| Italic |
Ctrl+I |
| Underline |
Ctrl+U |
| Underline Words only |
Ctrl+Shift+W |
| Double Underline |
Ctrl+Shift+D |
| Convert all letters to capitals |
Ctrl+Shift+A |
| Change Font |
Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Increase Font Size |
Ctrl+Shift+> |
| Decrease Font Size |
Ctrl+Shift+< |
| Convert to Small Capitals |
Ctrl+Shift+K |
| Copy formatting |
Ctrl+Shift+C |
| Paste formatting |
Ctrl+Shift+V |
| Clear formatting |
Ctrl+Spacebar |
| Paragraphs |
| Single Line Spacing |
Ctrl+1 |
| Double Line Spacing
|
Ctrl+2 |
| 1.5 Line Spacing |
Ctrl+5 |
| New Page |
Ctrl+Enter |
| New Line |
Enter |
| Align Centre |
Ctrl+E |
| Align Left |
Ctrl+L |
| Align Right |
Ctrl+R |
| Align Justified |
Ctrl+J |
| Increase Indent |
Ctrl+M |
| Decrease Indent |
Ctrl+Shift+M |
| Remove Paragraph Formatting |
Ctrl+Q |
| Document |
| Open Document |
Ctrl+O |
| Close Document |
Ctrl+W |
| Save Document |
Ctrl+S |
| Save all open documents |
Shift+click on File. You will see the option Save all |
| Close all open documents |
Shift+click on File. You will see the option Close all |
| New Document |
Ctrl+N |
| Print Document |
Ctrl+P |
| Next Document |
Ctrl+F6 |
| Split Document |
Alt+Ctrl+S and then press Enter |
| Remove Split
|
Alt+Shift+C |
| Restore Document |
Ctrl+F5 |
| Maximize Document |
Ctril+F10 |
| Maximize All |
Win+D or Win+Shift+M |
| Minimize All |
Win+D or Win+M |
Links - More Shortcuts!
Windows
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 98
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 2000
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows XP
Word
Keyboard Shortcuts for Word 97
Keyboard Shortcuts for Word 2000
Keyboard Shortcuts for Word 2002 (XP)
Copyright © Translatum Journal and the Author 2002
URL: http://www.translatum.gr/journal
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