Shortcut Keys Alt + F Alt + E F1 Ctrl + A Ctrl + X Shift + Del Ctrl + C Ctrl + Ins Ctrl + V Shift + Ins Home

Ctrl + Home End Ctrl + End Shift + Home Shift + End Ctrl + Left arrow

Description File menu options in current program. Edit options in current program Universal Help in almost every Windows program. Select all text. Cut selected item. Cut selected item. Copy selected item. Copy selected item Paste Paste Goes to beginning of current line. Goes to beginning of document. Goes to end of current line. Goes to end of document. Highlights from current position to beginning of line. Highlights from current position to end of line. Moves one word to the left at a time.

Ctrl + Right arrow Moves one word to the right at a time.

Shortcut Keys Alt + F Alt + E F1 Ctrl + A Ctrl + X Shift + Del Ctrl + C Ctrl + Ins Ctrl + V Shift + Ins Home Ctrl + Home End Ctrl + End Shift + Home Shift + End Ctrl + Left arrow

Description File menu options in current program. Edit options in current program Universal Help in almost every Windows program. Select all text. Cut selected item. Cut selected item. Copy selected item. Copy selected item Paste Paste Goes to beginning of current line. Goes to beginning of document. Goes to end of current line. Goes to end of document. Highlights from current position to beginning of line. Highlights from current position to end of line. Moves one word to the left at a time.

Ctrl + Right arrow Moves one word to the right at a time.

What are the F1 through F12 keys?

Question:
What are the F1 through F12 keys?

Answer:
Commonly known as "function keys", F1 through F12 may have a variety of different uses or no use at all. Depending on the installed operating system and the software program currently open will change how each of these keys operate. A program is capable of not only using each of the function keys, but also combining the function keys with the ALT and/or CTRL keys, for example, Microsoft Windows users can press ALT + F4 to close the program currently active. Below is a short-listing of some of the common functions of the functions keys on computers running Microsoft Windows. As mentioned above not all programs support function keys and/or may perform different tasks then those mentioned below. If you are looking for more specific shortcut keys and function key examples we suggest seeing our shortcut key page.

F1
y y y

Almost always used as the help key, almost every program will open the help screen when this key is pressed. Windows Key + F1 would open the Microsoft Windows help and support center. Open the Task Pane.

F2
y y y

In Windows commonly used to rename a highlighted icon or file. Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens a new document in Microsoft Word. Ctrl + F2 displays the print preview window in Microsoft Word.

F3
y y

Often opens a search feature for many programs including Microsoft Windows. Shift + F3 will change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.

F4
y y y y

Open find window. Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) Alt + F4 will close the program currently active in Microsoft Windows. Ctrl + F4 will close the open window within the current active window in Microsoft Windows.

F5
y y y

In all modern Internet browsers pressing F5 will refresh or reload the page or document window. Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word. Starts a slideshow in PowerPoint.

F6
y y

Move the cursor to the Address bar in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Ctrl + Shift + F6 opens to another open Microsoft Word document.

F7
y y y

Commonly used to spell check and grammar check a document in Microsoft programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, etc. Shift + F7 runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted. Turns on Caret browsing in Mozilla Firefox.

F8
y

Function key used to enter the Windows startup menu, commonly use to get into Windows Safe Mode.

F9
y

Opens the Measurements toolbar in Quark 5.0.

F10
y y

In Microsoft Windows activates the menu bar of an open application. Shift + F10 is the same as right-clicking on a highlighted icon, file, or Internet link.

F11
y

Full-screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.

F12
y y y

Open the Save as window in Microsoft Word. Shift + F12 save the Microsoft Word document. Ctrl + Shift + F12 prints a document in Microsoft Word.

Additional information:
y

See our function keys dictionary definition for additional information about this term and related terms.

Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know

Using keyboard shortcuts can often cut the time it takes to do something on a computer in half. Below are our top 10 keyboard shortcuts we recommend everyone memorize and use.

Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert

Copy the highlighted text or selected item.

Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert

Paste the text or object that's in the clipboard.

Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y

Undo any change. For example, if you cut text, pressing this will undo it. This can also often be pressed multiple times to undo multiple changes. Pressing Ctrl + Y would re-do the undo.

Ctrl + F
Open the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.

Alt + Tab or Alt + Esc

Quickly switch between open programs.

F1
Open help for the program you're in.

Ctrl + P
Print what's currently being viewed in programs such as Microsoft Word or your Internet browser.

Ctrl + Left arrow / Right arrow

Move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time you can hold down Ctrl + Alt and then press the left or right arrow key to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.

Ctrl + Home / End

Move the cursor to the beginning or end of a document.

Page Up / Space bar and Page Down

Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet pressing the space bar will also move the page down one page at a time.

Unix / Linux shortcut keys

Quick links Introduction Keyboard shortcut keys Command line shortcuts Introduction Shortcuts are designed to help shorten the time required to perform frequently used commands or actions. In the below sections we have listed keyboard shortcut keys that can be performed by pressing two or more keys at once. In addition to keyboard shortcut keys, we have also listed command line shortcut keys that can be typed in at the shell.

Please note that the below shortcut keys and command line shortcuts will not work on all variants of Unix and/or Linux. Keyboard shortcut keys CTRL + B CTRL + C CTRL + D CTRL + F CTRL + H CTRL + P CTRL + S CTRL + Q CTRL + U Moves the cursor backward one character. Cancels the currently running command. Logs out of the current session. Moves the cursor forward one character. Erase one character. Similar to pressing backspace. Paste previous line and/or lines. Stops all output on screen (XOFF). Turns all output stopped on screen back on (XON). Erases the complete line.

CTRL + W Deletes the last word typed in. For example, if you typed 'mv file1 file2' this shortcut would delete file2. CTRL + Z Cancels current operation, moves back a directory and/or takes the current operation and moves it to the background. See bg command for additional information about background.

Command line shortcuts In addition to the below command line shortcuts, it is also helpful to use the alias command that allows you to specify a keyword for frequently used commands or mistakes. ~ !! !$ reset Moves to the user's home directory. Repeats the line last entered at the shell. See history command for previous commands. Repeats the last argument for the command last used. See history command for previous commands. Resets the terminal if terminal screen is not displaying correctly.

shutdown Remotely or locally shuts the system down. -h now

Apple Macintosh shortcut keys

Please note that not all of the below shortcut keys will work in all versions of Mac OS. Open Apple + Down Shift + Click Tab Shift + Tab Left arrow Right arrow Up arrow Down arrow Open Apple + ? Open Apple + E Open Apple + Shift + Up Arrow Open Apple + M Open Apple + N Open Apple + Shift + N Open Apple + W Open Apple + C Open Apple + X Open Apple + V Open Apple + L Open Apple + R Open Apple + T Open Apple + O Opens the selected icon. Select the icon and add it to the set of those selected. Highlight the next icon inside the folder, in alphabetical order. Highlight the previous icon inside the folder, in alphabetical order. Used when viewing by icon to select the icon to the left of the one highlighted. Used when viewing by icon to select icon to the right of the one highlighted. Used to select the icon above the one currently highlighted. Used to select the icon below the one currently highlighted. Mac help Eject Used to direct the input focus to the desktop level. Minimize window New finder window New folder Close the current window. Copy the elected item to the clipboard. Cut the selected item. Paste item from the clipboard Make alias Show original item Add to favorites Open the selected icon.

Open Apple + F Open Apple + G Open Apple + Shift + G

Display the find dialog box. Repeat the last find operation. Takes a snapshot of the screen and saves it to a PICT file.

Microsoft Excel shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Excel. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys F2 F5 F7 F11 Ctrl + Shift + ; Ctrl + ; Alt + Shift + F1 Shift + F3 Shift + F5 Ctrl + A Ctrl + B Ctrl + I Ctrl + K Ctrl + U Ctrl + 5 Ctrl + P Ctrl + Z Ctrl + F9 Ctrl + F10 Description Edit the selected cell. Go to a specific cell. For example, C6. Spell check selected text and/or document. Create chart. Enter the current time. Enter the current date. Insert New Worksheet. Open the Excel formula window. Bring up search box. Select all contents of the worksheet. Bold highlighted selection. Italic highlighted selection. Insert link. Underline highlighted selection. Strikethrough highlighted selection. Bring up the print dialog box to begin printing. Undo last action. Minimize current window. Maximize currently selected window.

Ctrl + F6 Ctrl + Page up Ctrl + Page down Ctrl + Tab Alt + = Ctrl + ' Ctrl + Shift + ! Ctrl + Shift + $ Ctrl + Shift + # Ctrl + Shift + % Ctrl + Shift + ^ Ctrl + Shift + @ Ctrl + Arrow key Ctrl + Space Shift + Space

Switch between open workbooks / windows. Move between Excel work sheets in the same Excel document. Move between Excel work sheets in the same Excel document. Move between Two or more open Excel files. Create a formula to sum all of the above cells Insert the value of the above cell into cell currently selected. Format number in comma format. Format number in currency format. Format number in date format. Format number in percentage format. Format number in scientific format. Format number in time format. Move to next section of text. Select entire column. Select entire row.

Microsoft Word shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys Ctrl + A Ctrl + B Ctrl + C Ctrl + E Ctrl + F Ctrl + I Ctrl + J Description Select all contents of the page. Bold highlighted selection. Copy selected text. Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen. Open find box. Italic highlighted selection. Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen.

Ctrl + K Ctrl + L Ctrl + M Ctrl + P Ctrl + R Ctrl + T Ctrl + U Ctrl + V Ctrl + X Ctrl + Y Ctrl + Z Ctrl + Shift + F Ctrl + Shift + > Ctrl + ] Ctrl + Shift + < Ctrl + [ Ctrl + Shift + * Ctrl + <left arrow> Ctrl + <right arrow> Ctrl + <up arrow>

Insert link. Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen. Indent the paragraph. Open the print window. Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen. Create a hanging indent. Underline highlighted selection. Paste. Cut selected text. Redo the last action performed. Undo last action. Change the font. Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts. Increase selected font +1pts. Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt. Decrease selected font -1pts. View or hide non printing characters. Moves one word to the left. Moves one word to the right. Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.

Ctrl + <down arrow> Moves to the end of the paragraph. Ctrl + Del Ctrl + Backspace Ctrl + End Ctrl + Home Ctrl + Spacebar Ctrl + 1 Deletes word to right of cursor. Deletes word to left of cursor. Moves the cursor to the end of the document. Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document. Reset highlighted text to the default font. Single-space lines.

Ctrl + 2 Ctrl + 5 Ctrl + Alt + 1 Ctrl + Alt + 2 Ctrl + Alt + 3 Ctrl + F1 F1 Alt + Ctrl + F2 Ctrl + F2 Shift + F3 Shift + Insert F4 F5 Ctrl + Shift + F6 F7 Shift + F7 F12 Shift + F12 Ctrl + Shift + F12 Alt + Shift + D Alt + Shift + T

Double-space lines. 1.5-line spacing. Changes text to heading 1. Changes text to heading 2. Changes text to heading 3. Open the Task Pane. Open Help. Open new document. Display the print preview. Change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word. Paste. Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word. Opens to another open Microsoft Word document. Spell and grammar check selected text and/or document. Runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted. Save as. Save. Prints the document. Insert the current date. Insert the current time.

In addition to the above shortcut keys users can also use their mouse as a method of quickly do something commonly performed. Below some are examples of mouse shortcuts. Mouse shortcuts Click, hold, and drag Double-click Description Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go. If double-click a word, selects the complete word.

Double-click Double-click Triple-click Ctrl + Mouse wheel

Double-clicking on the left, center, or right of a blank line will make the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned. Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line will set a tab stop. Selects the line or paragraph of the text the mouse triple-clicked. Zooms in and out of document

Internet Explorer shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Internet Explorer. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys Alt + Left Arrow Backspace Alt + Right Arrow F5 F11 Esc Ctrl + (- or +) Ctrl + Enter Description Back a page. Back a page. Forward a page. Refresh current page, frame, or tab. Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode. Stop page or download from loading. Increase or decrease the font size, pressing '-' will decrease and '+' will increase. Quickly complete an address. For example, type computerhope in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER to get http://www.computerhope.com. Add a Favorite for the page currently opened. Display available bookmarks. Open New browser window. Print current page / frame. Opens a new tab. Closes the currently selected tab. Moves through each of the open tabs.

Ctrl + D Ctrl + I Ctrl + N Ctrl + P Ctrl + T Ctrl + F4 Ctrl + Tab

Spacebar Shift + Spacebar Alt + Down arrow Alt + D

Moves down a page at a time. Moves up a page at a time. Display all previous text entered in a text box and/or available options on drop down menu. Highlights the text in the address bar

Microsoft FrontPage shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft FrontPage. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys Ctrl + C Ctrl + X Ctrl + P Ctrl + K Ctrl + B Ctrl + I Ctrl + U Ctrl + L Ctrl + R Ctrl + E Ctrl + / Ctrl + S Ctrl + Tab Ctrl + Ins Ctrl + Enter Ctrl + Shift + B Ctrl + Shift + < Description Copy selected text. Cut selected text. Paste selected text. Create a hyperlink. Bold highlighted selection. Italic highlighted selection. Underline highlighted selection. Left align the text. Right align the text. Center the text. Turn on or off the display of HTML tags. Save document. Switch between open web pages. Enter Line break. Move cursor above or below a table. Preview in web browser window. Decrease font size.

Ctrl + Shift + > Ctrl + Del Ctrl + Backspace Alt + mouse double-click

Increase font size. Deletes word to right of cursor. Deletes word to left of cursor. View the properties of a selected item. For example, doing this on a table cell would display the properties for that cell.

Microsoft Outlook shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Outlook. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys Alt + S Ctrl + C Ctrl + X Ctrl + P Ctrl + K Ctrl + B Ctrl + I Ctrl + M Ctrl + U Ctrl + R Ctrl + F Ctrl + N Ctrl + Y Ctrl + Shift + A Ctrl + Shift + O Description Send the e-mail Copy selected text. Cut selected text. Print selected text. Complete the name and/or e-mail being typed in the e-mail address bar. Bold highlighted selection Italic highlighted selection Send and receive all Underline highlighted selection Reply to an e-mail. Forward an e-mail. Create a new e-mail. Go to folder. Create a new appointment to your calendar. Open the Outbox.

Ctrl + Shift + I Open the Inbox. Ctrl + Shift + K Ctrl + Shift + C Add a new task. Create a new contact.

Ctrl + Shift + J Create a new journal entry. Ctrl + Shift + V Move folder.

Mozilla Firefox shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Mozilla Firefox. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys Alt + Left Arrow Backspace Alt + Right Arrow F5 F11 Esc Ctrl + (- or +) Ctrl + Enter Description Back a page. Back a page. Forward a page. Refresh current page, frame, or tab. Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode. Stop page or download from loading. Increase or decrease the font size, pressing '-' will decrease and '+' will increase. Quickly complete an address. For example, type computerhope in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER to get http://www.computerhope.com. Complete a .net instead of a .com address. Complete a .org address. Open the Clear Data window to quickly clear private data. Add a bookmark for the page currently opened.

Shift + Enter Ctrl + Shift + Enter Ctrl + Shift + Del Ctrl + D

Ctrl + I Ctrl + J Ctrl + N Ctrl + P Ctrl + T Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W Ctrl + Shift + T Ctrl + Tab Spacebar Shift + Spacebar Alt + Down arrow

Display available bookmarks. Display the download window. Open New browser window. Print current page / frame. Opens a new tab. Closes the currently selected tab. Undo the close of a window. Moves through each of the open tabs. Moves down a page at a time. Moves up a page at a time. Display all previous text entered in a text box and/or available options on drop down menu.

How do I create a Windows shortcut key?

Question:
How do I create a Windows shortcut key?

Answer:
Create a shortcut 1. Open the folder or directory that contains the program you wish to create a shortcut for. 2. Right-click on the program and click Create Shortcut. 3. This will create a shortcut named "Shortcut to <your program>" in the directory you are in. If you wish to rename this shortcut, right-click the file and click rename. 4. Once the above steps have been completed, you can copy or cut this shortcut and paste it anywhere to execute this program.

Assign shortcut key to that Windows shortcut Once the shortcut has been created to assign a shortcut key to that Windows shortcut follow the below steps. 1. Right-click the shortcut and click Properties. 2. Click the Shortcut tab. 3. Click in the Shortcut key box and press a letter. For example, if you press "p" the shortcut key will automatically be made Ctrl + Alt + P. Which means if saved when pressing Ctrl and Alt and "P" all at the same time will run that shortcut.

Additional information:
y y y

See our shortcut key dictionary definition for additional information about this term and related links. Additional information about creating a Windows shortcut can be found on document CH000739. See tip1 for information about create a shortcut key for a web page