Save time with computer shortcuts in Microsoft Office programs If youre like most people, youre always looking

for ways to save time, even when using Microsoft Office software. Keyboard shortcuts could be your new best friend when it comes to time management.

Not everyone uses shortcut keys to save time, but some people find them easier to use than a mouse, especially when spending long stretches of time at the computer. Ready-made Microsoft Office tools If the thought of memorizing key combinations makes you wince, you can still save time and effort while working in all Office programs by using these built-in tools.

Shortcut menus. Right-click in any Microsoft Office program to display a shortcut menu that gives you quick access to many of the most commonly used features. If an arrow appears next to your selection, you can click to see more options. For example, right-clicking a Word document displays Paste Options, Look Up,Synonyms, formatting, and other options.

No matter which Microsoft Office program youre working in, right-clicking is one of the greatest shortcuts available.

KeyTips. Introduced in Microsoft Office 2007, KeyTips are built-in keyboard shortcuts available in all programs that have the Ribbon or the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar. In Office 2010, KeyTips are also available in the Backstage view. Press Alt to display a letter or number by each Ribbon tab or Quick Access Toolbar command. After you press a letter or number, you get new KeyTips letters and numbers to access each command in the location you selected.

Pressing Alt displays KeyTips that you can press to quickly access any command.

Quick Access Toolbar. Add the commands you use all the time to your Quick Access Toolbar in all Office programs that have the Ribbon. Just right-click almost any Ribbon command, and then click Add to Quick Access Toolbar. This is also a great way to create custom keyboard shortcuts for your favorite commands across all Office programs, since the KeyTips for your Quick Access Toolbar items remain the same as long as the command remains in the same position in the Quick Access Toolbar.

Custom keyboard shortcuts on the Office Ribbon. You can even change shortcut key combinations or create new ones of your own. Heres how to do it in the latest versions of Microsoft Office. In Microsoft Office 2010: 1. Click the File tab to open Backstage view, and then click Options. 2. Click Customize Ribbon and then, next to the Keyboard Shortcuts heading, click Customize. You can enter the new key combination here. You can revert to the default key combinations for specific tabs (or for all customizations) by clicking Reset.

In Microsoft Office 2007: Whether you want to work more easily and efficiently in Internet Explorer, streamline your Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 experience, or key international characters into your email messages to Europe, youll find lots of shortcuts to help you. Here is a sampling of commonly used standard-keyboard shortcuts, many of which work across all Office programsfrom Outlook toAccess and from Visio to PowerPoint. You can find a more complete list of built-inkeyboard shortcuts for a particular application by searching keyboard shortcutsin Help. General keyboard shortcuts

To... Open Help Select all content in a document, window, or text box Search for a file or folder

Use this shortcut Press F1. Press Ctrl+A.

Press F3. In Windows 7, you can also press the Windows logo key to open theStart menu and then type in the Searchbox.

Rename a file or folder

Select the file or folder, press F2, and then retype the name.

Find out when the file or folder was created, by whom, and how big it is Display the Start menu

Select the file, and then press Alt+Enter.

Press Ctrl+Esc. In Windows 7, you can also press the Windows logo key.

Scroll between open windows

Press Alt+Tab, and then hold down Alt while pressing Tab to reach the desired file or program.

Undo an action Redo an action Check the spelling of titles or words in any Office application with the Spelling & Grammar checker Create a shortcut on your desktop to your favorite file or folder

Press Ctrl+Z. Press Ctrl+Y. Press F7.

In Windows 7: Right-click the file or folder. On the shortcut menu, clickSend to, and then click Desktop (Create shortcut). In Windows Vista: Right-click the file or folder. On the shortcut menu, clickCreate Shortcut. Drag the new shortcut to your desktop.

Capture a screen shot

Press Alt+Print Screen, and then press Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste.

Lock the computer, switch users, log off the computer, change a password, start Task Manager Lock the computer

In Windows 7, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

Press the Windows logo key+L.

Quit program Working with Microsoft Word To... Select text

Press Alt+F4.

Use this shortcut Press Shift+Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow to highlight text. To select one word at a time, press Shift+Ctrl+Arrow. To select to the end of the line, press Shift+End.

Copy selected text Cut selected text Paste selected text Bold text Search for text in a document Find and replace text in a document Got to a page, line, or bookmark in a document Italicize text Underline text Subscript text Superscript text Center text Align text left Align text right Justify text Decrease the font size

Press Ctrl+C. Press Ctrl+X. Press Ctrl+V. Press Ctrl+B. Press Ctrl+F. Press Ctrl+H. Press Ctrl+G. Press Ctrl+I. Press Ctrl+U. Press Ctrl+equal sign (=). Press Ctrl+plus sign (+). Press Ctrl+E. Press Ctrl+L. Press Ctrl+R. Press Ctrl+J. Press Ctrl+Shift+less than sign (<). If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll down.

Increase the font size

Press Ctrl+Shift+greater than sign (>). If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl

and scroll up. Change the font Press CTRL+SHIFT+F, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font. Change font size Press Ctrl+Shift+P, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font size. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll up or down. Create a page break Create a new document Open the My Documents window Close a document Save a document Print a document Preview what you're about to print Press Ctrl+Enter. Press Ctrl+N. Press Ctrl+O. Press Ctrl+W. Press Ctrl+S. Press CTRL+P. Press ALT+Ctrl+I. In Windows 7, this keyboard shortcut opens the integrated Print and Preview window, which you can also access by pressing Ctrl+P. Resize a shape (Office 2010) Rotate a shape (Office 2010) Select the shape, and then press Shift+Arrow. Select the shape, and then hold the Alt key while you press the Left Arrow key or the Right Arrow key. Accelerating Microsoft Excel To... Open a new workbook Move left to right, cell by cell Move right to left, cell by cell Move down, cell by cell Move up, cell by cell Use this shortcut Press Ctrl+N. Press Tab, or press the Right Arrow key. Press Shift+Tab, or press the Left Arrow key. Press Enter, or press the Down Arrow key. Press Shift+Enter, or press the Up Arrow key.

Move down or up to the last empty or non-empty cell Move to the last empty or non-empty cell to the right or left Erase data in the current cell Insert a return within a cell Return to the beginning of the row Advance to the next worksheet Go to the previous worksheet Enter the date Enter the time Find out about the style within the cell Display the Format Cells dialog box Apply the general number format Apply the currency number format Apply the percentage number format Apply a border Remove a border Hide the selected columns Hide the selected rows Unhide hidden rows within a selection

Press Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow or Up Arrow.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow or Left Arrow.

Press Backspace. Press Alt+Enter. Press HOME. Ctrl+Page Down Ctrl+Page Up Press Ctrl+Semicolon (;). Press Ctrl+Shift+Colon (:). Press Alt+Apostrophe (). Press Ctrl+1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~). Press Ctrl+Shift+Dollar Sign ($). Press Ctrl+Shift+Percent (%). Press Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&). Press Ctrl+Shift+ underscore (_). Press Ctrl+0 (zero). Press Ctrl+9. Press Ctrl+Shift+opening parenthesis.

Find more Excel keyboard shortcuts at the MSDN blog. Expediting Internet Explorer To... Add sites to your Favorites Use this shortcut 1. Go to the site.

2. Press Ctrl+D to add to your Favorites. 3. Click Favorites, and then, to create a separate folder for the site or to add it to an alreadyformed list, click Add to Favorites. Select a home page 1. Go to the webpage that you would like to make your home page. 2. Open the Tools menu, and selectInternet Options. 3. Under Home page, on theGeneral tab, click Use Current. Use the History function if you visit a few select sites constantly 1. Press Ctrl+H to open the History pane. 2. Select the site that you would like, right-click the site, and then selectAdd to Favorites. Customize your toolbar to the tools you use most frequently 1. Right-click the command bar. 2. Point to Customize. 3. Click Add or Remove Commands. Go to your home page Switch between tabs Move forward through the items on a webpage or the Address bar Move back through the items on a webpage or the Address bar Find on this page Stop downloading a page Use zoom on a webpage Press Ctrl+F. Press Esc. Increase zoom (+ 10%): Press Ctrl+plus sign (+). Decrease zoom (- 10%): Press Ctrl+minus sign (-). Increase to 100%: Press Ctrl+0. Press Shift+Tab. Press Alt+Home. Press Ctrl+Tab. Press Tab.