Shortcut Keys
What are the F keys for?
A computer keyboard contains "F Keys", usually in a row above the
numbers. F1, F2, F3, continuing on to F10 or possibly F12.
The F keys, ( and the "Control Keys, explained below)
sometimes are called "shortcuts",
and are programmed to do different things within each specific
program. The F1 key in one program may be a shortcut to
"Save", but in another program, the F1 key may bring up a help
menu. Let's look at some examples.
The first menu
above, from Notepad, shows it uses two F keys in the Edit menu. F3 will
bring up a search box to help you find specific words in your document. F5
will automatically insert the time and date into your document. The second
menu, from Internet Explorer, also has two F keys, F5 will refresh your
page, F11 will give you a full screen view of your web page. Notice that
BOTH programs use the F5 key, but for different purposes. Once you know a
program's shortcut keys, using them is quick and easy. You'll know
why they are called "shortcuts!"
There are other shortcut keys besides the F
keys. These are the Control Keys. You
can see the control keys in Notepad's edit menu above. A control key
is shown as "Ctrl + some letter." Many Control Key
shortcuts are common in all programs, so once you learn them in one
program, you can apply that same shortcut to many others. To
activate the shortcut keys, you need to hold down the Control key while
you type the letter associated with it. The control key is on the
far left and the far right of the bottom row
of your keyboard. It says "ctrl" on it. Hold down
either control key, then hit the letter. This will cause its
associated function to occur. Here are the three most commonly used
shortcuts:
 | CUT
(Ctrl + X) -- You can cut text from word documents, files from
folders, folders from folders or desktops. This is one way to move
folders and files. You need to highlight whatever you want to cut first, then hold the
control key down, hit X, and Poof! It is cut out, but not gone! It has
been moved to the computer's "clipboard." The
clipboard is a mysterious section of your computer used to hold
your cut or copied files. They are just waiting to be PASTED
into a
new (or the same) place. (See below.) |
| COPY
(Ctrl + C) --You can copy pictures, text, files, even programs with this shortcut.
Highlight what you want to copy to select
it, then hold down the control key and hit C. Nothing appears to happen, but
fear not! Now you have two copies, one just where it was, and one on the
clipboard. Use the PASTE shortcut below to put the second copy
wherever you like. |
| PASTE
(Ctrl + V) -- After you cut or copy something, you can use this shortcut to move it
somewhere else, or put it back where you started. Hold down the Control key, and hit V.
Voila!
There it is! |
Using shortcut keys becomes almost
automatic after awhile. You can usually find Cut/Copy/Paste in the
Edit menus, and you can click on them there as well, but you will
appreciate the ease of these shortcuts (and others) once you get the hang
of it!
© 2004 VEM Consulting |
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