Take a Shortcut, Please!

Everyone loves a good shortcut.

Today, I'm feeling the need to share some of my favorite shortcuts with you. I'm guessing half of you already know most of these. But surprisingly, there are a lot of people out there wandering around the web aimlessly, not taking full advantage of all that our keyboards and operating systems have to offer.

Here are a few shortcuts you ought to love and use regularly, if not daily! Most of these work in a variety of applications, i.e. web browsing, email, Windows, etc...

Standard shortcuts

• ctrl + s = save
• ctrl + z = undo
• ctrl + a = select all
• ctrl + p = print

For word processing or online content:

Highlight your selection (by clicking and holding down your mouse) , then:

• ctrl + x = cut
• ctrl + c = copy
• ctrl + v = paste
• ctrl + b = bold
• ctrl + u = underline
• ctrl + i = italics

For more advanced users:

• End = takes you to the end of the line you are on
• Ctrl + end = takes you to the very end of a document
• Home = takes you to the beginning of the line you are on
• Ctrl + home = takes you to the very beginning of the document.

Last but not least:

• Double click over a word = select the entire word
• Triple click over a line, or in the margin next to a line = select the entire line

These last two are especially helpful when you are trying to copy a url, or a long phrase of text. (Also pairs well with copy (ctrl+c) and paste (ctrl+v)).

Bonus tip of the day:
An all important key for web pages ...

• F5 = refresh page

You'll be surprised how much faster this than looking for the refresh icon on your screen.

DIY Keyboard Shortcuts - When the standards just aren't enough

Want to type "tfn" and have it expand to "Thanks so much for your note"? Try the free AutoHotkey for Windows or the $30 Text-Expander for Mac. Now this is for the true short-cut enthusiast!

Well, this concludes your brief tutorial on keyboard shortcuts. Now, what will you do with all the time you're going to save?