Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard short cuts -- such as using the "Control" key +S to save the document you are currently working on -- are not something that you actually need to use.

If you aren"t using them already, you must be accessing the same tools either by the menus or by the icons. From the menu, File >> Save, for example, will have the same effect as Control+S, and clicking the diskette "Save" icon will do the same.

What are the keyboard short cuts?


If you pull down a dropdown menu you will be able to see what your keyboard short cuts are -- as you can see in the image above.

Start to use them and Control +A, +C, +F, +S, +V, +Z, +X (etc) will soon become second nature to you. Go ahead: explore the menus in Word and Internet Explorer and Firefox and you'll soon discover what each of those is for.
Why use the short cuts?
Two reasons. One is that they"ll save you time -- they're faster.

And, more importantly, if you learn to use them, you've learnt something new about using your computer -- and learning how to use a computer more proficiently makes you more confident about using it.

It's a bit like learning a language. When you acquire more words, better skills, you can do more; when you can do more, you feel more confident, and you then communicate more successfully. It's a snowball effect.

Try the shortcuts…!