Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts that shaved hours off my week

I gotta admit that I love my keyboard shortcuts. I use my mouse & can navigate through various options with my right-clicking and drag-and-drop capabilities. However, a keyboard and I have a different relationship in the typing and writing world. Tech is calming and soothing when trying to navigate through the many applications and programs without having to raise your hand away from the keyboard.

There are two sets of keyboard shortcuts that I enjoy using. I almost said 3, but it would have turned into the infamous 3 bullet-point AI method, which I would like to avoid at all costs. The first shortcut is a classic. Honestly, they’re both classics, but the first one is a classic I learned in the late 90s and will never stop using. It’s the Alt-Tab combination. For my Mac/Apple users, it’s Cmd-Tab. Bryan, what does this do? For starters, if you have multiple things open, you can press this keyboard combo, and it will allow you to switch between different programs or applications you have open. It’s a relief when you have a bunch of things open on Windows. I will admit that with Windows 11, it’s a difference maker, because you can hold those keys and use the arrow keys if there are a lot of windows or applications open. The icons are upgraded to use with both Windows 10 and 11, if I recall, but it’s a handy feature. If you want to go in reverse, you use the Shift-Alt-Tab (Shift-Cmd-Tab) combination to move in reverse when looking for apps. Trust me, you’ll thank me later when trying to find the many programs or apps you have open.

I thought I was going away from the 3-list option, but this one is helpful and an easy one to turn on. Within your mouse settings on Windows, you can turn on a setting so that when you press the Ctrl key, it will place a target around your keyboard to point out where it’s located. This is a good shortcut to have when you have multiple screens and aren’t sure where your mouse cursor is located. I think this keyboard shortcut is used less since it’s hidden. Alternatively, for my Mac users, the closest thing you have is that you can turn on the feature so that when you move your mouse around at a faster rate, it makes your cursor larger than its regular size. This can be helpful when trying to find your mouse on your MacBook or iMac.

This next combo was created the way it was, thanks to how the “QWERTY” keyboard was created. If you hold Ctrl (Cmd) and a variety of letters on the right side of your keyboard, it will do a variety of tips and tricks on your computer.

For instance, if you press Ctrl-Z (Cmd-Z), you can undo something you recently did in error. Beside the Z is the X, which, if you press Ctrl-X (Cmd-X), then you can cut words or an image if applicable. Next, Ctrl-C (Cmd-C) will allow you to copy. Beside the C key, you have V, and Ctrl-V (Cmd-V) will paste the last thing from your clipboard (Cut or Copy) into its new location. I know that most smartphones, the minute you highlight something, these options come up, but this originated thanks to these keyboard shortcuts.

I will share this trio, then I have one other trio that not many people use. The first set is Bold, Italic, & Underline. Bold is done by pressing Ctrl-B (Cmd-B). To italicize words, you will press Ctrl-I (Cmd-I). Finally, if you want to underline a word or a group of words, you will press Ctrl-U (Cmd-U).

My bonus trio is SOLELY Windows, which means to my Mac users, you’ll have to sit this one out. When you get up from your computer, you are constantly told to lock your computer so that no one can do anything on your computer. The way most people know to do it is by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del and then selecting Lock your computer. PLEASE stop doing that. All you have to press is Windows-L. The Windows key normally has the 4 boxes on it to represent Windows (since it looks like a Window pane). Pressing this windows key with the letter L will lock your computer automatically. Windows-S brings up the option to search or find something that you might be looking for and can’t find immediately. The final one of this trifecta is when you want to open what’s called an explorer window to view all of your files. You can press the Windows-E combination and see the files and folders to navigate to a specific file or application.

I think these are a good variety of keyboard shortcuts. There are many others I can share, but I wanted to give you a few to get started with and play around with showing others what you have learned in this newsletter. God, thank you for offering me the time to share and teach these shortcuts to others. There are many others to share and get out there to others, but this is a good starting point to help someone with their usage of a computer. I pray that everyone has walked away with more than they joined with. I pray that everyone has a great week and keeps their minds and hearts level through the many things that are occurring. I ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.