My Favorite Shortcuts

I love keyboard shortcuts, those computer key combinations that let me perform frequent actions without moving my fingers from the keys to the mouse in order to click on a menu from the menu bar. For example, instead of clicking on the File menu and selecting Save, I can hold down the Ctrl key while I press and release the S key. This shortcut is frequently shown as [Ctrl + S]. Try Ctrl + S. It is much faster, and you will quickly get into the good habit of saving frequently.

My favorite shortcut is Ctrl + Z, which undoes your last action. Ctrl + Z does the same thing as clicking on the Edit menu and selecting Undo, or clicking on in the button bar. The next time you make a mistake, especially if the mistake involves deleting something, don't panic. Just Ctrl + Z. You can Ctrl + Z repeatedly to undo more than one action, all the way back to the last time you saved your document. Ctrl + Z works in most Windows applications, including some Solitaire games.

Here are some other keyboard shortcuts you might like:

• Ctrl + Y re-does the last thing you undid;
• Ctrl + A selects (highlights) all the text in a document;
• Ctrl + C copies the selected text;
• Ctrl + X cuts the selected text;
• Ctrl + V pastes the text you copied or cut to where the cursor is;
• Ctrl + F opens the Find dialog box;
• Ctrl + P prints.

What are your favorite shortcuts?