Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know

Using keyboard shortcuts can often cut the time it takes to do something on a computer in half. Below are our top 10 keyboard shortcuts we recommend everyone memorize and use.

Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert

Copy the highlighted text or selected item.

Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert

Paste the text or object that's in the clipboard.

Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y

Undo any change. For example, if you cut text, pressing this will undo it. This can also often be pressed multiple times to undo multiple changes. Pressing Ctrl + Y would re-do the undo.

Ctrl + F
Open the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.

Alt + Tab or Alt + Esc

Quickly switch between open programs.

F1
Open help for the program you're in.

Ctrl + P
Print what's currently being viewed in programs such as Microsoft Word or your Internet browser.

Ctrl + Left arrow / Right arrow

Move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time you can hold down Ctrl + Alt and then press the left or right arrow key to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.

Ctrl + Home / End

Move the cursor to the beginning or end of a document.

Page Up / Space bar and Page Down

Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet pressing the space bar will also move the page down one page at a time. Basic PC shortcut keys The below basic shortcut keys are a listing of shortcut keys that will work with almost all IBM compatible computers and software programs. It is highly recommended that all users keep a good reference of the below short cut keys and/or try to memorize the below keys. Doing so will dramatically increase your productivity. Shortcut Keys Alt + F Alt + E F1 Ctrl + A Ctrl + X Shift + Del Ctrl + C Ctrl + Ins Ctrl + V Shift + Ins Home Ctrl + Home Description File menu options in current program. Edit options in current program Universal Help in almost every Windows program. Select all text. Cut selected item. Cut selected item. Copy selected item. Copy selected item Paste Paste Goes to beginning of current line. Goes to beginning of document.

End Ctrl + End Shift + Home Shift + End Ctrl + Left arrow

Goes to end of current line. Goes to end of document. Highlights from current position to beginning of line. Highlights from current position to end of line. Moves one word to the left at a time.

Ctrl + Right arrow Moves one word to the right at a time.

Microsoft Word shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs. Shortcut Keys Ctrl + A Ctrl + B Ctrl + C Ctrl + E Ctrl + F Ctrl + I Ctrl + J Ctrl + K Ctrl + L Ctrl + M Ctrl + P Ctrl + R Ctrl + T Ctrl + U Ctrl + V Description Select all contents of the page. Bold highlighted selection. Copy selected text. Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen. Open find box. Italic highlighted selection. Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen. Insert link. Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen. Indent the paragraph. Open the print window. Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen. Create a hanging indent. Underline highlighted selection. Paste.

Ctrl + X Ctrl + Y Ctrl + Z Ctrl + Shift + F Ctrl + Shift + > Ctrl + ] Ctrl + Shift + < Ctrl + [ Ctrl + Shift + * Ctrl + <left arrow> Ctrl + <right arrow> Ctrl + <up arrow> Ctrl + Del Ctrl + Backspace Ctrl + End Ctrl + Home Ctrl + Spacebar Ctrl + 1 Ctrl + 2 Ctrl + 5 Ctrl + Alt + 1 Ctrl + Alt + 2 Ctrl + Alt + 3 Ctrl + F1 F1 Alt + Ctrl + F2 Ctrl + F2

Cut selected text. Redo the last action performed. Undo last action. Change the font. Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts. Increase selected font +1pts. Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt. Decrease selected font -1pts. View or hide non printing characters. Moves one word to the left. Moves one word to the right. Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph. Deletes word to right of cursor. Deletes word to left of cursor. Moves the cursor to the end of the document. Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document. Reset highlighted text to the default font. Single-space lines. Double-space lines. 1.5-line spacing. Changes text to heading 1. Changes text to heading 2. Changes text to heading 3. Open the Task Pane. Open Help. Open new document. Display the print preview.

Ctrl + <down arrow> Moves to the end of the paragraph.

Shift + F3 Shift + Insert F4 F5 Ctrl + Shift + F6 F7 Shift + F7 F12 Shift + F12 Ctrl + Shift + F12 Alt + Shift + D Alt + Shift + T

Change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word. Paste. Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word. Opens to another open Microsoft Word document. Spell and grammar check selected text and/or document. Runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted. Save as. Save. Prints the document. Insert the current date. Insert the current time.