From magic keys and shortcuts to special characters and language switching, your computer keyboard is full of mysteries to discover. What if you saved time by learning key combinations on yours? The Shift, Ctrl, Shift, command keys will soon no longer hold any secrets for you. Bonuses: Current wife has selected 8 particularly useful and common ones by separating Mac computers from Windows.
Type a shortcut with Ctrl or the arrow: what is the difference between the keys on Windows and Mac?
The first thing to know before you start learning shortcuts is to identify your computer. Indeed, Mac and Windows keyboards are different.
- If you have a Mac keyboard : most of the shortcuts will use the keys (on the left) “Shift” (up arrow), “fn”, “control”, “option” and “command”
- If you have a Windows keyboard : the same shortcut will use the “Shift”, “Ctrl”, “Windows”, “Alt” keys
$, €, %… Which key should you press to obtain the symbols for special characters?
On keys that have several characters, only one is displayed when typing. To use the other characters displayed, you must press another key on your keyboard at the same time. Most shortcuts work with the “Ctrl” or “Shift” key on Windows and “control” or “Shift” (the up arrow) on Mac.
Mac, Windows: what are the 30 most useful keyboard shortcuts that exist?
There are more than a hundred keyboard shortcuts which vary depending on whether you have a Mac or Windows licensed computer. Among the 30 most useful shortcuts, we find:
- copy (Shift or Shift + C)
- paste (Shift or Shift + V)
- cut (Shift or Shift + X)
- select all (Shift or Shift + A)
- undo last action (Shift or Shift + Z)
- redo the last action (Shift or Shift + Y)
- insert a link (Shift or Shift + K)
- save (Shift or Shift + S).
How do I show all keyboard shortcuts?
To find out all the shortcuts offered by your keyboard and know all the key combinations, Mac or Windows, or if you are looking for a particular shortcut, “press Ctrl+Alt+?“, specifies Google. “The keyboard shortcuts overview screen then opens. Enter the shortcut you are looking for.“
Summary
- 1. Copy/paste text, image or file
- 2. Select a set of texts or files
- 3. Refresh a page
- 4. Access all your folders
- 5. Page up and down with one click
- 6. Search for something
- 7. Tip for filling out a form
- 8. Shortcut to print
1. Copy/paste text, image or file
In a Windows or Mac Word document, do you want to move a title or paragraph? Select it with your mouse, press the Ctrl key on your keyboard and press the C key (leaving the Ctrl key pressed). Your text is copied, that is to say “saved” temporarily. Place your cursor where you want to place your text and press Ctrl + V. You will then copy the text. Magic ! If necessary, you can still copy it elsewhere by pressing Ctrl + V again.
This “copy/paste” tip also applies to a file. For example, do you want to copy an image located on your desktop into a folder? Click the image file on your desktop, press Ctrl + C, then go to the folder you want. Press Ctrl + V: your image appears in the folder in addition to being on the desktop.
2. Select a set of texts or files
To select an entire document or a group of files, simply press Ctrl + A. You can then move (using your mouse) or copy then paste (see previous page) all these files elsewhere, from one one shot.
3. Refresh a page
Do you have a display problem on a page, have you logged in to your account but cannot see your profile displayed correctly? The page probably needs to be “refreshed”, that is to say updated. To refresh it, simply press the F5 key on your keyboard.
4. Access all your folders
To easily access your hard drives (which store all your files in memory), USB keys or other external ports… in short, all the content of your computer with one click, press the Windows Explorer button (located between the Ctrl and Alt key on your PC, at the bottom of your keyboard) then on E. You will open what is called the workstation. Practical.
5. Page up and down with one click
When you are on a very content-rich Internet page, it is sometimes necessary to “scroll” (scroll up or down) with your mouse, using the vertical navigation bar of the page. Did you know that at any time, you can go straight to the bottom of the page, or go back to the top with one click? The arrows located on keys 2 and 8 on your numeric keypad (provided you have deactivated it) allow you to do this. Test them, it’s very practical!
6. Search for something
Are you looking for a file on your computer or a specific word in a document? Click on the Windows Explorer key (located between the Ctrl and Alt keys on your PC, at the bottom of your keyboard) then F. The search help then opens. Close it once you have completed your search.
7. Tip for filling out a form
When filling out a form with many fields to complete, you can save time using the tab key, located to the left of the letter “A”.
This key allows you to go directly to the next field. Practical.
8. Shortcut to print
To print quickly, without going through the menu, simply press Ctrl + P. The “Print” window opens to check the print settings and press OK.
From now on, keyboards, whether Mac or Windows, should have almost no secrets for you now. Have fun with these clever key combinations and happy browsing!