23 invaluable keyboard shortcuts

Posted on 11 Mar 2008 at 12:43

Ctrl + drag
There isn't always an obvious rationale behind Windows' behaviour when it comes to dragging files to a new location. Sometimes it assumes you want to copy them (indicated by a tiny plus sign), at others it will guess that you're moving a file from one place to another (no plus sign). If you'd rather do something different, hold Ctrl while dragging files, which will reverse Windows' decision.

Ctrl + Enter
Once you've selected the address bar in Firefox or Internet Explorer, you can save time by typing only the middle of a domain name. <Ctrl-Enter> will add www. and .com for you. <Ctrl-Shift-Enter> gives www. and .org.

Alt + Esc
If you need to refer briefly to one window when working in another, you can select it from the taskbar. <Alt-Esc> will despatch the window back to the rear for you.

Alt Gr + full stop
Turns a single full stop into ellipses - useful for thriller fiction writers!

Alt + Shift
In Microsoft Office, cutting and pasting items in an ordered list can be long-winded because the software's attempts to reorganise can be disastrous. Select an item in a list, hold <Alt-Shift>, and you can move that item up or down with the arrow keys.

Alt + F4
Quits the currently active application, or shuts down Windows if no application has the keyboard focus.

Alt + PrtScrn
If you need a screenshot of a single window, you don't need to take a full desktop grab and crop the image. Just hold <Alt-PrtScrn> to get a grab of an active window.

Alt + Backspace
In Microsoft Office, you can undo any auto corrections and auto formatting you disagree with by pressing <Alt-Backspace>.

Alt Gr + Vowels
Pressing the right-hand Alt key while typing vowels in Office and Windows applications will give you acute accents. The left Alt key held down will give you some of the more unusual characters with the number pad.

Click here to go back to '80 expert Windows tips'.

Author: PC Pro staff