Keyboard shortcuts are a godsend for all computer users yet a recent Google survey shows many people don’t know they exist.
The survey showed 90 percent of users didn’t know about the CTRL-F keyboard shortcut to search for a word.
Dan Russell, Google’s Uber Tech Lead for Search Quality and User Happiness, told the New Scientist magazine new users are often unaware of simple tools.
“We have found that there are some surprisingly basic search techniques that people just don’t know about.”
He says easy navigation tools are wasted if new users don’t know about them.
“Our ideas have to be discoverable,” he told New Scientist.
Keyboard shortcuts, sometimes called quick keys, help users access folders, cycle between windows or carry out commands quicker than doing the action manually with the mouse.
And for those not in the know, we’ve put together a quick list of simple shortcuts and quick keys. Take the Compaq Presario CQ60 Keyboard for instance.
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F-keys
F1: Help
F5: to refresh a page
CTRL-keys
CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+V: Paste
CTRL+Z: Undo
CTRL+B: Bold
CTRL+U: Underline
CTRL+I: Italic
CTRL-A: to select all
CTRL-O: to open a file
CTRL-F or F3: to find a word or words on a page
CTRL-S: to save
CTRL-P: to print
CTRL- “-” or “+”: to reduce or increase font size on a webpage
CTRL-H: history
CTRL-T: to open a new tab in your web browser
CTRL-TAB: to scroll through the tabs on your web browser
CTRL-W: to close a window on your web browser
CTRL-Home: to go to the start of a sentence
CTRL-End: to go to the end of a sentence
CTRL-”←” or “→”: to move to the previous or next word
CTRL-SHIFT-”←” or “→”: to select the previous or next word
ALT-keys
ALT-Print Screen: to capture a screenshot of a window on your desktop
ALT-Home: to go to your browser’s homepage
ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
ALT+F4: Quit program
Other
WIN-L: to lock your desktop (Windows)
WIN-D: to show your desktop (Windows)
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)
