Shortcut Keys and their Functions - Keyboard Shortcuts

Alt + E: Edit options in current program

F1: Universal Help in almost every Windows program.

Ctrl + A: Select all text.

Ctrl + X: Cut

Shift + Del: Cut selected item.

Ctrl + C: Copy selected item.

Ctrl + Ins: Copy selected item.

Ctrl + V: Paste selected item.

Shift + Ins: Paste.

Home: Goes to beginning of current line.

Ctrl + Home: Goes to beginning of document.

End: Goes to end of current line.

Ctrl + End: Goes to end of document.

Shift + Home: Highlights from current position to beginning of line.

Shift + End: Highlights from current position to end of line.

Ctrl + Left arrow: Moves one word to the left at a time.

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

Shortcut Keys and their Functions: Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word.

Shortcut Keys and their Descriptions

Ctrl + A: Select all contents of the page.

Ctrl + B: Bold highlighted selection.

Ctrl + C: Copy selected text.

Ctrl + X: Cut selected text.

Ctrl + P: Open the print window.

Ctrl + F: Open find box.

Ctrl + I: Italic highlighted selection.

Ctrl + K: Insert link (Shortcut Keys and their Functions).

Ctrl + U: Underline highlighted selection.

Ctrl + V: Paste.

Ctrl + Y: Redo the last action performed.

Ctrl + Z: Undo last action.

Ctrl + L: Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.

Ctrl + E: Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen.

Ctrl + R: Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen.

Ctrl + M: Indent the paragraph.

Ctrl + Shift + F: Change the font.

Ctrl + Shift + >: Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts.

Ctrl + ]: Increase selected font +1pts.

Ctrl + Shift + <: Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt.

Ctrl + [: Decrease selected font -1pts.

Ctrl + Shift + *: View or hide non printing characters.

Ctrl + L: Moves one word to the left.

Ctrl + R: Moves one word to the right.

Ctrl + : Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.

Ctrl + : Moves to the end of the paragraph.

Ctrl + Del: Deletes word to right of cursor.

Ctrl + Backspace: Deletes word to left of cursor.

Ctrl + End: Moves the cursor to the end of the document.

Ctrl + Home: Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.

Ctrl + Spacebar: Reset highlighted text to the default font.

Ctrl + 1: Single-space lines.

Ctrl + 2: Double-space lines.

Ctrl + 5: 1.5-line spacing.

Ctrl + Alt + 1: Changes text to heading 1.

Ctrl + Alt + 2: Changes text to heading 2.

Ctrl + Alt + 3: Changes text to heading 3.

Alt + Shift + D: Insert the current date.

Alt + Shift + T: Insert the current time.

In addition to the above shortcut keys users can also use their mouse as a method of quickly do something commonly performed.

Below some are examples of mouse shortcuts.

Mouse shortcuts and their Descriptions

Click, hold, and drag: Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go.

Double-click: If double-click a word, selects the complete word.

Double-click: Double-clicking on the left, center, or right of a blank line will make the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned.

Double-click: Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line will set a tab stop.

Triple-click: Selects the line or paragraph of the text the mouse triple-clicked.

Ctrl + Mouse wheel: Zooms in and out of document (Shortcut Keys and their Functions).

Computer Keyboard Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt+F	File menu options in current program.
Alt+E	Edit options in current program
Alt+Tab	Switch between open programs
F1	Universal Help in almost every Windows program.
F2	Rename a selected file
F5	Refresh the current program window
Ctrl+N	Create a new, blank document in some software programs
Ctrl+O	Open a file in current software program
Ctrl+A	Select all text.
Ctrl+B	Change selected text to be Bold
Ctrl+I	Change selected text to be in Italics
Ctrl+U	Change selected text to be Underlined
Ctrl+F	Open find window for current document or window.
Ctrl+S	Save current document file.
Ctrl+X	Cut selected item.
Shift+Del	Cut selected item.
Ctrl+C	Copy selected item.
Ctrl+Ins	Copy selected item
Ctrl+V	Paste
Shift+Ins	Paste
Ctrl+K	Insert hyperlink for selected text
Ctrl+P	Print the current page or document.
Home	Goes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl+Home	Goes to beginning of document.
End	Goes to end of current line.
Ctrl+End	Goes to end of document.
Shift+Home	Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift+End	Highlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl+Left arrow	Moves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl+Right arrow	Moves one word to the right at a time.
Ctrl+Esc	Opens the START menu
Ctrl+Shift+Esc	Opens Windows Task Manager
Alt+F4	Close the currently active program
Alt+Enter	Open the Properties for the selected item (file, folder, shortcut, etc.)

PC shortcut keys for Special Characters

Many special characters can be created using keyboard shortcuts. Below are some of the more common and popular special characters and the keyboard shortcuts to create them.

Shortcut Keys	Special Character
Alt+0224	à
Alt+0232	è
Alt+0236	ì
Alt+0242	ò
Alt+0241	ñ
Alt+0228	ä
Alt+0246	ö
Alt+0252	ü
Alt+0248	ø
Alt+0223	ß
Alt+0198	Æ
Alt+0231	ç
Alt+0191	¿
Alt+0176	°  (degree symbol)
Alt+0177	±  (plus/minus symbol)
Alt+0153	™
Alt+0169	©
Alt+0174	®
Alt+0128	€  (Euro currency)
Alt+0162	¢  (Cent symbol)
Alt+0163	£  (British Pound currency)
Alt+0165	¥  (Japanese Yen currency)

How to install Windows 10 on your PC

Before you do anything, however, we’re going to give your our standard advice: back up your data. Microsoft will give you the option of wiping your files at various stages during the process. Whether you go that route or not, make sure you’ve backed up key documents and other data to OneDrive, a USB key, or something else—just in case.

There are three primary ways to obtain Windows 10: either buy a new PC with Windows 10 preloaded, buy a license key to Windows 10 online, or upgrade an existing Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 PC. We’re going to ignore the first option and focus on the latter two, which we’ll consider to be essentially the same scenario.

Let’s assume that you’re upgrading an older PC, then. If you own a qualifying Windows PC, you had the option of “reserving” a free copy of Windows 10, an offer which will expire a year from now. If you did reserve a copy, chances are that your PC has downloaded a copy of Windows 10 in the background. At some point, Windows 10 will invite you to begin the upgrade process.

Microsoft

That’s the simplest option, especially if you don’t have any immediate, desperate need to download Windows 10. Let Microsoft push Windows 10 at its leisure, and it will end up in your hands eventually. 

But there’s a second option, one that’s a bit more fun. And that’s to download Windows 10 right now.

The new Windows media creation tool shortcut

Traditionally, Windows users would upgrade by inserting an installation CD or DVD into their PC. Over time, users became trained to burn their own .ISO files on their own media. And starting with Windows 8, Microsoft offered the option of restoring a Windows installation from an ISO file stored on a DVD or even on a flash drive. With the new Windows 10 media creation tool, you don’t even need to take that step—it creates a bootable flash drive that you don’t need to futz with. Just make sure the USB drive's at least 3 GB in size.

Mark Hachman

You have the option of using Microsoft’s tool either for upgrading the current PC, or to store the bits on a USB key for safekeeping.

On the media creation tool page, select the proper version—check the system settings to double-check whether you’re running a 32- or 64-bit OS. Then download and run it. Though simple, the tool has a number of lovely features—including the ability to simply upgrade the PC. Yes, it’s true—you don’t need the Windows 10 reservation, as the tool will simply jump you to the head of the line. Even better, you can select whether you want Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Professional, either 32-bit or 64-bit versions, and even the installation language.

Mark Hachman

Note that you can use this tool not only to upgrade Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PCs, but also Windows 10 PCs with older builds. Don’t get sneaky, though. You won’t be able to score a free upgrade to Windows 10 Professional if you existing license doesn’t support it. Here’s a recap of who gets what:

Host operating system edition	Windows 10 edition
Windows 7 Starter Windows 7 Home Basic Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 8/8.1 Windows 8.1 with Bing Windows 10 Home	Windows 10 Home
Windows 7 Professional Windows 7 Ultimate Windows 8 Pro Windows 8.1 Pro Windows 8/8.1 Professional with Media Center Windows 10 Pro	Windows 10 Pro

You can try a clean installation by booting directly from the USB key or DVD; when you do so, you have the option of keeping your files or wiping out everything. However, I ran into an issue where Windows claimed my disk partitions were improperly organized and refused to let me go further. I tried an in-place installation instead.

From there, however, the installation proceeded smoothly. Make sure you allow Windows to download relevant drivers as the installation proceeds. You’ll need to agree to a license agreement, and then the installation process will begin in earnest.

Mark Hachman

Make sure you allow Windows to grab updates as it goes.

You may run into a situation where Windows asks for a license key. If you’re upgrading from a licensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you can click the tiny “skip” option; Microsoft will dig out the license key from the depths of your machine. If this is a brand-new installation, of course, you’ll need to enter the proper key.

Microsoft encourages you to upgrade to Windows 10 first, and then—if you so choose—wipe the drive and reset Windows to improve performance. You can do in the Settings > Update & Security menu. There, you’ll have the option to keep your personal files and reinstall Windows, remove all your files and settings, or perform a factory reset, which will probably bring the PC back to Windows 8.1. We haven't tried it yet. (Editor's Note: We have tried it now, and yes, on an HP Spectre x360 that came preinstalled with Windows 8.1, it resets to 8.1.)