Knowing computer shortcut keys is very important if you want to be efficient and proficient with computers.
According to various studies, people who use computer shortcut keys efficiently are able to complete tasks 30% faster than those who work only with a mouse.
Mastering keyboard shortcuts is an essential skill for regular computer users.
In today’s world, computers have become integrated into our daily lives. One of the most important parts of being computer proficient is operating a keyboard.
Various shortcut keys on the computer provide an easy way for the user to complete the work correctly and in less time.
In this article, we are providing all the basic computer keyboard shortcut keys and shortcut keys used in MS Office programs like Microsoft Windows, MS Office, MS Word, MS Excel, and PowerPoint that everyone should know. If you work on computer software regularly or want to learn basic keyboard shortcut keys, the complete information is given below.
Basic Computer Shortcut Key
If you are always using the cursor on the computer then you are making mistakes. Instead of using the cursor, you should practice the computer keyboard shortcut keys. All the basic computer shortcut keys used on a daily basis are referenced below. Below are all the basic computer keyboard shortcut keys from A to Z.
Computer shortcut keys are a set of one or two keys that help perform a task
Provides special commands with Alt, Ctrl, and some other keys.
| Ctrl + C | Copy the selected item |
| Ctrl + A | Selects all text |
| Ctrl + X | Cuts the selected item |
| Ctrl + Del | Cut selected item |
| Ctrl + Home | Go to the beginning of the document |
| Ctrl + End | Go to the end of a document |
| Ctrl + (Right arrow) | Move one term to the right at a time |
| Ctrl + (Left arrow) | Move one term to the left at a time |
| Alt + E | Edits options in the current program |
| Alt + F | File menu options in the current program |
| Shift + End | Highlight from the prevailing position to the end of the line |
| Shift + Home | Highlight from the prevailing position to the start of the line |
| Shift + Ins | Paste the selected item |
| F1 | Universal help (for any sort of program) |
| End | Go to the end of the current line |
Computer Shortcut Keys for Microsoft Windows
A computer shortcut is a key or combination of keys that give you an alternative way to do something that you would normally do with a mouse or cursor. Below are all the computer shortcut keys for Microsoft Windows. Computer keyboard shortcut keys for Microsoft Windows are given in the table below.
- Ctrl + Alt + Del Reboot/Windows task manager
- Ctrl + Plus Key Adjust the widths of all columns automatically, in Windows Explorer
- Ctrl + Esc These keys allow you to activate the start menu
- Alt + Shift + TabIt allows you to switch back between ongoing applications
- Alt + Enter Open the properties window for the selected icon or program
- Alt + Print Screen Take a screenshot of the current page.
- Alt + Esc Switch between desktop applications on the taskbar
- F2 Rename the selected icon
- F3 Find anything from your system’s desktop
- F4 Its purpose in Windows 95 to XP is to open the located window
- F5 Refresh the contents of your Windows system
Gmail Shortcut Keys
If you use Gmail, it is imperative for you to know the shortcut keys of the computer. As a result, you can use Gmail very quickly and very intelligently. Which will make your work very easy.
| S.No. | Shortcut Keys | Uses of shortcut keys |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | .a | Reply all. |
| 2. | .c | Compose a new email. |
| 3. | .e | Archive email and return to the inbox. |
| 4. | .g | then iGo to inbox. |
| 5. | .r | Reply to the sender. |
| 6. | ++b | Add bcc recipients. |
| 7. | ++c | Add cc recipients. |
| 8. | +u | Mark unread. |
| 9. | .] | Archive the email and proceed to the next email. |
More shortcut keys
Below are some important shortcut keys that will help you.
- Switch between open apps: Alt + Tab
- Maximize Window: F11 or Windows logo key + Up arrow
- Lock your PC: Windows logo key + L
- Display and hide the desktop: Windows logo key + D
- Open Task View: Windows logo key + Tab
- Open the Quick Link menu: Windows logo key + X
- Cut : Ctrl + X
- Copy : Ctrl + C
- Paste : Ctrl + V
Excel shortcut keys pdf / Microsoft Excel Keyboard shortcut keys
If you want to use Excel very quickly, then it is imperative for you to know the shortcut keys of Excel. Which will provide your personal and official work benefits.
| Shortcut keys | Uses of shortcut keys |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | When you press these keys together it will bold highlighted selection. |
| Ctrl + F | These keys are used to open find and replace options in MS-Excel |
| Ctrl + G | Use these keys together to open go-to options |
| Ctrl + H | Use these keys to open find and replace options |
| Ctrl + I | These commands are used to Italicize highlighted selections. |
| Ctrl + K | When you want to Insert a link, you can use these keys together |
| Ctrl + N | Use these keys together to open the document in MS-Excel |
| Ctrl + O | Use these keys to open options in MS-Excel |
| Ctrl + P | Use these keys together to open the print dialogue box in MS-Excel |
| Ctrl + U | With the help of these keys, you can underline highlighted text. |
| Ctrl + W | Use these keys together to close the document |
| Ctrl + Y | With the help of these keys, you can underline highlighted text. |
| Ctrl + Z | With the help of these keys, you can undo the last deleted action |
| Ctrl + Shift +; | With the help of these keys, you can enter the current time |
| Ctrl +; | Use these keys together to enter the current date |
| Ctrl + Space | Use these keys together to select the entire column |
| Ctrl + Tab | With the help of these keys, you can move between two or more open MS Excel files |
| Ctrl + (Right arrow) | With the help of these keys, you can jump on to the next section of text |
| Ctrl + | With the use of these keys together you can insert the value in the current cell from the above cell. |
| Ctrl + F9 | Use these keys to minimize a current window in MS-Excel |
| Ctrl + F10 | Use these keys to maximize the currently selected window in MS-Excel |
| F2 | When you want to edit the selected cell using this key |
| F5 | With the help of this key, you can go to a specific cell |
| F7 | With the help of this key, you can check the spelling of selected text |
| F11 | The F11 key is used to create a chart in MS-Excel |
| Shift + F3 | With the help of these keys, you can open the MS Excel formula window |
| Shift + F5 | When you press these keys together it will open the search box |
| Shift + Space | Use these keys together to select the entire row |
| Alt + Shift + F1 | When you wanna insert a new worksheet use these keys together |
| Alt + = | With the help of these keys, you can initiate the formula to add all of the above cells |
Shortcuts keys on the computer
Check out Shortcut Keys if you’re new to PowerPoint and want to understand how to quickly execute shortcuts. Below are all the computer shortcut keys for the PowerPoint program.
| Shortcuts Keys | Uses of Shortcut Keys |
|---|---|
| CTRL + D | Create a duplicate of your current slide. |
| CTRL + G | Group things together |
| Ctrl+K | When you want to enter a hyperlink use these keys together. |
| Ctrl+M | Create a new slide just after your chosen slide. |
| Ctrl+N | These commands are used in a different Powerpoint software window, to create a new, blank slide. |
| Ctrl+Shift+< | Reduce the font size of the selected text by one size. |
| Ctrl+Shift+> | These commands are used to maximize the font size of the selected text by one size. |
| Esc | Exit the ongoing slide show and it will redirect you to the earlier live view. |
| F5 | With the help of F5, you can start the presentation from the initial slide. |
Ms word shortcut keys / Keyboard shortcuts keys for Microsoft Word
Although it seems easiest to use MS Word, if you use some shortcut keys in MS Word, your work will become easier.
Made easy and fun with a comprehensive list of computer shortcut keys. Below are all computer shortcut keys explained in the table.
Connected to Microsoft Word. To learn the shortcut keys used in MS Word, see the table below.
| S.NO. | Shortcuts Keys | Uses of Shortcut Keys |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ctrl + B | Bold highlighted selection |
| 2. | Ctrl + C | Copy selected text |
| 3. | Ctrl + D | Font options |
| 4. | Ctrl + E | Align selected text or line to the center |
| 5. | Ctrl + F | Open find box |
| 6. | Ctrl + G | Find and replace options |
| 7. | Ctrl + H | Find and replace options |
| 8. | Ctrl + I | Italicize highlighted selection |
| 9. | Ctrl + X | Cut selected text |
| 10. | Ctrl + N | Open a new/blank document |
| 11. | Ctrl + O | Open options |
| 12. | Ctrl + P | Open the print window |
| 13. | Ctrl + J | Justify paragraph alignment |
| 14. | Ctrl + K | Insert link |
| 15. | Ctrl + L | Align selected text or line to the left |
| 16. | Ctrl + M | Indent the paragraph |
| 17. | Ctrl + R | Align selected text or line to the right |
| 18. | Ctrl + Q | Align the selected paragraph to the left |
| 19. | Ctrl + S | Save |
| 20. | Ctrl + T | Hanging indent |
| 21. | Ctrl + U | Underline highlighted selection |
| 22. | Ctrl + V | Paste |
| 23. | Ctrl + W | Close document |
| 24. | Ctrl + Shift + F | Change the font |
| 25. | Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase selected font +1 |
| 26. | Ctrl + Shift + * | View or hide non-printing characters |
| 27. | Ctrl + [ | Decrease selected font -1 |
| 28. | Ctrl + ] | Increase selected font +1 |
| 29. | Ctrl + (Left arrow) | Move one word to the left |
| 30. | Ctrl + (Right arrow) | Move one word to the right |
| 31. | Ctrl + (Up arrow) | Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph |
| 32. | Ctrl + (Down arrow) | Move to the end of the paragraph |
| 33. | Ctrl + Del | Delete the word to the right of the cursor |
| 34. | Ctrl + Backspace | Delete the word to the left of the cursor |
| 35. | Ctrl + End | Move the cursor to the end of the document |
| 36. | Ctrl + Home | Move the cursor to the beginning of the document |
| 37. | Ctrl + Space | Reset highlighted text to the default font |
| 38. | Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Change text to heading 1 |
| 39. | Ctrl + Alt + 2 | Change text to heading 2 |
| 40. | Ctrl + Alt + 3 | Change text to heading 3 |
| 41. | Ctrl + 1 | Single-space lines |
| 42. | Ctrl + 2 | Double-space lines |
| 43. | Ctrl + 5 | 1.5-line spacing |
| 44. | Ctrl+Shift+= | Set chosen text as superscript. |
| 45. | Ctrl+= | Set chosen text as a subscript. |
| 46. | Shift + F3 | Change the case of the selected text |
| 47. | Shift + Insert | Paste |
| 48. | Shift + F7 | Activate the thesaurus |
| 49. | Shift + F12 | Save |
| 50. | F4 | Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) |
| 51. | F7 | Spell-check selected text and/or document |
| 52. | F12 | Save as |
| 53. | Alt + Shift + D | Insert the current date |
| 54. | Alt + Shift + T | Insert the current time |
So far, you have learned about 150 different shortcut keys for computers. Besides, if you want to know about the advanced shortcut key for Excel, you will find that information on this site.
FAQ
Q: What is shortcut key A to Z?
Ans: CTRL + A = Select. CTRL + B = Bold. CTRL + C = Copy. CTRL + D = Open font formatting window. CTRL + E = Center.
Q: What is F1 f2 f3 F4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 f10 F11 F12?
Ans: The function keys or F-keys on a computer keyboard, labeled F1 through F12, are keys that have a special function defined by the operating system, or by a currently running program. They may be combined with the Alt or Ctrl keys.
Q: Are there any universal shortcut keys?
Ans: Ctrl+C for copy, Ctrl+V for paste, and Ctrl+Z for undo.
Thank you! I love the course