Keyboard Shortcuts: Cut, Copy, Paste

Keyboard shortcuts are quicker than using the mouse. If you get in the habit of using a keyboard shortcut for a procedure you use often, it will save lots of time. Try using the shortcuts for cut, copy, and paste - Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V. These also some in handy when you don't have a menu option for cut, copy, paste - when you are in a window with a textbox with no menus.

Start Menu Programs

Quickly and easily alphabetize the icons in programs on your start menu by right clicking within programs on the start menu and clicking on "Sort by Name".

Print Selection

Select or highlight text you want to print. From the File menu, select PRINT. On the Print Dialog Box, choose SELECTION and click PRINT.

Internet Explorer

In Internet Explorer, press F6 to access the address bar and begin typing the URL - web address. Remember, you don't have to type "http://" - just begin with the first of the address. In addition, URLs must be typed EXACTLY as they are to reach the correct web site.

Cent Symbol

Even though there is no cent symbol on your keyboard, your computer will insert one with just a small trick: with the NumLock on, press and hold the Alt key, then press 155 with the number keypad. Example: 25¢

More about keyboard shortcuts.

View File Extensions

To force Windows to display file extensions, open Windows Explorer (right-click My Computer and choose Explore), click View/Folder Options/View, then Uncheck the "Hide file extensions for known file types" option. If you don't have View/Folder Options, choose View/Tools.

Changing Case in Word

If you discover you're in the wrong case while entering text in MS Word, don't retype, just select (highlight), click on Format|Change Case, then choose one of the options from the drop-down menu to change to sentence case, lower case, upper case, title case, or toggle case.

Understanding Views

Use the VIEW menu to change the view or click on the view controls at the left side of the horizontal scroll bar. Print Layout view is the one most closely related to what your document will look like when you actually print it. (In some versions of Word this view may be called Page Layout view.) In this viewing mode you can see your headers and footers in place, what your margins look like, how your frames appear in relation to text, and what your graphics look like in your document. This is the viewing mode you should use if you want to always see what your document will look like.

Monitor Cleaning

The monitor screen can be cleaned with ordinary household glass cleaner. Be sure to remove power from the monitor and spray the cleaner onto a lint free cloth so the fluid doesn't leak into the electrical components inside the monitor. Vacuum off any dust that has settled on top of the monitor, and make sure no books or papers have been placed on the air vents. Obstructed monitor vents can cause the monitor to overheat or even catch on fire.

Format Painter

In MS Word, there is a feature to carry forward formatting to apply to other portions of text you may be working on.  Click the line that contains formatting you wish to use, then click the toolbar's Format Painter button resembling a paintbrush.  The icon then converts to a paintbrush, and you can click or select the text to apply the format.  If you wish to apply the format to two or more sections of text, first double click the Format Painter toolbar and apply the formatting to as many items as you wish, with one more click on the Format Painter button to turn the feature off. Format Painter is also available in Microsoft Excel.

Change the Font Size Quickly

To quickly increase the size of the font, highlight the word, phrase, or sentence, and click Control + Shift + >
To quickly decrease the size of the font, highlight the word, phrase, or sentence, and click Control + Shift + <

Home - End

Quickly move through a document with the keyboard:

• Ctrl+ Home to go to the top of the document
• Ctrl + End to go to the end of a document
• Home to go to the front of the line you are on
• End to go to the end of the line you are on

Horizontal Lines in Word

To add horizontal lines in Word, type three hyphens at the beginning of a line and hit Enter. You can also do this with three tildes, three equal signs, three pound signs, three asterisks, or three underscores. Each makes a different type of line across the page. Experiment!
3 hyphens (-), 3 tildes (~), 3 equal signs (=), 3 pound signs (#), 3 asterisks (*), 3 underscores (_) .

Breaking Your Text

As you are typing in Word, you will notice that Word automatically keeps track of where you are. When your document will no longer fit on a single page, Word automatically inserts a page break (indicated by a thin dashed line when viewing your document in Normal view) and wraps your text to the next page. There may be times, however, when you want to insert a break in your text automatically. Word supports the following types of breaks:

Selecting Text

There are many ways to select (highlight) text. Try this way to select text without having click and drag problems with the mouse:

1. Position the insertion point where you want the selection to begin.
2. Move the mouse cursor so it points to where you want the selection to end.
3. Hold down the SHIFT key as you click once on the left mouse button.

Can you change the direction of text in Word?

YES! The text must be in a text box or table. Select or highlight the text. Click FORMAT, TEXT DIRECTION. Choose the direction you like and click OK.

Vertical Headings in Excel

1. Highlight cells to format
2. Click FORMAT, CELLS, ALIGNMENT
3. Set Orientation to 90% or 45% or choose any %

Understanding the Clipboard

Any long-time Windows user knows that the Clipboard is the place where information is temporarily stored when you are cutting or copying it. The Clipboard is a feature of Windows, but it is supported completely by Word. You place information in the Clipboard by first selecting it and then choose Copy or Cut from the Edit menu. You can also press CTRL+C (to copy) or CTRL+X (to cut).
When information is stored in the Clipboard, Windows also keeps track of the type of information stored. For instance, if you copy some text to the Clipboard, Windows tracks the source of the text. The reason for tracking the source is so the information can be correctly pasted into a different program. This means that if you copy cells from an Excel worksheet, you can paste them into Word in a variety of formats.
If you have something in the Clipboard, you can either paste it into Word by choosing Paste from the Edit menu or by pressing CTRL+V. If you want more control over how something is pasted from the Clipboard, use the Paste Special command from the Edit menu.

Drag & Drop Text (Word)

1. Select the text you want to move.
2. Position the mouse cursor over the selected text and click the mouse button. Make sure you hold it down. Soon you will notice some dotted lines appear near the mouse cursor.
3. Drag the selected text to where you want it moved.
4. Release the mouse button. The selected text is moved to the location you specified.