Keyboard Shortcuts

You can access almost all of a computer’s functions using just a keyboard, or for that matter, using just a mouse. Most of the time, it’s more sensible to use them in conjunction with one another. For a lot of users, the mouse is more intuitive, making it the weapon of choice for virtually all tasks that don’t directly involve entering words. Keyboards, however, have the virtues of being both faster and more precise for all sorts of chores.

Ctrl, Alt, Shift, and the Windows key are modifier keys that generally do nothing by themselves, but can be combined with other keys to execute commands. These shortcuts can be used in most applications, and are applied using a fairly consistent scheme - ‘O’ for open, ‘P’ for print, ‘S’ for save, and so on. If you see a shortcut written out as ‘Ctrl+A’, for example, this means that you press and hold the Ctrl key, press and release the A key, then release the Ctrl key.

Because notebook keyboards have fewer keys than fullsize keyboards, some notebook keys do double- or triple-duty. Secondary functions will be labeled in a different color or on the front face of the key. To execute these functions, press the key while holding the (usually blue) Fn modifier key in the lower-left corner of the keyboard. Some of the shortcuts in this list may not work when invoking the Fn key.