Function keys
F1
- Almost always used as the help key, almost every program will open the help screen when this key is pressed.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
- Windows Key + F1 would open the Microsoft Windows help and support center.
- Open the Task Pane.
F2
- In Windows commonly used to rename a highlighted icon or file.
- Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens document window in Microsoft Word.
- Ctrl + F2 displays the print preview window in Microsoft Word.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
F3
- Often opens a search feature for many programs including Microsoft Windows.
- In MS-DOS or Windows command line F3 will repeat the last command.
- Shift + F3 will change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.
F4
- Open find window.
- Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)
- Alt + F4 will close the program currently active in Microsoft Windows.
- Ctrl + F4 will close the open window within the current active window in Microsoft Windows.
F5
- In all modern Internet browsers pressing F5 will refresh or reload the page or document window.
- Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word.
- Starts a slideshow in PowerPoint.
F6
- Move the cursor to the Address bar in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
- Ctrl + Shift + F6 opens to another open Microsoft Word document.
F7
- Commonly used to spell check and grammar check a document in Microsoft programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, etc.
- Shift + F7 runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted.
- Turns on Caret browsing in Mozilla Firefox.
F8
- Function key used to enter the Windows startup menu, commonly used to access Windows Safe Mode.
F9
- Opens the Measurements toolbar in Quark 5.0.
F10
- In Microsoft Windows activates the menu bar of an open application.
- Shift + F10 is the same as right-clicking on a highlighted icon, file, or Internet link.
- Access the hidden recovery partition on HP and Sony computers.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
F11
- Full-screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.
- Ctrl + F11 as computer is starting to access the hidden recovery partition on many Dell computers.
- Access the hidden recovery partition on eMachines, Gateway, and Lenovo computers.
F12
- Open the Save as window in Microsoft Word.
- Shift + F12 save the Microsoft Word document.
- Ctrl + Shift + F12 prints a document in Microsoft Word.
- Preview a page in Microsoft Expression Web
- Open Firebug.
| Shortcut Keys | Description |
| Alt + F | File menu options in current program. |
| Alt + E | Edit options in current program |
| F1 | Universal Help in almost every Windows program. |
| Ctrl + A | Select all text. |
| 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 |
| 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 + C or Ctrl + Insert
Copy the highlighted text or selected item.
Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert
Paste the text or object that's in the clipboard.
Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y
Undo any change. For example, if you cut text, pressing this will undo it. This can also often be pressed multiple times to undo multiple changes. Pressing Ctrl + Y would redo the undo.
Ctrl + F
Open the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.
Alt + Tab or Alt + Esc
- Quickly switch between open programs moving forward.
- Press Ctrl + Tab to switch between tabs in a program.
- Adding the Shift key to Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab will move backwards. For example, if you are pressing Alt + Tab and pass the program you want to switch to, press Alt + Shift + Tab to move backwards to that program.
- Windows Vista and 7 users can also press the Windows Key + Tab to switch through open programs in a full screenshot of the Window.
Ctrl + Back space and Ctrl + Left arrow / Right arrow
Pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete a full word at a time instead of a single character.
Holding down the Ctrl key while pressing the left or right arrow will move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time you can hold down Ctrl + Shift and then press the left or right arrow key to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.
Ctrl + S
While working on a document or other file in almost every program pressing Ctrl + S will save that file. This shortcut key should be used frequently anytime you're working on anything important.
Ctrl + Home / End
Move the cursor to the beginning or end of a document.
Ctrl + P
Print the page being viewed. For example, the document in Microsoft Word or the web page in your Internet browser.
Page Up / Space bar and Page Down
Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet pressing the space bar will also move the page down one page at a time. If you press Shift and the Space bar the page will go up a page at a time.
Last updated on: 08/10/2019
