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Tech Tips: The Mouse Trap
Microsoft Windows and the Mouse have always been great partners. They work well together and make it easy and intuitive for us to complete our computing tasks. The problem is, the mouse is often not the fastest and most efficient way to perform certain functions. In this Tech Tip we are going to look at a great alternative to the mouse.
The Mouse Trap
There is a lot of value in using a mouse (or other pointing device such as a track ball or touchpad). In fact it may be hard for many computer users to imagine trying to navigate their systems without the help of a mouse. But we can easily become so dependent on the mouse that our productivity suffers. We can fall into “The Mouse Trap” by using the mouse rather than the handy Windows Keyboard Shortcuts which can be much faster. Keyboard Shortcuts don’t require you to take your hand off the keyboard to grab the mouse, move, click, and come back to the keyboard again. If you don’t currently use Windows Keyboard Shortcuts, consider trying some of these and see if you find yourself being able to do your computing work faster and more efficiently:
Ctrl+Esc |
Opens the Start menu (use the arrow keys and Enter key to select an item) |
Ctrl+X |
Cut |
Ctrl+C |
Copy |
Ctrl+V |
Paste |
Ctrl+Z |
Undo |
Ctrl+Y |
Redo |
Ctrl+F |
Find |
Ctrl+F4 |
Close the active window |
Alt+F4 |
Close program |
Alt+Tab |
Switch focus to another running program. (You can hold down Alt and continually tap the Tab key to cycle through your running apps.) |
Alt+Underlined letter in a menu |
Opens the sub-menu |
Tab |
Move to the next cell in a table or spreadsheet. |
F1 |
Help |
These are just a few of the many Windows Keyboard Shortcuts. You can find more in the manuals for your operating system and applications or on their respective web sites.
One of the great things about Windows is that there is often more than one way to get things done. Since we all work differently and find certain methods more appealing to our personal styles, it’s worth while to experiment with different combinations of keyboard shortcuts and mouse usage to find what makes you most effective.
This article also appears in the Summer 2003 issue of News from a Light in the Valley.