Tips, shortcuts, and helpful hints for PC users

Once you learn these timesaving techniques, you’ll wish you had known about them sooner.

by Ward Lowe   Even if you consider yourself an "old dog," you can still learn these new tricks. They’re simple, straightforward, and may make you wonder how you ever used your computer without them..

Hopefully, the tips will show you new features in familiar programs, which could lead to more valuable discoveries down the road. But don’t take my word for it. Fire up your PC and give these a try. They may not save the world, but they’ll definitely save you time.

While the following instructions were tested on several PCs running different editions of the Windows operating system, computers contain too many variables to guarantee that these tips will work on every PC.

Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts

Like many computer programs, Microsoft Word contains keyboard shortcuts in addition to its pull-down menus. Actually, Word offers nine pages of keyboard shortcuts. Some of these are helpful and logical, while others seem more complicated than doing things the "long" way. Here are some of the more common functions and their corresponding keystrokes:

Help: F1

Page break: Ctrl Enter

Print: Ctrl P

Save: Ctrl S

Select all: Ctrl A

Undo: Ctrl Z

Cut: Ctrl X

Copy: Ctrl C

Paste: Ctrl V

To change a word to bold (or italic or underlined) when using Microsoft Word, you don’t have to double-click or otherwise highlight the word. Simply put the cursor within the word and click the formatting option of your choice. Or you can hold down the Ctrl key and the B key for bold formatting, I for italic, and U for underline. The program will automatically apply that format to the entire word. To make the same kind of formatting changes as you type, use the Ctrl B (or I or U) commands before and after the word or passage you want to format.

Find unusual characters

When you want to type a special character such as an accented letter, a fraction, or the trademark symbol, click on the Insert menu heading, then click on Symbol. Microsoft Word and a number of other programs provide hundreds of special letters, numbers, symbols, and design elements for you to incorporate in your text. Some symbols are also set up in the AutoCorrect library for even easier use. For example, in many programs, you can type (r), and the program will automatically change those three keystrokes to ®. To customize AutoCorrect features in Microsoft Word, click on Tools, then click AutoCorrect Options.

Printing

Do you want to print or copy a screen shot from your computer’s monitor? Look no further than the Print Screen button on your keyboard. Hitting this key copies the contents of your screen to your clipboard, where they can be pasted into Word or a similar application for printing.

If you want to print only a small passage of text from a Web page while running Microsoft Internet Explorer, use your mouse. Highlight the passage and click the printer icon on the tool bar at the top of the screen. Rather than several pages of useless paper, you’ll print only what you need.

Sound management

Does your PC have speakers? If you’ve ever been startled or embarrassed because your computer blared a CD, video, or sound clip, this shortcut to your PC’s volume control may help. Look at the system tray at the bottom-right corner of your screen, next to the clock. Double-click on the icon that resembles a speaker. The box that pops up enables you to control the volume and balance for your PC and any other auxiliary devices that may be running through your computer.

Quick navigation

When you’re viewing a Web site and want to scroll down the page, hit the space bar. Or if you want to go back to the previous page, hit the Back Space key.

To quickly navigate in Word and Excel documents, use the Home and End keys. PC users can press Ctrl Home to jump to the beginning of a document, while Ctrl End puts the cursor at the end.

Advanced users: streamline your start up

Take a glance at the lower-right corner of your screen, next to your clock. Is it crowded with icons down there? Those icons, displayed in what is called your system tray, show the programs that load in addition to your operating system every time you start your computer. Not every start-up program places an icon in your system tray, but generally, the number of icons is a good indication of the number of start-up programs on your machine.

You need some of these: Your Palm’s HotSync manager, virus-protection software, and network connections are all examples of "good" start ups. But a lot of free software you download from the Web puts itself in your start-up folder without your approval and wastes time when you boot up. Since start ups are stored in multiple places, you need help to disable them.

Some editions of Windows offer a built-in way to manage your start-up programs. From the Start menu, choose Run and type "msconfig." Click on the Startup tab and uncheck any programs you don’t want to run at start up. If your edition of Windows doesn’t have msconfig, visit Download.com and search for "Startup Cop." Once installed, this free software will display every file that runs when you boot up. Choosing Disable from the menu prevents a program from running. Other programs with more functionality are available on the Web for purchase. Search for "startup manager" or similar terms using a search engine like Google.

Be careful if you choose to delve into the world of your start-up. Some files have cryptic names and others may not seem essential—until your computer crashes and won’t restart. If you have questions about a file, leave it alone and contact your technical-support professional.

Photos © PictureQuest And Corbis Images.

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