Tips, Tricks, & Tutorials

13 Keyboard Shortcuts

Whether it’s a speedy way to create a bar chart or a trick for switching from one window to the next, keyboard shortcuts can help even the most experienced Microsoft Office users knock out work faster.

1. Jump to the beginning of any Microsoft application by pressing Ctrl + Home
2. Create a simple bar chart within a set of data in Excel by pressing F11 in any cell
3. Switch from one window to the next with Alt-Tab
4. Using F4 to repeat your last action in Microsoft Word
5. Move to another page quickly with the F5 key, which brings up the Go To box
6. Take advantage of the shortcut power of macros
7. Control the appearance of text in Word: Control + [ to decrease font size one point at a time, and Control + ] to increase font size one point at a time
8. File away e-mails, once you’ve read them, by pressing Shift + Enter + V to pull up your Folders. Type in the first few letters of a folder name to call it up, then hit Enter
9. Make up your own shortcuts with ShortKeys Lite, AutoHotkey or Keyboard Express
10. Lock your keyboard with Windows Key + L
11. Minimize your screen with Windows Key + M
12. Generate white space between paragraphs (12 pt. of spacing) in Word and Outlook by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 0 (zero)
13. Use Ctrl + M to increase an indent, and Ctrl + Shift + M to decrease an indent.