Some Tips and Tricks just below.
Scroll further down for some Keyboard Shortcuts.
Click here to download a PDF of Tips and Tricks.
Click here to download a PDF of some Keyboard Shortcuts.
Click here to download a PDF of some Special Characters.
Problem Steps Recorder.
As the local PC guru you're probably very used to friends and family asking for help with their computer problems, yet having no idea
how to clearly describe what's going on. It's frustrating, but Microsoft feels your pain, and Windows 7 will include an excellent new
solution in the Problem Steps Recorder.
When any app starts misbehaving under Windows 7 then all your friends need do is click Start, type PSR and press Enter, then click
Start Record. If they then work through whatever they're doing then the Problem Steps Recorder will record every click and keypress,
take screen grabs, and package everything up into a single zipped MHTML file when they're finished, ready for emailing to you. It's
quick, easy and effective, and will save you hours of troubleshooting time.
Troubleshoot problems.
If some part of Windows 7 is behaving strangely, and you don't know why, then click Control Panel > Find and fix problems (or
'Troubleshooting') to access the new troubleshooting packs. These are simple wizards that will resolve common problems, check your
settings, clean up your system and more.
Take control.
Tired of the kids installing dubious software or running applications you'd rather they left alone? AppLocker is a new Windows 7 feature
that ensures users can only run the programs you specify. Don't worry, that's easier to set up than it sounds: you can create a rule to
allow everything signed by a particular publisher, so choose Microsoft, say, and that one rule will let you run all signed Microsoft
applications. Launch GPEDIT.MSC and go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Application Control
Policies > AppLocker to get a feel for how this works.
Calculate more.
At first glance the Windows 7 calculator looks just like Vista's version, but explore the Mode menu and you'll see powerful new
Statistics and Programmer views. And if you're clueless about bitwise manipulation, then try the Options menu instead. This offers
many different unit conversions (length, weight, volume and more), date calculations (how many days between two dates?), and
spreadsheet-type templates to help you calculate vehicle mileage, mortgage rates and more.
Don't take any Windows 7 applet at face value, then - there are some very powerful new features hidden in the background. Be sure to
explore every option in all Windows applets to ensure you don't miss anything important.
Recover locked-up apps.
If an application locks up under a previous version of Windows then there was nothing you could do about it. A new Windows 7 option,
however, can not only explain the problem, but may get your program working again without any loss of data.
When the lockup occurs, click Start, type RESMON and click the RESMON.EXE link to launch the Resource Monitor.
Find your frozen process in the CPU pane (it should be highlighted in red), right-click it and select Analyze Wait Chain.
If you see at least two processes in the list, then the lowest, at the end of the tree, is the one holding up your program. If it's not a vital
Windows component, or anything else critical, then save any work in other open applications, check the box next to this process, click
End Process, and your locked-up program will often spring back to life.
Recover screen space.
The new Windows 7 taskbar acts as one big quick launch toolbar that can hold whatever program shortcuts you like (just right-click one
and select Pin To Taskbar). And that's fine, except it does consume a little more screen real estate than we'd like. Shrink it to a more
manageable size by right-clicking the Start orb, then Properties > Taskbar > Use small icons > OK.
Protect your data.
USB flash drives are convenient, portable, and very easy to lose. Which is a problem, especially if they’re carrying sensitive data?
Fortunately Windows 7 has the solution: encrypt your documents with an extension of Microsoft's BitLocker technology, and only
someone with the password will be able to access it. Right-click your USB flash drive, select Turn on BitLocker and follow the
instructions to protect your private files.
Protect your data.
If you have confidential files in a particular folder or two, and would like to keep them away from other network users, then right-click
the folder, select Share With > Nobody, and they'll be made private, for your eyes only (or your user account, anyway).
Run As.
Hold down Shift, right-click any program shortcut, and you'll see an option to run the program as a different user, handy if you're logged
in to the kids' limited account and need to run something with higher privileges. This isn't really a new feature - Windows XP had a Run
As option that did the same thing - but Microsoft stripped it out of Vista, so it's good to see it's had a change of heart.
Repair your PC.
If Windows 7 won't start, you may not need an installation or repair disc any more, as the repair environment is now usually installed on
your hard drive. Press [F8] as your PC starts, and if you see a "Repair Your Computer" option, choose that to see the full range of
Windows 7 recovery tools.
Faster program launches.
If you've launched one instance of a program but want to start another, then don't work your way back through the Start menu. It's
much quicker to just hold down Shift and click on the program's icon (or middle-click it), and Windows 7 will start a new instance for
you.
An Alt+Tab alternative.
You want to access one of the five Explorer windows you have open, but there are so many other programs running that Alt+Tab
makes it hard to pick out what you need. The solution? Hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the Explorer icon. Windows 7 will then
cycle through the Explorer windows only, a much quicker way to locate the right one. And of course this works with any application that
has multiple windows open.
Fix Explorer.
The Windows 7 Explorer has a couple of potential annoyances. Launching Computer will no longer display system folders like Control
Panel or Recycle Bin, for instance. And if you're drilling down through a complicated folder structure in the right-hand pane of Explorer,
the left-hand tree won't always expand to follow what you're doing, which can make it more difficult to see exactly where you are.
Fortunately there's a quick fix: click Organize > Folder and Search Options, check "Show all folders" and "Automatically expand to
current folder", and click OK.
Faster file handing.
If you hold down Shift while right-clicking a file in Explorer, then you'll find the Send To file now includes all your main user folders:
Contacts, Documents, Downloads, Music and more. Choose any of these and your file will be moved there immediately.
Search file contents.
There's no obvious way in the Windows interface to search the contents of files that haven't been indexed, but all you need to do is
start your search with the "content:" search filter. So entering content:Microsoft, for instance, will find all documents (whether they're
actually indexed or not) that contain the word Microsoft.
Close in a click.
Hover your mouse cursor over a Windows taskbar button will display a preview thumbnail of that application window. You don't need
that app anymore? Then middle-click the thumbnail to close it down.
Some assorted shortcut keys
Basic Shortcut Keys
Alt + F File menu options in current program
Alt + E Edit options in current program
F1 Universal help (for all programs)
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 Go to beginning of current line
Ctrl + Home Go to beginning of document
End Go to end of current line
Ctrl + End Go to end of document
Shift + Home Highlight from current position to beginning of line
Shift + End Highlight from current position to end of line
Ctrl + f Move one word to the left at a time
Ctrl + g Move one word to the right at a time
Microsoft Windows Shortcut Keys
Alt + Tab Switch between open applications
Alt + Shift + Tab Switch backwards between open applications
Alt + Print Screen Create screen shot for current program
Ctrl + Alt + Del Reboot/Windows® task manager
Ctrl + Esc Bring up start menu
Alt + Esc Switch between applications on taskbar
F2 Rename selected icon
F3 Start find from desktop
F4 Open the drive selection when browsing
F5 Refresh contents
Alt + F4 Close current open program
Ctrl + F4 Close window in program
Ctrl + Plus Key Automatically adjust widths of all columns in Windows Explorer
Alt + Enter Open properties window of selected icon or program
Shift + F10 Simulate right-click on selected item
Shift + Del Delete programs/files permanently
Holding Shift During Bootup Boot safe mode or bypass system files
Holding Shift During Bootup When putting in an audio CD, will prevent CD Player from playing
Winkey Shortcuts
WINKEY + D Bring desktop to the top of other windows
WINKEY + M Minimize all windows
WINKEY + SHIFT + M Undo the minimize done by WINKEY + M and WINKEY + D
WINKEY + E Open Microsoft Explorer
WINKEY + Tab Cycle through open programs on taskbar
WINKEY + F Display the Windows® Search/Find feature
WINKEY + CTRL + F Display the search for computers window
WINKEY + F1 Display the Microsoft® Windows® help
WINKEY + R Open the run window
WINKEY + Pause /Break Open the system properties window
WINKEY + U Open utility manager
WINKEY + L Lock the computer (Windows XP® & later)
Microsoft Word Shortcut Keys
Ctrl + A Select all contents of the page
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + X Cut selected text
Ctrl + N Open new/blank document
Ctrl + O Open options
Ctrl + P Open the print window
Ctrl + F Open find box
Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection
Ctrl + K Insert link
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + Y Redo the last action performed
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + G Find and replace options
Ctrl + H Find and replace options
Ctrl + J Justify paragraph alignment
Ctrl + L Align selected text or line to the left
Ctrl + Q Align selected paragraph to the left
Ctrl + E Align selected text or line to the center
Ctrl + R Align selected text or line to the right
Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph
Ctrl + T Hanging indent
Ctrl + D Font options
Ctrl + Shift + F Change the font
Ctrl + Shift + > Increase selected font +1
Ctrl + ] Increase selected font +1
Ctrl + Shift + < Decrease selected font -1
Ctrl + [ Decrease selected font -1
Ctrl + Shift + * View or hide non printing characters
Ctrl + f Move one word to the left
Ctrl + g Move one word to the right
Ctrl + h Move to beginning of the line or paragraph
Ctrl + i Move to the end of the paragraph
Ctrl + Del Delete word to right of cursor
Ctrl + Backspace Delete word to left of cursor
Ctrl + End Move cursor to end of document
Ctrl + Home Move cursor to beginning of document
Ctrl + Space Reset highlighted text to default font
Ctrl + 1 Single-space lines
Ctrl + 2 Double-space lines
Ctrl + 5 1.5-line spacing
Ctrl + Alt + 1 Change text to heading 1
Ctrl + Alt + 2 Change text to heading 2
Ctrl + Alt + 3 Change text to heading 3
F1 Open help
Shift + F3 Change case of selected text
Shift + Insert Paste
F4 Repeat last action performed (Word 2000+)
F7 Spell check selected text and/or document
Shift + F7 Activate the thesaurus
F12 Save as
Ctrl + S Save
Shift + F12 Save
Alt + Shift + D Insert the current date
Alt + Shift + T Insert the current time
Ctrl + W Close document
EXCEL SHORTCUT KEYS
F2 Edit the selected cell
F5 Go to a specific cell
F7 Spell check selected text and/or document
F11 Create chart
Ctrl + Shift + ; Enter the current time
Ctrl + ; Enter the current date
Alt + Shift + F1 Insert new worksheet
Shift + F3 Open the Excel® formula window
Shift + F5 Bring up search box
Ctrl + A Select all contents of worksheet
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + D Fill
Ctrl + K Insert link
Ctrl + F Open find and replace options
Ctrl + G Open go-to options
Ctrl + H Open find and replace options
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + Y Underline selected text
Ctrl + 5 Strikethrough highlighted selection
Ctrl + O Open options
Ctrl + N Open new document
Ctrl + P Open print dialog box
Ctrl + S Save
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + F9 Minimize current window
Ctrl + F10 Maximize currently selected window
Ctrl + F6 Switch between open workbooks/windows
Ctrl + Page up & Page Down Move between Excel® worksheets in the same document
Ctrl + Tab Move between two or more open Excel® files
Alt + = Create formula to sum all of above cells
Ctrl + ‘ Insert value of above cell into current cell
Ctrl + Shift + ! Format number in comma format
Ctrl + Shift + $ Format number in currency format
Ctrl + Shift + # Format number in date format
Ctrl + Shift + % Format number in percentage format
Ctrl + Shift + ^ Format number in scientific format
Ctrl + Shift + @ Format number in time format
Ctrl + g Move to next section of text
Ctrl + Space Select entire column
Shift + Space Select entire row
Ctrl + W Close document
Outlook Shortcut Keys
Alt + S Send the email
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + X Cut selected text
Ctrl + P Open print dialog box
Ctrl + K Complete name/email typed in address bar
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + R Reply to an email
Ctrl + F Forward an email
Ctrl + N Create a new email
Ctrl + Shift + A Create a new appointment to your calendar
Ctrl + Shift + O Open the outbox
Ctrl + Shift + I Open the inbox
Ctrl + Shift + K Add a new task
Ctrl + Shift + C Create a new contact
Ctrl + Shift+ J Create a new journal entry
A lot of these shortcut keys will work in other Microsoft applications, and others for that matter, but might need some trial and error. There is always an undo function!