Welcome to the world of keyboard shortcuts, the single greatest timesaving computer trick you can learn! Thanks to the pandemic, teachers are spending even more of our precious time online, switching between various programs – word processors, web browsers, spreadsheets, online classroom interfaces like Canvas and Google Classroom, Zoom, and graphic design sites. With this much time spent on the computer, it’s prudent to learn every trick of the trade to save yourself unnecessary mouse clicks.

Keyboard shortcuts allow users to perform normal program tasks with just the stroke of a few keys. We’ve put together a list of 101 keyboard shortcuts you can start using right now.

Note: if you are using an Apple device, you will substitute the Apple key/Command key (⌘) for Ctrl.

Top Fifteen Keyboard Shortcuts

  1. Select all text in a document, on a webpage, or in an email (A stands for all) – Ctrl A
  2. Cut selected text – Ctrl X
  3. Copy selected text – Ctrl C
  4. Paste selected text – Ctrl V
  5. Undo previous action (you’ll use this a lot!) – Ctrl Z
  6. Print open page or document – Ctrl P
  7. Save file – Ctrl S
  8. Find (This is so handy on webpages.) – Ctrl F
  9. Zoom out – Ctrl –
  10. Zoom in – Ctrl +
  11. Display page at 100% zoom/normal view (in case you’ve zoomed in or out, this restores things to normal) – Ctrl 0
  12. Bold selected text – Ctrl B
  13. Italicize selected text – Ctrl I
  14. Underline selected text – Ctrl U
  15. Open new file in same program – Ctrl N

Other Handy Word Processing Shortcuts

  1. Ctrl D: Open font formatting dialogue box
  2. Ctrl M: Tab in
  3. Ctrl Y: Redo
  4. Ctrl 1: Single space selected text
  5. Ctrl 5: Space selected text 0.5
  6. Ctrl 2: Double space selected text
  7. Alt tab: Shift between open applications
  8. Ctrl Alt Del: Reboot
  9. Ctrl K: Insert hyperlink
  10. Ctrl J: Justify text
  11. Ctrl L: Left align selected text
  12. Ctrl R: Right align selected text
  13. Ctrl E: Center selected text
  14. Ctrl G: Go to
  15. Ctrl Shift G: Open word count dialogue box
  16. Ctrl H: Replace (opens the Find and Replace text dialogue box)
  17. Ctrl O: Open
  18. Ctrl ]: Increase font size plus one
  19. Ctrl [: Decrease font size minus one
  20. Ctrl Home: Moves cursor to the top of the document
  21. Ctrl End: Moves cursor to the bottom of the document
  22. Alt Shift D: Insert current date
  23. Alt Shift T: Insert current time
  24. Ctrl W: Close program (warning: the program will not ask if you’re sure you want to quit; it will just shut down, so make sure you’ve saved your work first!)
  25. Alt Print Screen: Take a screenshot, just like on your phone. You can then use Ctrl V to paste that screenshot wherever you want it.

F Keys

Ever wonder what those function keys do at the top of your keyboard? Here’s a quick list.

  1. F1: Help
  2. F2: Rename
  3. F3: Find all files
  4. F4: Open file list drop down menu
  5. F5: Refresh
  6. F6: Move cursor to address bar in web browser
  7. F7: Spellcheck
  8. F8: Access safe mode
  9. F9: Refresh document in Word
  10. F10: Activate menu bar
  11. F11: Enter fullscreen mode
  12. F12: Open new document or file

Zoom Shortcuts

Zoom has shortcuts particularly helpful for online teaching. For example, students can quickly mute or unmute themselves (Ctrl A) or raise their hand (Alt Y) in a class meeting.

  1. Alt A: Mute/unmute audio
  2. Alt M: Mute/unmute audio for everyone except host (only the meeting host can do this)
  3. Alt F1: Switch to active speaker view in video meeting
  4. Alt F2: Switch to gallery video view in video meeting
  5. Alt F4: Close window
  6. Alt V: Start/stop video
  7. Alt R: Start/stop local recording
  8. Alt C: Start/stop cloud recording
  9. Alt P: Pause or resume recording
  10. Alt N: Switch camera
  11. Alt F: Enter or exit fullscreen
  12. Alt H: Display/hide chat panel
  13. Alt U: Display/hide participants panel
  14. Alt I: Open invite window
  15. Alt Y: Raise/lower hand
  16. Alt Shift R: Gain remote control
  17. Alt Shift G: Stop remote control
  18. Ctrl 2: Read active speaker name
  19. Ctrl Alt Shift H: Show/hide floating meeting controls

Get more Zoom hacks HERE.

Google Meet Shortcuts

  1. Ctrl E: Turn camera on or off
  2. Ctrl D: Mute/unmute microphone
  3. Ctrl + Alt + C: Hide/Unhide the chat in a meeting
  4. Ctrl + Alt + P: Hide/Unhide people in a meeting
  5. Shift ?: Pulls up keyboard shortcut menu in case you forget one

Microsoft Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

Microsoft Excel is a powerful program, and keyboard shortcuts can help you quickly navigate through spreadsheets and their various cells, columns, and rows.

  1. Alt H: Go to home tab
  2. Alt N: Go to insert tab
  3. Alt P: Go to page layout tab
  4. Alt A: Go to data tab
  5. Alt W: Go to view tab
  6. Alt M: Go to formula tab
  7. Alt H, H (hit H twice in a row with Alt held down): Choose fill color for cell
  8. Alt H, B: Add border to cell
  9. Alt H,D,C: Delete column
  10. Ctrl 9: Hide selected row
  11. Ctrl 0: Hide selected column

Powerpoint Keyboard Shortcuts

  1. Ctrl M: Add a new slide
  2. Alt N,P: Insert a picture
  3. Alt G,H: Select a theme
  4. Alt H,L: Select a slide layout
  5. F5: Start presenting slideshow
  6. Page down: Go to next slide
  7. Page up: Go to previous slide
  8. Alt H: Go to home tab
  9. Alt N: Go to insert tab
  10. Esc: End slide show
  11. Ctrl Q: Close program
  12. Ctrl Spacebar: Play/pause media
  13. Ctrl Shift ]: Bring to front
  14. Ctrl Shift [: Send to back

This list of keyboard shortcuts barely scratches the surface. They take a little getting used to, but once you start using these consistently, you will notice your fingers flying across the keyboard, completing tasks in no time flat. Teach them to your students, too!

101 Time-Saving Keyboard Shortcuts Every Teacher needs Know