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
- Select all text in a document, on a webpage, or in an email (A stands for all) – Ctrl A
- Cut selected text – Ctrl X
- Copy selected text – Ctrl C
- Paste selected text – Ctrl V
- Undo previous action (you’ll use this a lot!) – Ctrl Z
- Print open page or document – Ctrl P
- Save file – Ctrl S
- Find (This is so handy on webpages.) – Ctrl F
- Zoom out – Ctrl –
- Zoom in – Ctrl +
- Display page at 100% zoom/normal view (in case you’ve zoomed in or out, this restores things to normal) – Ctrl 0
- Bold selected text – Ctrl B
- Italicize selected text – Ctrl I
- Underline selected text – Ctrl U
- Open new file in same program – Ctrl N
Other Handy Word Processing Shortcuts
- Ctrl D: Open font formatting dialogue box
- Ctrl M: Tab in
- Ctrl Y: Redo
- Ctrl 1: Single space selected text
- Ctrl 5: Space selected text 0.5
- Ctrl 2: Double space selected text
- Alt tab: Shift between open applications
- Ctrl Alt Del: Reboot
- Ctrl K: Insert hyperlink
- Ctrl J: Justify text
- Ctrl L: Left align selected text
- Ctrl R: Right align selected text
- Ctrl E: Center selected text
- Ctrl G: Go to
- Ctrl Shift G: Open word count dialogue box
- Ctrl H: Replace (opens the Find and Replace text dialogue box)
- Ctrl O: Open
- Ctrl ]: Increase font size plus one
- Ctrl [: Decrease font size minus one
- Ctrl Home: Moves cursor to the top of the document
- Ctrl End: Moves cursor to the bottom of the document
- Alt Shift D: Insert current date
- Alt Shift T: Insert current time
- 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!)
- 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.
- F1: Help
- F2: Rename
- F3: Find all files
- F4: Open file list drop down menu
- F5: Refresh
- F6: Move cursor to address bar in web browser
- F7: Spellcheck
- F8: Access safe mode
- F9: Refresh document in Word
- F10: Activate menu bar
- F11: Enter fullscreen mode
- 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.
- Alt A: Mute/unmute audio
- Alt M: Mute/unmute audio for everyone except host (only the meeting host can do this)
- Alt F1: Switch to active speaker view in video meeting
- Alt F2: Switch to gallery video view in video meeting
- Alt F4: Close window
- Alt V: Start/stop video
- Alt R: Start/stop local recording
- Alt C: Start/stop cloud recording
- Alt P: Pause or resume recording
- Alt N: Switch camera
- Alt F: Enter or exit fullscreen
- Alt H: Display/hide chat panel
- Alt U: Display/hide participants panel
- Alt I: Open invite window
- Alt Y: Raise/lower hand
- Alt Shift R: Gain remote control
- Alt Shift G: Stop remote control
- Ctrl 2: Read active speaker name
- Ctrl Alt Shift H: Show/hide floating meeting controls
Get more Zoom hacks HERE.
Google Meet Shortcuts
- Ctrl E: Turn camera on or off
- Ctrl D: Mute/unmute microphone
- Ctrl + Alt + C: Hide/Unhide the chat in a meeting
- Ctrl + Alt + P: Hide/Unhide people in a meeting
- 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.
- Alt H: Go to home tab
- Alt N: Go to insert tab
- Alt P: Go to page layout tab
- Alt A: Go to data tab
- Alt W: Go to view tab
- Alt M: Go to formula tab
- Alt H, H (hit H twice in a row with Alt held down): Choose fill color for cell
- Alt H, B: Add border to cell
- Alt H,D,C: Delete column
- Ctrl 9: Hide selected row
- Ctrl 0: Hide selected column
Powerpoint Keyboard Shortcuts
- Ctrl M: Add a new slide
- Alt N,P: Insert a picture
- Alt G,H: Select a theme
- Alt H,L: Select a slide layout
- F5: Start presenting slideshow
- Page down: Go to next slide
- Page up: Go to previous slide
- Alt H: Go to home tab
- Alt N: Go to insert tab
- Esc: End slide show
- Ctrl Q: Close program
- Ctrl Spacebar: Play/pause media
- Ctrl Shift ]: Bring to front
- 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!