Archive for the ‘Shortcuts & Keyboard Tricks’ Category

So, say you’re like me and have a billion and a half windows open all at once. Now, say you would like to access your desktop to open yet another program, but don’t want to bother minimizing each and every window one at a time. You could click the “Show Desktop” icon, sure, but that would require moving your mouse, wouldn’t it? I say forget that! Let keyboard shortcuts… Continue reading

Q:
How can I “hold” an unfinished email to send later? I use Outlook Express.

A:
Whether it’s a telemarketer or a “Clunk!” and suspicious giggling from the next room, life’s interruptions don’t mean you have to start writing your message again from scratch. From the composing email window, select File, then Save. A window will appear to

Looking for a word or phrase on a webpage? Hold down the Ctrl and hit F at the same time. Type in the word or phrase, and let the “Find” feature do the looking for you!… Continue reading

Need to get back to the top of a long webpage? Just hit the Home button on your keyboard, in the cluster of keys above the arrow keys. This works in many other programs also!… Continue reading

In tip 1841, we learned how to delete a continuous list of emails from your Inbox. What if there are some emails you don’t want to delete in the middle of the list? To deselect them, hold down the control key and click on them. They will be un-highlighted, and you can delete the rest of the list! ~ Chris Fisher… Continue reading

Do you want to delete a continuous list of messages in your email inbox? Highlight the first message, press the shift key, and highlight the last message. Now they should all be highlighted. Just press delete, and the whole list disappears! ~Chris Fisher… Continue reading

What should you do if you are following a tip to solve a problem and the box you should check is already checked?

Shake your head in disbelief that a WorldStart tip didn’t work?

Send off an email to our Q&A? Log on to the forum?

While all these are possibilities, here’s something you should try:

Uncheck the box, Apply, exit. Then reopen, check the box, Apply and exit.

Sounds… Continue reading

Have you made changes to a program or to your system that you don’t like?

Or do you want to go back to the way your computer used to be?

Look for a “restore defaults” button in that particular control panel or settings screen.

For instance, in Internet Explorer’s

Searching for files on your computer isn’t that complicated. Go to Start and you’ll see either “Find” or “Search” waiting to locate lost files. You can get as basic or specific as you want—just keep in mind that you have a better chance with more general searches.

A neat feature in Windows XP is searching by type. Rather than look through all files you can search for just pictures, music… Continue reading

Sure it’s easy to access the Control Panel from the Start menu, but what if you spend a lot of time in “My Computer”? Wouldn’t it make life easier to have access to it there as well?

Earlier versions of windows had the Control panel there, but XP doesn’t, so if you have XP and want it there then keep reading.

Double left-click “My Computer” to open.

Go to Tools/Folder

Q:
I have information that I need to include in letters I send out for work—my name, address, etc. Is there a way to make this info come up all the time?

A:
These are called “signatures”. In Outlook Express you can set up signatures that you access with a few mouse clicks—see our website for details…
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/440

But what about other programs? Well, here’s… Continue reading

In Windows XP, go to Start/Run and you’ll see a box. It’s an often overlooked place that can save you a lot of time. If a program is in the Window’s folder or System32, you can launch it by typing in the name.

Want a quick way to Notepad? Type in “notepad”. How about Explorer? That’s right, you type in “explorer”. How about Paint? That’s a little trickier: type in… Continue reading

Holding down Shift+F10 does the same thing as a right mouse click. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the item you want to try it on… Continue reading

Did you know that you can assign a shortcut key to your shortcuts ? Well, you can!

First, why would you want to? Well, if you usually work with your programs maximized (i.e. you can’t see the desktop), it’s easier to press a shortcut key combination than to minimize the current application and click a desktop shortcut.

For example, I have shortcuts on my desktop to several of… Continue reading

It gets pretty annoying when you have to open several different documents or applications one at a time when you’re working on a large project. For each program or document, you have to wade through all of your folders to find it and double-click it. Well, guess what! You can create ONE icon that will do all of the opening you need!

First, right-click on an empty… Continue reading

Q:
Can I right-click without my mouse?

A:
If you are a good typist, you probably find it annoying to hop constantly between the keyboard and your mouse. I find it irritating and I’m not even that great of a typist! So, here are a couple of ways to help keep your fingers safely at the keyboard.

Here’s a trick for generating a “right-click” from your keyboard. Make… Continue reading

Q:
How can I shut down two or three open programs quickly, but leave the rest running?

A:
The fastest way to close multiple programs is to hold down the Ctrl key as you click their buttons on the taskbar. Then, right-click (still holding down the Ctrl key) one of those depressed buttons and select Close from the resulting menu. (screen shot compressed so it fits into the… Continue reading