Take Ctrl of Your Computer. Save Time with These Ctrl Key Shortcuts

Take Ctrl of Your Computer. Save Time with These Ctrl Key Shortcuts

We are going to remind you how handy Ctrl key shortcuts can be and why you should use them whenever you can to save yourself time. And what’s more basic than time? We either have too much of it or not enough of it. 

So let’s save some time and use the Ctrl key to help you take control of your computer.

OK ready? Let’s go!

Let’s say you’re reading a page on the Web and you’re looking for a particular word. Do you:

a.) Scan the page manually for the word?

b.) Use the browser’s search feature in the browser toolbar?

c.) Press Ctrl+F to open the page search dialog?

d.) None of the above.

The answer is C.

If you’re looking for a word on a page in your web browser, word processor, text editor, PDF viewer, and many others, just press Ctrl+F to open the “Find” dialog. Just remember F stands for Find. Sure, you can use the program’s search feature too, but why? CTRL + F is faster.

If you’re on a page you want to print, do you search for “print” on the toolbar, look for printer icons, or just press Ctrl+P? Right! You press Ctrl+P to print the page. It’s the fastest way to print.

Let’s say you’re using your browser and you want to open a new window. Do you just click the browser’s shortcut to open a new browser window? Nah, just press Ctrl+N. Same thing if you’re using an email program and you want to open a new window to compose an email.

If you’re working on a document and you want to save it, you can press CTRL+S instead of clicking ‘File’ and ‘Save’. If you want “File” “Save as” – Ctrl+S/ works in many applications.

If you want to view your browser’s history, use Ctrl+H. And if you want to view a list of downloads, while your browser is open press Ctrl+J.

Let’s review.

(Note: Ctrl key shortcuts are not case sensitive – for this post we are using capital letters, but lowercase letters work just as well.)

Ctrl+F = Find something on a page – in a browser, text editor, PDF editor, ebook, etc. To remember this easily, think F = FIND.

Ctrl+P = Print the document you have open. Whether it’s a web page, a Word doc, a PDF file, a text file, etc. Think P = PRINT.

Ctrl+N = Opens a new window in the program that’s running. Think N = NEW.

Ctrl+S = Saves the document you’re working on. Think S = SAVE.

Ctrl+H = Shows your browser’s history. Think H = History

Ctrl+J = Shows a list of downloads in your browser. Think J=? I give up! J=Downloads! Junk?

And let me not fail to mention:

Ctrl+A = Select All

Ctrl+X = Cuts the selected item or text

Ctrl+C = Copies the selected text or item

Ctrl+V = Paste

Ctrl+Y = Reverses your last “Undo”

Ctrl+Z = Restores a deleted file instantly when used immediately after deleting a file.