Save Time! Use These CTRL Key Shortcuts

Save Time: Use These CTRL Key Shortcuts 

Today, we’re going to remind you about one of the most basic time-saving things you can use in your daily computing life. Shortcuts.

In today’s post, we’re going to remind you how handy Ctrl Key shortcuts can be — and why you should use them whenever you can. They will save you time. And what’s more basic than time? We either have too much of it or not enough it… and, not to be morbid, but we’re all going to run out of it. So, why not save as much time as you can?

And remember, these shortcuts can be used in any version of Windows including Windows 11.

OK ready? Let’s save some time with Ctrl Key shortcuts!

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 processer, text editor, PDF viewer (and many other programs) just press Ctrl + F to open the “Find” dialog. Type in the word(s) you’re looking for and press Enter. That’s it! Just remember F stands for Find. Sure, you can use the program’s search feature too, but why? The CTRL + F shortcut is faster and easier.

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

OK now… 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 email compose window. Ctrl + N and type your email.

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

If you want to view your browser’s history, with your browser open use the Ctrl key shortcut, Ctrl + H.

And if you want to view a list of things you’ve recently downloaded, with your browser open use the Ctrl + J.

Let’s review:

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, PDF file, 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 us not fail to mention these Ctrl Key shortcuts:

Ctrl + A = Select All

Ctrl + C = Copy

Ctrl + V = Paste

Ctrl + X = Cut

Ctrl + Y = Redo (Reverses a previous undo.)

Ctrl + Z = Restores a deleted file instantly when used immediately after deleting a file. It also restores accidentally changed or deleted text in a document.