Short Cut Keys for Windows Users

You don't have to be a complete computer nerd to know that sometimes the mouse will leave you hanging. When a program or game crashes, many times you will lose mouse functionality. There are many instances when a simple combination of key stokes can bail you out of a sticky situation.

Ctrl + Alt + Del

When all else fails, press control, alt, delete at the same time. This short cut key is best used when the computer is frozen or you want to shut down or reset the computer outside of windows. For example, your favorite game crashed and is stuck on a deafening sound that has you reaching for the AC plug. Use Ctrl + Alt + Del instead, it will bring you to a menu that gives you reasonable ways to deal with any problem. You can go into task manager to shut down the problem individually, or you could opt for the shutdown option which allows you to reset the computer.

Alt + Tab

Another basic short cut key, this allows you to switch between windows and applications. You basically hold down Alt and hit Tab until the right application is highlighted in the pop up menu. A useful way to switch from games to cheat guides on the web. If you only have one application running, this short cut key will not work.

Alt + F4

This short cut key is equivalent to clicking on the "x" at the top right corner of the window. It closes the window or application down. This is the ultimate way to combat those extra special pop ups that never seem to give up, or those windows that don't even have the "x" button.

Alt + PrintScreen

The PrintScreen key is typically located above the Insert key. This short cut key allows whatever is on the screen to be copied to the clipboard (images text, everything). After you hit the two buttons, you can go into paint or photoshop and paste the image into the document. One cool trick is to hit Alt + PrintScreen during your favorite part of a movie clip or dvd. Then you could paste this into paint and use it as your desktop background. Go ahead and try this, it's a lot of fun.

Short Cut Keys For Internet Explorer and Firefox

Alt + Left Arrow

Equivalent to clicking on the back button. This is a simple short cut that allows for faster web surfing, especially if your prone to clicking on the wrong links.

Alt + Right Arrow

The same as clicking on the forward button of the explorer. A good way to move from page to page when used in combination with Alt + Left Arrow.

Ctrl + "+" or "-"

This is a great way to increase or decrease the size of the font in Internet Explorer. This is really useful since every page has their own font size and we all have seen the pages that get us to reach for the microscope.