Keyboard shortcuts you'll actually use

First of all, let's state the obvious. Doing things with the keyboard takes less mental energy than using the mouse because you don't need to look for any icons and it's also much quicker.

There are lots of keyboards shortcuts but most of us don't have a chance of remembering them all.

So ... while you are sure to find MORE keyboard shortcuts elsewhere in the web e.g. here or here, the point of this post is to share the few REALLY ESSENTIAL ONES.

Here goes ...
- works with either right or left versions of the relevant keys

The "Windows" key (see below)






Windows + "D" minimizes all windows and shows the desktop
(useful e.g. if you want to see a widget on the desktop for a second or find a shortcut to a file or a program there - see here for how to avoid the need)
Windows + "D" also takes you from the desktop back to the program you were in just before
Windows + "L" locks your computer (if you have screen lock set up)


**The FOLLOWING keyboard shortcuts work in Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
(Thanks to "Dan A." for pointing this out)

The "control" or "Ctrl" key (see below)





Control + "A" selects all the text in the window or program
(e.g. pressing Ctrl + "A" in Word will highlight everything in the document)
Control + "C" copies whatever you have just selected
Control + "V" pastes everything you copied.
*(I use Ctrl + A then + C then + V very often - it’s a winning combination)
Control + "F" brings up a search box in whatever program you're in ("F" and in "find")

STYLE functions:
- repeating the strokes reverses the action

Control + "B" makes any selected text .... BOLD
Control + "U" makes any selected text .... Underlined
Control + "I" makes any selected text .... Italic


The "Alt" key (see below)





Alt + "Tab" cycles through all open windows
My next post will discuss a good program which replaces the default Windows XP Alt Tab function.
For the nimble of finger:
Alt + Shift + Tab cycles through the windows BACKWARDS (useful if you've got lots of windows open and you just went past the one you want.)
Alt + Shift is the default combination for switching languages IF you have more than one language in use


In Microsoft "Word" ...

Shift + the "F3" key will change any highlighted text to;
all lower case, all upper case, title case (First letter of sentence upper case, rest lower case) in sequence if you keep pressing tat combination.
Control + Alt + "F" creates a new footnote

See here for more shortcuts.

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Navigating your open files and programs

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In my last post I highlighted some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts.

This time I want to mention an enhancement for WINDOWS XP which makes the Alt + Tab function much more useful.

First the basics. When you hit Alt + Tab on windows a window comes up which shows a small icon for each window/program open and as muc of the filename as will fit into the box below all the icons as in Diagram 1 just below (Vista is different - if you have Vista see here)

Diagram 1








This is definitely a useful device. Sometimes however you may have a number of files with similar names and the description won't tell you enough to remember which is which and the icons only show the type of application - e.g. all the Word files simply show an icon for a Word file.

There are at least two ways to get more information out of the thumbnails.

1. Install a program which works like Exposé on the Mac

I bought this program which shows you in miniature form all the open windows with a label in front showing the file name - See Diagram 2

Diagram 2



















It looks great and it does the job but ...
1. It takes up a lot of system resources, slowing your PC down
2. It costs $10 - that might not be a lot, but free is always better!

So, I found a program which gives the visual thumbnail so you can actually see what the program/file looks like, enough to remember which document or program is which.

It uses fewer system resources, doesn't freeze up the PC
AND ... it's free.

TaskSwitchXP simply replaces the standard Alt + Tab functionality showing you what you need to see when you need it but not slowing things down when you don't need it.

Here is what it looks like. (See Diagram 3) (The size and shape of the preview and file list panels can be modified according to personal preferences)

Diagram 3















It is highly configurable as the image below (Diagram 4) indicates but can be used as is. (I found the default size of the panes too small for my liking so I changed the size).

Diagram 4




















The program can be downloaded here

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SANDBOXIE or how to be sure you're surfing the web safely (For: 2000, XP, NOT Vista)

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What’s a “sandbox?” A sandbox is a program which creates an area on your hard drive and opens programs inside that area which are hermetically sealed within it unless you the user let them out. SANDBOXIE is a really good FREE sandbox program.

You can run ANY program sandboxed (see Diagram “1”) below

Diagram 1

But if you run your WEB BROWSER sandboxed then anything which your browser downloads, or any changes made to your browser settings will remain within the sandbox.

If you want to download a program or a file to your computer you need to tell Sandboxie.

The following dialog box will open and you’ll need to choose the “recover” option. (See diagram “2” below)

Diagram 2

You can control where the file gets downloaded to or just allow the default which downloads the file to your desktop.

Uploads are no problem i.e. you don’t need to open a program un-sandboxed to upload.

File opened with Sandboxie have a pound (hash) sign on either side of the program name so it’s easy to see instantly whether you’re running sandboxed or not. (See diagram “3” below)

Diagram 3

If you open a program with Sandboxie you won’t be able to print because the program is in the sandbox and so unconnected to the rest of your computer. You’ll need to open it un-sandboxed to print. If you want to print a page from your browser you can open your browser normally (i.e.not with Sandboxie) and copy the URL, go to that page and print.

I probably spend 90% of my time online within Sandboxie and only open my browser un-sandboxed to print or to change browser settings.

(By the way this means that if you want to change settings in your web browser you’ll need to open normally, without the sandbox. Changes you make will then be seen when the browser is opened sandboxed as well).

When Sandboxie is running you will see this icon

in your system tray if you have a program open or if a program has been used and the contents of the sandbox have not been deleted and this one

if the contents of the sandbox are empty.

Although this is not necessary to remain secure, you can empty the sandbox globally or the contents of a specific sandbox at anytime by right clicking on the sandbox icon in the system tray and choosing “Delete contents” (See diagram “4”) below

Diagram 4

You will then be given the option either to close the dialog box or to remove the contents of the selected sandbox. (See diagram “5” below)

Diagram 5

For convenience I re-named the “default browser” icon “Firefox” and I just use that to launch the browser sandboxed (if for whatever reason I’m not using Launchy – see my post here )

This program is free but after a month you’ll get a dialog box (see below) when you open the program which will go away if you make a donation. But the free version has full functionality.

You can download Sandboxie free program here.

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Mozy - Reliable back-up - no need for any additional hardware

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Reliable back-up without the need for an external hard drive from a company called "Mozy."
Up to 2 GB free or $4.95 per month for unlimited storage.
It's very customizable for those able and inclined to play around a little, but pretty straightforward for the uninitiated as well.

(From a preliminary comparison Carbonite might be a little easier to use - I haven't tried it - but Mozy has many more features)

I use it and it seems to work very well.

Here's their homepage:

http://mozy.com/

Here's a screenshot of Mozy doing a back-up. (Below)
As you can see there's a lot of potential for customization - e.g. the sliding control on the bottom which defines how much bandwidth Mozy uses during back-ups.


Thanks to Ted R. for this info.

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Launchy - a great way to open programs really easily (XP and Vista)

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Here's a free program which allows you to open ANY program on your computer (or even folders and files if configured correctly) with a couple of clicks. (This program is for Windows users. If you're a Mac user see the end of this post)


Once you get used to it you'll wonder how to manage without it. Instead of visually looking for the icon for a program you just hit "left alt" and the space bar (this is the default, which can be changed) and a little window opens up (there's a choice of different skins - I like "black glass" - figured in the picture above) type in the first couple of letters of the name of the program e.g. "wor" for Microsoft Word and Launchy will start guessing what you want to open. Once you have opened, say, Word once with Launchy, Launchy will then know that "wor" or even "wo" or just "w" means "open Microsoft Word". Press enter and that program will open.

(Anytime you open Launchy - hit "left alt" and the space bar - the last program you opened will appear so if you want to open that program, just hit "enter" right away).

I hardly ever use quick launch or desktop shortcuts now. Pressing a few keys on the keyboard is much less labor-intensive and can be done without looking and almost without thinking.

You can download it free here.

This program is free and it's open source.


For the more adventurous:

You can tell Launchy to index different kinds of files e.g. .exe, .doc. .directory and then Launchy will suggest file and directory names (depending which kinds of files you specify) when you type in the task bar.

Launchy can do a lot. Here is a list of some of the other things Launchy can do and see here for a more detailed review.

MAC users only:
If you're a MAC user then QUICKSILVER is even better (I'm not a Mac user but this is what all my Mac friends tell me)

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