Terminology

Click / Left Click
Click and release the left mouse button.

Drag And Drop
Click on a previously selected item (or any one of several items), and continue to hold the left mouse button down. The selected text, files or directories can then be dragged to a new location.

Right Click
Click the right mouse button. This opens a pop-up menu containing shortcuts specific to the current application. See also: Applications Key.

Select
A single item is selected by left-clicking on it. The "selected" item is highlighted and can then be deleted or moved to a new location. See also: Control-Click & Shift-Click

Individual Shortcut Keys

F1 Key
Opens the Help feature of the active window. See also: Windows-F1.

F2 Key
Renames a selected item (Desktop, My Computer, & Windows Explorer).

F3 Key
Finds a file or folder (Desktop, My Computer, & Windows Explorer).

F4 Key
Opens the Save In or Look In list (in Open & Save As dialog boxes).

F5 Key
Refreshes the screen (in Open & Save As dialog boxes).

Print Screen
Saves a graphic image of the entire screen to the Windows Clipboard. The image can then be copied to the Windows Paint program (Start>Programs>Accessories>Paint) for printing or editing. See also: Alt-Print Screen.

Ctrl (Control) and Alt(ernate) Keys
Used in combination with other keys to create short cuts.

Windows Key
Located between the Ctrl and Alt keys. When pressed alone, it opens the Windows Start Menu. Useful when the Start Button and Task Bar are hidden.

Applications Key
Located between the right-hand Windows and Alt keys. Opens a program-specific shortcut menu. See also: Right-Click.

Window Key Combinations

Windows-C
Opens the Windows Control Panel. Used to change the computer's system settings.

Windows-E
Opens Windows Explorer (or My Computer in Windows XP). Used to quickly view the file directory.

Windows-F
Opens Windows File Finder. Used to search for files by name, date, or content.

Windows-M
Minimizes all open windows, but leaves them available on the task bar. Used to display the Windows Desktop when you have multiple windows open. See also: Shift-Windows-M.

Windows-R
Displays the Run dialog box. Used to run a program or open a document or folder.

Windows-F1
Opens the Windows Help window, even when another application is open. See also: F1.

Windows-Tab
Cycles through all items open on the task bar. When a desired window is highlighted, press Enter to make it the active window. This is useful when multiple windows are open at once. See also Alt-Tab.

Windows-Break
Displays the System Properties window. Used to display basic information about the computer and operating system.

Control Key Combinations

Control-A
Selects all the text, files or directories in the current window, making them available for copying, cutting or pasting.

Control-C
Copies previously selected items (text, files or directories) into the Clipboard. These items can then be pasted to a new location. The original items are unchanged.

Control-F
Opens the Find window. This shortcut is useful for finding specific text within a document or Internet web page.

Control-O
Opens the Open File window. Used to open a new file or directory.

Control-P
Opens the Print window. Used to select print options for the current document.

Control-V
Copies (or "pastes") the contents of the Clipboard into a desired location. After a paste operation, the items still remain in the Clipboard, allowing you to make additional copies if desired.

Control-X
Copies previously selected items (text, files or directories) into the Clipboard. Used to copy the items to a new location. The original items are deleted. See also: Control-C.

Control-Y
Reverses the effect of the last Undo operation. Identical to the Redo option in the Edit menu. See also: Control-Z.

Control-Z
Reverses the effect of the last task performed. Identical to the Undo option in the Edit menu. See also: Control-Y.

Control-Click
Selects multiple files or directories by clicking on each one individually (Windows Explorer & My Computer). The same action can then be applied to all selected items. See also: Select & Shift-Click.

Control-Escape
Opens the Start menu. Used on older keyboards without a Windows key.

Control-Alt-Delete
Opens the Task management window. Used to close a program that has "frozen". The computer displays options to shut down a selected task or the whole computer. Pressing the Control-Alt-Delete combination a second time will restart the computer, which may result in a loss of unsaved data.

Control-Drag
Copies selected items to a new location (Desktop, My Computer, & Windows Explorer). The original items remain in the old location. See also: Drag.

Control-Shift-Drag
Creates a shortcut to a file or folder (Desktop, My Computer, & Windows Explorer).

Alt Key Combinations

Alt-F4
Closes the current active window.
 

Alt-Print Screen
Saves a graphic image of the current window to the Clipboard. See also: Print Screen.

Alt -Tab
Opens a pop-up window to cycle through the items open on the taskbar. Useful when the Task Bar is hidden, or to obtain a description of each item. See also Windows-Tab.

Alt-Enter
Displays the properties of a selected item (Desktop, My Computer, and Windows Explorer).

Shift Key Combinations

Shift-Click
Used to select text, files, or folders. Left-click at the start of the selection, then Shift- left click at the end of the selection. All items between the two points will be highlighted, ready for moving or editing. See also: Select & Control-Click.

Shift-Windows-M
Restores all minimized windows. See also: Windows-M.

Shift-Delete
Delete a selected file or directory immediately - without saving it in the Recycle bin (Desktop, My Computer, and Windows Explorer).