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Best Windows Shortcuts

One of the better qualities of a good operating system like Windows is that there is almost always more than one way to do something. There are items you can select from a file menu, use a shortcut or execute some kind of keystroke combination to carry out an action.

There are some things you do almost every time you use your computer. The six following shortcuts all use a similar series of keystrokes. If you don’t know about these shortcuts you probably haven’t been using computers for very long, and you don’t know what you’re missing.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re working with music files, photos, videos, documents, spreadsheets or portions of a document. Simply highlight what you want with your mouse, hold down the Ctrl key, then press and release the indicated key. Don’t forget to release the Ctrl key when you’re done.

• For example, to copy a file, some text or any object: Highlight or select the item with your mouse and then hold the Ctrl button down, press the C key and release. Ctrl+C
• To paste the copied item or items: Ctrl+V (P was already taken for Print)
• Sometimes you want to move an object from one location to another: Ctrl+X
• Select everything on a screen or in a folder: Ctrl+A
• Print something: Ctrl+P (This is why you can’t use this combination to paste).
• Oops, I shouldn’t have done that: Ctrl+Z (Undoes your mistakes)

Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can move on to some good stuff. Microsoft introduced something called the Windows key when it announced Windows 95 back in the Stone Age. Also known as the Super key, Windows logo key, the WinKey, the Start key, and sometimes the Flag key, it has been with us ever since. Tapping the Windows key opens or closes the Start menu. If that were all it did there would be nothing else to say. There are several dozen shortcuts that you can easily use with the Windows key in combination with other keys to call up common functions. Here are a few of them:

• Win+D: Shows the Desktop
• Win+F: Opens the search function
• Win+L: Locks the Desktop and lets you switch users
• Win+M: Minimizes all open windows
• Win+R: Opens the Run box so you can type DOS like commands
• Win+P: Very useful with multiple monitors or an external projector
• Win+Spacebar: All open windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop.

There are many others, but these are probably the ones most computer users would invoke most of the time.

Microsoft sometimes does something really terrific, but for whatever reason doesn’t tell anyone about it. The company has created an alternate control panel which blows away any tool I’ve previously seen. Why the company keeps it a secret is beyond me. To create this tool you will need to create a folder, name it, put in a period, and type something called a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID). A GUID is a special type of identifier used in software applications to provide a unique reference number. The value is represented as a 32 character hexadecimal character string. All you need to be concerned with is to type it accurately. Let Microsoft’s engineers worry about the details.

1. You can create the folder anywhere, but the most logical place for it is on the Desktop. Make sure you’re on the desktop and all windows are closed or minimized.

2. Right-click on an empty area of the desktop and choose New/Folder.

3. Name the folder. It doesn’t matter what you call it, the magic is performed by the GUID.

4. After the folder name, type a period.

5. After the period type the GUID {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} (No spaces are allowed).

6. Press Enter

Open the folder and you have complete control over Windows 7. You might need several hours to count how many things you can do without having to hunt through layers of screens to access an important, but obscure function.

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