A Shortcut to Windows Navigation
(August, 2005)
They sit there staring at you from the bottom of your keyboard, positioned just outside the two ALT keys, and you have no idea what they are or what they do. They have a little graphic on them that makes them look like little lost mahjongg tiles. In fact, those are your Windows keys, and the graphic is the Windows icon. But like tonsils and skin tags, what are they good for?
Actually, the Windows keys (let’s call them Winkeys for short) are there for your benefit, though I suspect few people use them. When used in conjunction with certain other keys, they provide shortcuts that can save you multiple mouse clicks. If you’re using a desktop keyboard less than 10 years old and your computer case doesn’t feature a chomped-on Apple graphic, chances are you have two Winkeys, one placed on either side of the space bar. Both do the same thing and are interchangeable depending on whether you lean right or left. If you’re using a laptop computer, you may have only one Winkey in the interest of saving real estate.
Try pressing the Winkey once and let it go. You should be looking at the same box you would see if you were to click on the Start button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Not a big deal, I’ll admit, but sometimes you’ve got your hands on the keyboard and don’t want to reach for the mouse. This is when the Winkey comes in handy.
Need to access your Systems Properties screen or your Hardware Device Manager? Press and hold the Winkey and also press the Pause/Break key (it’s usually way up top on the right somewhere.) Bingo, you’re looking at a dialog telling you your version of Windows, the speed of your processor, and how much installed memory your PC has. You can also get to this by right clicking on My Computer and clicking on Properties. The Winkey/Pause-Break combination is just a non-mouse way of accessing the same screen. Windows often likes to give you multiple ways of doing the same thing – different (key) strokes for different folks.
If you click on Start, then on Run, you can get to what is called the Run dialog box, which can be used to enter in an internet address or a program command. By pressing the Winkey along with the R key, you can get there in one less step.
Sometimes your screen is filled with several open programs and you need to get to your desktop. While there are other ways to do it, a fast way to minimize all your open windows is to press the Winkey and the D key at the same time. This minimizes all the open programs down to the taskbar so you can view the desktop. Think D as in Desktop to help remember this shortcut. Press the Winkey and D again and your minimized programs will all be restored. The Winkey and the M key (think Minimize) in tandem do the same thing, except repeating the sequence does not restore the open programs.
Here are a few other Winkey shortcut combinations:
Winkey +F gets you to the “Find” or “Search” dialogue. It’s useful if you’re trying to locate a file on your PC and you know the name or a piece of it.
For those with disabilities, the Winkey +U brings up the Utility Manager, where you can start accessibility programs like Narrator, Magnifier, or On-Screen Keyboard. I’ll bet you didn’t even know you had those features.
Hold the Winkey and press the F1 function key on the top row of the keyboard to access Windows XP’s built-in Help and Support system.
Winkey +E opens up My Computer to give you access to all your drive letters and files.
There are many other keyboard shortcuts available that do not use the Windows key. We’re probably all too familiar with Ctrl-Alt-Del, the so-called three-finger salute most often used to shut down a troublesome computer. I use CTRL +C to copy selected text and CTRL +V to paste that text every day at work. It’s faster than using the mouse’s right-click context menu to copy and paste. You can find a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts at the following website: http://www.computerhope.com/shortcut.htm.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could create your own keyboard shortcuts? Well, you can! In the interest of space, I won’t reveal the secret here, but rather I’ll point you to a website that gives you step by step instructions. Just look for tip 15 at the end of the article:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Windows-XP-Keyboard-Shortcuts.html
After you’ve visited those websites, go ahead and experiment on your own and see if any of the keyboard shortcuts proves especially useful for you. Just don’t take any shortcuts down unfamiliar dark alleys and you’ll be fine.