Save time with computer shortcuts in Microsoft Office programs

If you’re like most people, you’re always looking for ways to save time, even when using Microsoft Office software. Keyboard shortcuts could be your new best friend when it comes to time management.

Not everyone uses shortcut keys to save time, but some people find them easier to use than a mouse, especially when spending long stretches of time at the computer.

Ready-made Microsoft Office tools

If the thought of memorizing key combinations makes you wince, you can still save time and effort while working in all Office programs by using these built-in tools.

• Shortcut menus. Right-click in any Microsoft Office program to display a shortcut menu that gives you quick access to many of the most commonly used features. If an arrow appears next to your selection, you can click to see more options. For example, right-clicking a Word document displays Paste Options, Look Up, Synonyms, formatting, and other options.
  
  
  No matter which Microsoft Office program you’re working in, right-clicking is one of the greatest shortcuts available.
• KeyTips. Introduced in Microsoft Office 2007, KeyTips are built-in keyboard shortcuts available in all programs that have the Ribbon or the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar. In Office 2010, KeyTips are also available in the Backstage view. Press Alt to display a letter or number by each Ribbon tab or Quick Access Toolbar command. After you press a letter or number, you get new KeyTips letters and numbers to access each command in the location you selected.
  
  
  Pressing Alt displays KeyTips that you can press to quickly access any command.
• Quick Access Toolbar. Add the commands you use all the time to your Quick Access Toolbar in all Office programs that have the Ribbon. Just right-click almost any Ribbon command, and then click Add to Quick Access Toolbar. This is also a great way to create custom keyboard shortcuts for your favorite commands across all Office programs, since the KeyTips for your Quick Access Toolbar items remain the same as long as the command remains in the same position in the Quick Access Toolbar.
  
• Custom keyboard shortcuts on the Office Ribbon. You can even change shortcut key combinations or create new ones of your own. Here’s how to do it in the latest versions of Microsoft Office.
  
  

  In Microsoft Office 2010:

  
  

  In Microsoft Office 2007:

  Whether you want to work more easily and efficiently in Internet Explorer, streamline your Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 experience, or key international characters into your email messages to Europe, you’ll find lots of shortcuts to help you. Here is a sampling of commonly used standard-keyboard shortcuts, many of which work across all Office programs—from Outlook to Access and from Visio to PowerPoint. You can find a more complete list of built-in keyboard shortcuts for a particular application by searching keyboard shortcuts in Help.

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General keyboard shortcuts

To...	Use this shortcut
Open Help	Press F1.
Select all content in a document, window, or text box	Press Ctrl+A.
Search for a file or folder	Press F3. In Windows 7, you can also press the Windows logo key to open the Start menu and then type in the Search box.
Rename a file or folder	Select the file or folder, press F2, and then retype the name.
Find out when the file or folder was created, by whom, and how big it is	Select the file, and then press Alt+Enter.
Display the Start menu	Press Ctrl+Esc. In Windows 7, you can also press the Windows logo key.
Scroll between open windows	Press Alt+Tab, and then hold down Alt while pressing Tab to reach the desired file or program.
Undo an action	Press Ctrl+Z.
Redo an action	Press Ctrl+Y.
Check the spelling of titles or words in any Office application with the Spelling & Grammar checker	Press F7.
Create a shortcut on your desktop to your favorite file or folder	In Windows 7: Right-click the file or folder. On the shortcut menu, click Send to, and then click Desktop (Create shortcut). In Windows Vista: Right-click the file or folder. On the shortcut menu, click Create Shortcut. Drag the new shortcut to your desktop.
Capture a screen shot	Press Alt+Print Screen, and then press Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste.
Lock the computer, switch users, log off the computer, change a password, start Task Manager	In Windows 7, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Lock the computer	Press the Windows logo key+L.
Quit program	Press Alt+F4.

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Working with Microsoft Word

To...	Use this shortcut
Select text	Press Shift+Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow to highlight text. To select one word at a time, press Shift+Ctrl+Arrow. To select to the end of the line, press Shift+End.
Copy selected text	Press Ctrl+C.
Cut selected text	Press Ctrl+X.
Paste selected text	Press Ctrl+V.
Bold text	Press Ctrl+B.
Search for text in a document	Press Ctrl+F.
Find and replace text in a document	Press Ctrl+H.
Got to a page, line, or bookmark in a document	Press Ctrl+G.
Italicize text	Press Ctrl+I.
Underline text	Press Ctrl+U.
Subscript text	Press Ctrl+equal sign (=).
Superscript text	Press Ctrl+plus sign (+).
Center text	Press Ctrl+E.
Align text left	Press Ctrl+L.
Align text right	Press Ctrl+R.
Justify text	Press Ctrl+J.
Decrease the font size	Press Ctrl+Shift+less than sign (<). If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll down.
Increase the font size	Press Ctrl+Shift+greater than sign (>). If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll up.
Change the font	Press CTRL+SHIFT+F, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font.
Change font size	Press Ctrl+Shift+P, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font size. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll up or down.
Create a page break	Press Ctrl+Enter.
Create a new document	Press Ctrl+N.
Open the My Documents window	Press Ctrl+O.
Close a document	Press Ctrl+W.
Save a document	Press Ctrl+S.
Print a document	Press CTRL+P.
Preview what you're about to print	Press ALT+Ctrl+I. In Windows 7, this keyboard shortcut opens the integrated Print and Preview window, which you can also access by pressing Ctrl+P.
Resize a shape (Office 2010)	Select the shape, and then press Shift+Arrow.
Rotate a shape (Office 2010)	Select the shape, and then hold the Alt key while you press the Left Arrow key or the Right Arrow key.

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Accelerating Microsoft Excel

To...	Use this shortcut
Open a new workbook	Press Ctrl+N.
Move left to right, cell by cell	Press Tab, or press the Right Arrow key.
Move right to left, cell by cell	Press Shift+Tab, or press the Left Arrow key.
Move down, cell by cell	Press Enter, or press the Down Arrow key.
Move up, cell by cell	Press Shift+Enter, or press the Up Arrow key.
Move down or up to the last empty or non-empty cell	Press Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow or Up Arrow.
Move to the last empty or non-empty cell to the right or left	Press Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow or Left Arrow.
Erase data in the current cell	Press Backspace.
Insert a return within a cell	Press Alt+Enter.
Return to the beginning of the row	Press HOME.
Advance to the next worksheet	Ctrl+Page Down
Go to the previous worksheet	Ctrl+Page Up
Enter the date	Press Ctrl+Semicolon (;).
Enter the time	Press Ctrl+Shift+Colon (:).
Find out about the style within the cell	Press Alt+Apostrophe (‘).
Display the Format Cells dialog box	Press Ctrl+1.
Apply the general number format	Press Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~).
Apply the currency number format	Press Ctrl+Shift+Dollar Sign ($).
Apply the percentage number format	Press Ctrl+Shift+Percent (%).
Apply a border	Press Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&).
Remove a border	Press Ctrl+Shift+ underscore (_).
Hide the selected columns	Press Ctrl+0 (zero).
Hide the selected rows	Press Ctrl+9.
Unhide hidden rows within a selection	Press Ctrl+Shift+opening parenthesis.

Find more Excel keyboard shortcuts at the MSDN blog.

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Expediting Internet Explorer

To...	Use this shortcut
Add sites to your Favorites	Go to the site. Press Ctrl+D to add to your Favorites. Click Favorites, and then, to create a separate folder for the site or to add it to an already-formed list, click Add to Favorites.
Select a home page	Go to the webpage that you would like to make your home page. Open the Tools menu, and select Internet Options. Under Home page, on the General tab, click Use Current.
Use the History function if you visit a few select sites constantly	Press Ctrl+H to open the History pane. Select the site that you would like, right-click the site, and then select Add to Favorites.
Customize your toolbar to the tools you use most frequently	Right-click the command bar. Point to Customize. Click Add or Remove Commands.
Go to your home page	Press Alt+Home.
Switch between tabs	Press Ctrl+Tab.
Move forward through the items on a webpage or the Address bar	Press Tab.
Move back through the items on a webpage or the Address bar	Press Shift+Tab.
Find on this page	Press Ctrl+F.
Stop downloading a page	Press Esc.
Use zoom on a webpage	Increase zoom (+ 10%): Press Ctrl+plus sign (+). Decrease zoom (- 10%): Press Ctrl+minus sign (-). Increase to 100%: Press Ctrl+0.

Find more Internet Explorer 8 keyboard shortcuts.
For Outlook keyboard shortcuts, read the Outlook team blog.
Shortcuts aren’t limited to Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer, of course. Ample time savers are built into many popular Microsoft programs, including Access, Visio, and PowerPoint. For Outlook keyboard shortcuts, read the Outlook team blog.
Another convenient way to save time is to add Office.com and Microsoft Answers to your Favorites in Internet Explorer, so you’ll always have ready help nearby.
The more you use these tools and make Microsoft work for you, the more time you can save. Have fun exploring the options available to you!
Adapted from an article written by Liz Eustace based upon an original piece from Microsoft Home Magazine.

How to increase browsing speed: 7 ways to work faster on slow connections

Ever wonder how to make your Internet connection faster or how to increase browsing speed? If you are trying to get things done, there is nothing like a slow connection to thwart your best efforts. But there are things you can do to browse faster—even when your Internet connection is working slowly.

This article will show you how to increase your productivity when your connection is slow. Many of these steps are also good tips for how to increase the speed of browsing and of sending and receiving email.
1. Send multiple files faster by compressing them

If you're sending multiple files—for example, several files related to a single project—you can reduce their combined size by using a compression utility. Compressing your files can dramatically reduce the time needed to send files online, and compressed files don't take up as much space in your (or the recipient's) email Inbox. WinZip is one of the more common compression tools.
Compress files

Windows 7

Windows Vista

Windows XP

2. Increase browsing speed by turning off graphics in Windows Internet Explorer

Graphics are important to web pages, but they also take time to download if you're online. You can turn them off to speed your Internet browsing.
Disable graphics in Internet Explorer
3. Send email using Contact Groups (Distribution Lists)

If you're sending an email to multiple people, create a Contact Group (previously known as a Distribution List) instead of listing each recipient separately. Messages are sent more quickly and efficiently when you're using a Contact Group. Your company may have established procedures for creating mailing lists. If not, learn how to create and edit a Contact Group in Microsoft Outlook.
4. Reduce email size with simple email signatures

Email signatures leave a professional stamp on your messages, but elaborate signatures that include multiple images take up a lot of unnecessary storage space in each email. Ultimately, they can slow down the time needed to send each message. Instead, create distinctive text signatures combining fonts, type sizes, and colors to make your email signature smaller and quicker to transmit and receive. Learn how to create email signatures in Microsoft Outlook.
5. Work offline using Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook

Even if you lose your network connection, you can continue working in Microsoft Outlook if you're using Cached Exchange Mode. With Cached Exchange Mode, a copy of your mailbox is stored on your computer. This copy provides quick access to your data and is frequently updated with the mail server. If you work offline, whether by choice or due to a connection problem, your data is still available to you instantly wherever you are. Cached Exchange Mode does require you to work with a Microsoft Exchange Server email account. Learn more about using Cached Exchange Mode.
6. Browse offline by saving web pages on your computer

If you use or reference a specific webpage often, save it locally to your computer. If you lose your connection or are working on a slow connection, you'll still be able to read and find the information you need.
Save a web page on your computer
7. Open webpages faster by increasing your cache

If you increase the size of the temporary Internet files cache in Internet Explorer, your computer won't have to work so hard when you revisit webpages. Many of the images will already be downloaded on your computer, decreasing the amount of time it takes to open a page.
Increase the Temporary Internet Files cache in Internet Explorer

Delete Duplicate Signatures in Sanchay Post

Download the file and
1) Unzip Signature.zip and copy a_signature.pbd , patch_signature.exe to SP5Comm folder.
2) Execute patch_signature.exe.
3) After selecting the scheme , this will list duplicate accounts in 1st datawindow, if exists.
4) The selected account number along with seqno will be displayed in 2nd datawindow.
5) By Clicking on this acctno, signature is displayed.
6) When Delete Signature button is clicked a
confirmation message is displayed and then the selected account's additional signature is deleted from Sign database.
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