The Proactive Pro

GET RID OF THE MOUSE! (For MS Word Users)

Nope, I don't mean that kind that squeaks and gnaws at just about anything. I'm talking about that the seemingly indispensable computer accessory that looks a bit like the furry pest, minus the fur and the ears.

OK. The mouse does make our lives easier when we're using our computers and we can't totally do without the mouse. But relying on the mouse most of the time can slow you down. For my part, I don't want to take my hands off the computer keyboard when I'm working. The less I use the mouse, the better. And I hate anything that closely resembles that pesky rodent. I can only love the mice in cartoonlandia -- Mickey Mouse, Jerry of "Tom and Jerry," Speedy Gonzales, etc. (OK, I've got to admit, the mouse on the picture is cute.)

Here are some shortcut keys that will make you less dependent on your computer mouse when using MS Word (Some of these shortcuts work in other applications, too.):

CTRL + A - Selects all text and graphics.

CTRL + B - Emboldens the text (makes them boldface, that is).

CTRL + C - Copies the text.

CTRL + D - Shows the Font Window (use the Tab Key to move around).

CTRL + E - Aligns the text to the center of the page.

CTRL + F - Shows the Find Window.

CTRL + G - Shows the Goto Window.

CTRL + H - Shows the Find and Replace Window (perfect when you need to correct a misspelling that occurs multiple times in the text).

CTRL + I - Italicizes the text.

CTRL + J - Justifies the paragraph.

CTRL + K - Shows the hyperlink window.

CTRL + L - Aligns the paragraph to the left.

CTRL + M - Increases indentation of the whole paragraph.

CTRL + N - Opens a new document.

CTRL + O - Opens a saved document (Use the Tab Key and the Arrow Keys to move around).

CTRL + P - Shows the Print Window.

CTRL + Q - Decreases the indentation of the whole paragraph.

CTRL + R - Aligns the paragraph to the right.

CTRL + S - Saves the document.

CTRL + T - Hanging indent.

CTRL + U - Underscores or underlines the selected text.

CTRL + V - Paste.

CTRL + W - Exit. Brings up the dialog box that asks if you want to save the document.

CTRL + X - Cuts the selected text.

CTRL + Y - Redo.

CTRL + Z - Undo.

YOU CAN DO THE FOLLOWING WITHOUT USING A MOUSE:

To Select Text:

To select one character at a time, simply hold down the Shift Key while pressing one of the Arrow Keys, depending on the direction you want to go.

To select one word at a time, hold down the CTRL Key and the Shift Key at the same time while pressing the Arrow Key.

To select a whole line, place the cursor at the beginning of the line. Hold down the Shift Key and press the End Key. Alternatively, if the cursor is already at the end of the line, just hold down the Shift Key and press the Home Key instead.


To Change the Case of a Text: Select the text first, then
hold down the Shift Key while pressing the F3 key repeatedly until you get the desired case (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case).

To Delete the Word at the Right Side of the Cursor: Hold down the CTRL Key and press the Del Key.

To Delete the Word at the Left Side of the Cursor: Hold down the CTRL Key and press the Backspace Key.

To Move the Cursor from One Word to Another: Hold down the CTRL Key and press the appropriate Arrow Key.

To Navigate from Window to Window: Hold down the Alt Key and press Tab a few times until you get to the desired window.

To Show the Desktop: Press the Window Key (the key with the Windows Logo) and the Letter D.

These are but a few of the shortcut keys that I know, but these are the ones that I usually use. These shortcut keys might also come in handy when your mouse suddenly conks out on you. Using them will save you a lot of time. (Read: Time is money.)

To remember them, you just have to use them constantly.

So long Mickey! Adios Speedy! Bye-bye Jerry!