Growing up my whole life as a member of Gen Z, I spent hours a day on the computer playing video games. It was a waste of time, but I also learned a lot about computers, and shortcuts navigating computers that have saved me a lot of time.
Now, I’m a writer, and I think I’ve learned a couple of things about how to use the keyboard, at the very least. Some have helped me save thousands of words and paragraphs when I suspected my online browser wouldn’t save my writing.
Others have just helped me save a lot of time. Using a quick shortcut to italicize, underline, or bold words also saves the hassle of having to do it manually.
A general rule is you never want to right-click (or click with two fingers on the Mac).
A general rule is you never want to right-click (or click with two fingers on the Mac).
If you write often and are very tech-savvy, these keyboard shortcuts seem pretty obvious.
In my day job as a 25-year-old teacher, I work with a lot of teachers who teach me life lessons and very traditional classroom management skills, as well as rules for navigating a cutthroat public bureaucracy. However, many of those same teachers in their 50s and 60s might not know how to use an Excel spreadsheet, know how to make a table on Microsoft Word, or how to copy and paste something without it taking an absurd amount of time.
I eventually might be one of these 50 to 60-year-old teachers who struggles to keep up with the advanced technological innovations of the times, so it’s important not to be judgmental.
. . .
Keyboard Shortcuts Every Writer Should Know
I’m going to use the keys for shortcuts on a Windows computer, but you might have a Mac. For a Mac, substitute Ctrl with the “Command” (⌘) key. If these differences are more complex, I will list the keys.
Here are some keyboard shortcuts every writer should know to not get frustrated by technology and focus on the most important thing: writing.
1. Selecting all of your writing: Ctrl + A
This is likely the biggest lifesaver for me. Selecting all of my writing on some platforms (like Medium) shows you the word count. Being able to select all of your writing allows you to then copy and paste it on another document or platform.
It comes up in a lot more ways than just copy and pasting, but if a writer doesn’t know Ctrl + A, selecting all of your writing is a very arduous process that involves significant scrolling and clicking. Often, if my Internet connection suddenly runs out, a quick Ctrl + A and then copying the text allows me to save it so I don’t lose hundreds of words of writing.
2. Copy and paste: Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V
Gone are the days when anyone should have to right-click to copy and paste. Copy and paste can be done with a quick Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. Ctrl + C corresponds to copy, while Ctrl + V corresponds to paste.
You use it for a lot more than just writing. But as a writer, copy and paste helps you move a piece of text around the page instead of re-writing it. It helps you get a photo more quickly. It helps you copy and attribute a quote. Highlighting text, then hitting Ctrl + C, then Ctrl + V where you want to put it the text is something every writer and Internet user should know.
3. Finding a keyword in a text: Ctrl + F
As a teacher, Ctrl + F is what I teach my students. For vocabulary questions that ask students to use context clues to define a word, I ask students “use Ctrl +F to find the word ‘incorrigible’” or something similar.
The fact is Ctrl + F is very useful for writers trying to find keywords in research or searches. It also gives you an indicator of how much you overuse a word.
Also, on a Google Doc or Microsoft Word, Ctrl + F can work even more wonders. It will pull up the following toolbar where you can click the three dots on the top right to open the “Find and Replace” tool.
Then, you can replace every instance you mention the word with another one. Say I want to replace every time I mention the word “loan” with the word “mortgage,” as an example. I can click “replace all” to change each mention without having to scroll through the document and do it manually.
Again, this might not seem like the most useful tool but say you mention someone by the wrong name. Say you misspell their name. Say you mentioned it 200 times in a lengthy document. Why spend 20 minutes correcting each mistake when you can correct all 200 mentions it in 10 seconds?
4. Navigating between browsers and applications: Alt + Tab. Navigate between tabs: Alt + Shift + A (Command + Shift + A on Mac).
Alt+Tab is pretty useless if you’re well organized and only have one application opened on your computer at all times. However, Alt+Tab is incredibly useful if you’re a multi-tasker like me. Say you have a Zoom meeting where you need to quickly open up your Internet tab — Alt + Tab allows you to do so instantly. Also, say you want to change the song on Spotify or whatever music application you — Alt + Tab also allows you to do so effortlessly.
There is a shortcut to more effortlessly navigate between tabs, too. If you are anything like me, you can have 34 tabs open on five different browsers on. the Internet. This can make finding your desired tab for your bills, YouTube video you were watching, draft you were writing, or Facebook page very difficult. But the Alt + Shift +A option allows you to see the following on Google Chrome to mitigate the confusion without the context switching of closing out a ton of tabs and resetting.
This way, you can just click a tab to find it or search for the one you want. On a Google Doc or browser where you can write, be sure to click away from the text, or else this will be an automatic select all.
5. Restart a slow computer or use the task manager: Ctrl + Alt + Delete (Command + Option + Escape on Mac)
You might need a new computer because yours is too slow, but not have the funds to do so. Well, the fastest way to get your archaic computer to run more smoothly and freeze less often is to either restart it or use the task manager. You can also use Ctrl + Alt + Delete to log out, shut off the computer entirely, or more without clicking much at all.
On the Mac, this option is a bit more limited. However, force quitting applications is also a quick way to make your computer run faster.
6. Undo and redo: Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y
This usefulness of both undo and redo seems somewhat self-explanatory. We all make mistakes in our writing. We all write words we don’t intend to write or delete words, sentences, or paragraphs we didn’t intend to delete. Being able to quickly undo and redo allows us to salvage our mistakes, instead of constantly having to right-click.
7. Print: Ctrl + P
The usefulness of this shortcut is also self-explanatory. For people who still use printers often, this saves a lot of time. However, even if you don’t, the “Print to PDF” or “Save as PDF” option is very helpful if you need your documents in PDF format.
8. Save: Ctrl + S
You have to save your work and save your work frequently, right? Ctrl + S does so on Microsoft Word and other applications. If you are using Google Docs or another Internet-driven text editor, the text will automatically save itself, but this is all contingent on a good Internet connection that won’t screw you over. Rely on an offline text editor like Microsoft Word on Windows, or Pages and Notes on Mac as an insurance policy.
9. Italicize, Bold, and Underline: Ctrl + I, Ctrl + B, Ctrl + U
Ahh, all the useful formatting tools for writers. I have to italicize my text occasionally. I also have to bold it and underline it. Regardless, you can do all of them without ever right-clicking at all, and it saves a ton of time.
10. Zoom in and Zoom out: Ctrl +, Ctrl-
You might not be wearing your glasses. You might just want the text to be bigger or smaller. These two help you zoom in and zoom out without clicking anything, and make your reading or writing experience more user-friendly.
11: Hyperlink a source: Ctrl + K
This option is a bit more specific to writers, but you can highlight a text and just click “Ctrl + K” to hyperlink a source you have copied. This has saved me a ton of time on more research-heavy pieces, instead of having to make an extra click.
Takeaways
All these shortcuts might seem somewhat trivial in the short term. But in the long-term, these shortcuts are incredibly helpful tools, and the time you save by using them most certainly adds up.
Maybe you knew all of these already — I certainly didn’t. It took me a lot of practice and research, as well as trial by error to learn them.
Do you know any helpful shortcuts to add to the list? Please let us know in the comments!
I hope this helps.
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This post was previously published on Inspired Writer.
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