Study notes
How to learn shortcuts
Questions are based on current Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office behaviour. Learn them in groups: universal editing keys, Windows keys, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and browser keys. Many letters are logical – B for Bold, I for Italic, U for Underline, P for Print, F for Find, H for replace (in Word), K for linK.
Universal shortcuts (most Windows programs)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V | Copy / Cut / Paste |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo (or repeat last action) |
| Ctrl+A | Select all |
| Ctrl+S / F12 | Save / Save As (Office) |
| Ctrl+N / Ctrl+O | New / Open |
| Ctrl+P | Print |
| Ctrl+F | Find |
| Ctrl+W | Close the current document, window or tab |
| F1 | Help |
| Alt+F4 | Close the active window / application |
| Alt+Tab | Switch between open windows |
Windows shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Win | Open Start menu |
| Win+D | Show / hide the desktop |
| Win+E | Open File Explorer |
| Win+L | Lock the computer |
| Win+R | Open the Run dialog |
| Win+I | Open Settings |
| Win+Tab | Task View |
| Win+Shift+S | Snip (capture) part of the screen |
| Ctrl+Shift+Esc | Open Task Manager directly |
| Ctrl+Alt+Del | Security options screen (lock, sign out, Task Manager) |
| F2 | Rename the selected file or folder |
| F5 | Refresh the window |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | New folder in File Explorer |
| Delete / Shift+Delete | Delete to Recycle Bin / delete permanently |
| Print Screen | Capture the whole screen |
MS Word shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U | Bold / Italic / Underline |
| Ctrl+L / Ctrl+E / Ctrl+R / Ctrl+J | Align left / Centre / Align right / Justify |
| Ctrl+H | Find and Replace |
| Ctrl+G or F5 | Go To |
| Ctrl+K | Insert hyperlink |
| Ctrl+Enter | Page break |
| Shift+Enter | Line break (new line, same paragraph) |
| Ctrl+Home / Ctrl+End | Go to start / end of the document |
| Home / End | Go to start / end of the line |
| Ctrl+= / Ctrl+Shift+= | Subscript / Superscript |
| Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[ | Increase / decrease font size by 1 point |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | All caps |
| Ctrl+Shift+E | Turn Track Changes on/off |
| F7 | Spelling and Grammar (Editor) |
| Shift+F7 | Thesaurus |
| Shift+F3 | Change case of selected text |
MS Excel shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl+; | Insert current date |
| Ctrl+Shift+; | Insert current time |
| Alt+= | AutoSum |
| F2 | Edit the active cell |
| F4 | Cycle absolute/relative references while editing; otherwise repeat last action |
| F9 | Calculate all open workbooks |
| F11 / Alt+F1 | Chart on a new chart sheet / embedded chart |
| Shift+F11 | Insert new worksheet |
| Ctrl+1 | Format Cells dialog |
| Ctrl+` (grave accent) | Show formulas instead of results |
| Ctrl+Space / Shift+Space | Select entire column / entire row |
| Ctrl+Page Down / Ctrl+Page Up | Next sheet / previous sheet |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Turn filters on/off |
| Ctrl+D / Ctrl+R | Fill down / fill right |
| Alt+Enter | New line inside the same cell |
| Alt+F11 | Open the VBA editor |
PowerPoint shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| F5 | Start slide show from the first slide |
| Shift+F5 | Start slide show from the current slide |
| Ctrl+M | Insert a new slide |
| Esc | End the slide show |
| B / W (during show) | Black / white screen |
Browser shortcuts (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl+T | New tab |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Reopen last closed tab |
| Ctrl+W | Close current tab |
| Ctrl+H / Ctrl+J | History / Downloads |
| Ctrl+D | Bookmark the page |
| F5 / Ctrl+R | Reload page |
| Ctrl+Shift+N (Chrome, Edge) | New incognito / InPrivate window |
Exam tip: F7 = spelling, F5 = slide show, F12 = Save As, F2 = rename/edit, F4 = $ references in Excel. These five function keys cover most exam questions.