Currently South African nursing students are completing either a basic computer skills course or a fundamental computer course to improve their technical skills for the modern hospital setting. In their respective courses, they are learning all about shortcuts that work well on Windows computers. While it may seem as if too much emphasis is being placed on these Windows shortcuts, they surely do help South African nurses to work through computer tasks much more quickly. Knowing computer shortcuts does make the computer user more efficient and computer users will usually understand the value of using these shortcuts when performing tasks for work, especially at times when schedule demands are rather crazy.
However, it's not only South African nurses that benefit from improving their computer skills and using shortcuts to save some time. Students benefit as well, especially when they are running out of time to submit the assignment due in a few hours. It can also help professionals like those tutors giving online lessons, doctor's secretaries, content creators, and office administration staff.
These clever keyboard shortcuts once learnt can never be unlearnt and can be comfortable the more often that you use them. So, the next time that you decide to use your mouse, think of these valuable shortcuts and save yourself a second or two.
What are Keyboard Skills?
Computers are like teammates; they work with us to achieve amazing things.
Anonymous
While knowing your QWERTY keyboard off by heart is an essential keyboard skill, knowing which keyboard buttons to press to administer shortcuts could also result in learning necessary skills to improve the way you use your keyboard. The better equipped a person is to maneuver their way around their computer keyboard, the easier it would be for them to complete computer related tasks.
The best shortcut that everyone should learn is to save as you work as you go.
8 Keyboard Shortcuts to Use
Perhaps consider trying out these basic shortcuts to get started on using shortcuts to make using your computer tasks easier.
Ctrl + S
This short cut might save you a mere second when you first use it, however, it will save you so much more time in the long run. Many computer users will tell you that the gravest mistake that one can make is not saving while they are typing. Many times, programs close unexpectedly, or the computer shuts down and then users are left retyping everything as they did not save along the way. Ctrl + S makes it possible to save as you add more information as you continue to work.
Ctrl + C
A way to copy text from one place to another is to highlight the text that you wish to copy. However, instead of having to click on the Home tab, find the Clipboard command and then click on Copy, you can simply press Ctrl + C at the same time. This shortcut method is far easier than finding the copy option on Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) as well.
Ctrl + V
In order to paste text effortless, the short cut would be to use Ctrl + V on your keyboard at the same time. Using this short cut can help you to paste copied text within a second.
Ctrl + A
While Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V are more known shortcuts, the way to highlight all of the text on the screen is to use the Ctrl + A buttons on your keyboard simultaneously. This could be used to select all the text to copy it or to change the colour of your text.
Ctrl + D
A shortcut that enables you to put anything into the recycling bin is to press Ctrl + D instead of having to drag and click to get your files into the trash. When you need to delete files in a rush, this short cut can surely be a time saver.
Ctrl + F4
Another shortcut that works wonders is the Ctrl + F4 short cut that allows you to close a window that you may have opened. In cases when many tabs are open all at once, this short cut can help you out considerably.
Windows Key + Ctrl + F4
Pressing all three buttons on your keyboard at once allows you to close the Desktop quickly.
Windows Key + Ctrl + D
This short cut allows you to add a desktop, and all these keyboard buttons should be pressed simultaneously.
These are not all of the shortcuts that you can use to get what you want to do done rather effortlessly. However, these are certainly a good starting point for Windows users who wish to grasp some basic computer skills.
Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts
Mac users would be thrilled to know that there are many keyboard shortcuts that they too can make use of. In fact, looking at some of the available Mac keyboard shortcuts for beginners will allow you to realise that these shortcuts are very similar to the shortcuts that we use when using a Windows laptop or PC.
The main difference in terms of certain core Windows shortcuts and Mac shortcuts is that instead of using the Control button (Ctrl), the Command button is pressed on the Mac book.
The Mac equivalent shortcuts that resemble the Windows shortcuts are shortcuts to:
- Copy content
- Cut content
- Paste content
- Select All
- Redo an action
- Undo an action
- Delete and move to the recycle bin
- Close open windows
- Switch through open apps
- Toggle keyboard layout
- Permanantly delete items
- Show shortcut menu
From the list of Windows and Mac equivalent shortcuts, there are two shortcuts that would be beneficial to learn.
Looking at Windows and Mac Equivalent Shortcuts
Toggle Keyboard Layout
Toggle key is used to switch input from other keys on the keyboard between two different modes. To activate this function on Windows, users can press Ctrl + Shift on a Windows keyboard and Ctrl + Space on a Mac computer.
Undo a Previous Action
To undo an action just done, Windows users can press Ctrl + Z on their keyboards while Mac users can perform a similar action by pressing Command + Z on their keyboards.
While some Windows shortcuts are pretty much like Mac shortcuts and won't need too much of an effort to learn, there are shortcuts on Mac that differ considerably from commonly used Windows shortcuts.
For example, Windows users can simply press the Windows Logo + L to lock their computers, Mac users need to press Command + Ctrl + Q. Mac users may also need to press the Custom option to show the shortcut menu while clicking on Shift + F10 is a way to display the shortcut menu on a Windows desktop.
Nevertheless, shortcuts on Mac and Windows do make life so much easier and quicker once they have been learnt and tried out a few times. For computer users who feel that they would benefit from having an entire bank of shortcuts, they can consider taking up a basic computer course to learn some of these.
Basic Computer Course
While confident computer users can pick up certain shortcuts at any time, beginner computer users are far better off taking a basic computer course where they can learn these shortcuts as they learn how to perform the same operations in a much longer way as well.
A basic computer course is great to help computer enthusiasts and users learn that one action can be done in multiple ways. When using your computer, it is all about finding the way that works best for you. The good news is that many common shortcuts work well for everyone and will be worth learning about. There are other ways to improve keyboard skills for computer efficiency.
In South Africa, we have many qualified and experienced computer tutors willing to teach basic computer skills to those who may need it. Taking a computer course will surely be highly beneficial as not only does having the necessary computer skills look good on your CV but can help considerably in the workplace setting. You can rely on one of our Superprof computer instructors to guide you on how to reap the most benefit from using your PC or laptop.
Equipped with these shortcuts and several others, you are set to operate your computer confidently. Basic computer skills and general keyboard skills help you to see your computer as less of an enemy to be afraid of and more as a friend who you can work with. The more you show your computer that you are in control and that you know what you are doing, the more your computer will work with you.
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