05 Information Technology

Become a Keyboard Cowboy

Long ago I earned the nickname "The Keyboard Queen" because I use the keyboard for many tasks most people only do with the mouse. While having begun computing with DOS, Lotus 123, and WordPerfect 5.1 may be a factor, mostly I prefer the keyboard over the mouse because it's so much faster!

The most useful class I took in high school was Typing. I thought the class was a waste of time because I consistently got negative 30 words a minute (typo's deducted from the word count) but much later I realized how lucky I was because I did learn exactly what I needed: touch-typing skills. I now type 60 words a minute (no comment on the typos) because I assimilated the principle: keeping the fingers on the eight home keys means you can keep your eyes on the copy, which means with practice, you can type fast!

Here is a sampling of my everyday keyboard usage. Learn just a few, and you too can become the master of your keyboard!

Beside the spacebar, between the Ctrl and Alt keys, is a little gem of a key, the Windows key (it looks like a flying four paned window), which provides a number of great shortcuts when combined with:

E Opens My Computer (Explorer, the file manager)

F Opens the Find window to find files, folders, and websites easily.

R Opens a run window from which you can run programs like a DOS prompt.

D Minimizes all windows to show the Desktop (even pesky windows with no apparent minimize button), and will un-minimize all windows when pressed again.

… or all by itself to open the Start menu

If you're interested in learning more, I suggest Windows Help (F1).

Lucy Fox

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