Ntech Communications Blog

Keyboard shortcuts can save time, and make the user experience so much better. You can also impress the heck out of people when you do something in the blink of an eye without a move of the mouse (They will probably think you are using some kind of voodoo magic). This is not a full list of shortcuts by any means, but it is a very useful list of common keyboard shortcuts.

Before playing with shortcuts, be sure to save any file you are working on, just in case you make a mistake of using the wrong shortcut at the wrong time. This moment is called an ‘ono’ second(this is the moment as you are clicking or doing something that cannot be undone, and it was completely unintentional). On another note, I cannot take credit for the ‘ono’ second term. Although I have experienced it before, credit has to go to Professor Tim Scott at Minnesota State University Mankato.

Okay on with the shortcuts…

General Shortcuts

Text Formatting Operations
CTRL+A = Select All
CTRL+B = Bold
CTRL+I = Italic
CTRL+U = Underline
In certain programs, you have the ability to cut, copy and paste
CTRL+X = Cut
CTRL+C = Copy
CTRL+V = Paste
Home = Start of line of text
End = End of line of text
Insert = Write over line of text. Special note: If you are experiencing a problem where you can’t add text and you are just writing over current text, chances are the insert key has been pressed.

File Operations Commands
CTRL+N = Create New File
CTRL+O = Open
CTRL+S = Save
CTRL+P = Print
CTRL+F = Find in text

Exit Commands
CTRL+W = Close Window
Alt+F4 = Exit Application

Undo Commands
CTRL+Z = Undo the last operation
CTRL+Y = Redo the last operation

Windows Logo Key Commands
Windows Logo Key: Opens the start menu
Windows Logo Key+R: Opens the windows run dialog box
Windows Logo Key+M: Minimizes all windows
SHIFT+Windows Logo Key+M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows Logo Key+F1: Displays Help
Windows Logo Key+E: Opens windows Explorer
Windows Logo Key+F: Opens find files or folders Search
Windows Logo Key+D: Minimizes everything and shows the desktop
CTRL+Windows Logo Key+F: Opens find computer
Windows Logo Key+TAB: Cycle through taskbar buttons
Windows Logo Key+Break: Opens system properties dialog box

Anyone, please feel free to add more via comment box if you feel I missed an important one.

Occasionally, when opening PDF files off of websites through Internet Explorer, Adobe Acrobat will freeze up and temporarily stop or slow Internet Explorer from working properly. This problem also has the tendency to freeze up a computer all together.

I have personally encountered this problem on Windows XP numerous times, and may have caught it on Vista once or twice.

If your computer freezes after opening an adobe PDF from Internet Explorer, open the Task Manager by holding ctrl+shift+esc simultaneously.

In the task manager, find the file listed as Acrord32.exe and left-click once to highlight it.  Once highlighted, click the “End Process” button. After clicking the “End Process” button, a warning window will open, click “yes”.

This solution should work if your system is frozen because of opening an Adobe Acrobat PDF file in XP or Vista. After unfreezing your system, I would recommend saving any files you are working on, and restarting your system.

With increasing demand for computer repair services, we are now offering affordable flat-rate offsite repair and upgrade services with excellent turn around time to the Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and surrounding suburban area.

Offsite repair is an excellent option for services that take excess time to complete, for example, an operating system reinstallation which can take up to 5 hours.

When preparing for us to pick up your PC, We do not need your monitor, keyboard, or mouse. All we need is your tower, and the disks that came with your computer when you purchased it. If you don’t have your original disks, no problem! We can order duplicates from the manufacturer. For laptops, in addition to the system disks, we will also need your power adapter.

If you have any questions about our computer repair services, please feel free to contact us through our website, or call us at 651-246-1386. We look forward to hearing from you.

We recently added a new E-Newsletter subscription opt-in to our front page. Over the next few days, we will be integrating this system throughout the rest of the site on the sidebar areas. Our e-newsletter will contain important updates about our products and services, do-it-yourself computer maintenance tips, and special offers.

Right now, for signing up on our e-mail list, we are extending $10.00 off our System Optimization Service.

We recently started working on a web design project for a new client, Kaposia Tree Service, at http://www.kaposiatreeservice.com. Kaposia Tree Service serves Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburbs in the 7 county metro area specializing in Tree Trimming and Tree Stump Removal. If you live in the Twin Cities and need a tree trimmed or stump removed, contact Terry at: 651-271-4520 for a quote.

Over the past week, we have been working to develop a new website for Ntech Communications. This blog will be the main hub of communication for the site.

We plan on offering DIY advice on how to fix your own computer, web design techniques, code snippets (html, php, css, xml, javascript, etc…) and other useful information. We plan on adding constant updates to the site to make it a learning community as well as our company’s marketing platform.

Questions and comments are always welcome!