Using Shortcut Keys to Select A Range

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Microsoft has developed several standard ways to select bits of text, objects, or files in most of their products.  The methods below are specific to text but apply to other objects as well.  After getting used to them in MS Office, try using them out to rearrange your desktop, or move multiple files from one folder to another.

1. Drag:  Drag by clicking on the first part, then holding the mouse button down as you drag to the end of your selection.
2. Double-click:  Double-click a word to select the word.  Sometimes a double-clicking an item, such as tab on the ruler or a menu icon, will open a new window with more formatting choices.  In Windows Explorer, double-clicking opens a folder or file.  
3. Triple-click:  Triple-clicking a word will select the entire line of text or paragraph, whatever words fall between pressing "Enter" and pressing it again.
4. Shift Click:  Hold down your shift button.  Start at the top of your range and click. Click again at the bottom of your range.  This also works bottom to top - it is simply telling the computer select everything between my two clicks.
5. Shift Click with Cursor:  This is variation, if you don't want to use your mouse to drag.  It's especially handy in MS Excel.  Hold down Shift.  Click at the top.  Use the cursors or arrows on the right of your keyboard to move through your document.  Release shift when you have selected your range.
6. Ctrl Click:  Select multiple items one at a time, with Ctrl click.  If you get one item by mistake, Ctrl click again to deselect.
7. Select All:  Select everything in your document in most MS Office products from the Home tab>Select section>click the drop-down arrow next to Select.  On the Select menu, click Select All.  You may also Ctrl A for “All.” 

MS Office: For Command Shortcuts at your Fingertips, Customize the Quick Access Toolbar

How often in Word or Excel, do you look for a quick way of opening a new file, saving your current file under a different name or previewing your document before printing?

All these commands, and more, are available to you after your customize the Quick Access Toolbar.  This is the small line of icons on the top left of your screen whenever you open an MS Office program.

Your Quick Access Toolbar will look different than mine.  This is my custom toolbar from MS Word.  To customize yours, click on the drop-down arrow at the end of the icons.  This will give you the Quick Access Toolbar Menu.  Click on More Commands to get all your choices.

This will open the Quick Access Toolbar Menu, listing the “Popular Commands” by default.  I always switch to “All Commands.”  This gives you all available commands in alphabetical order.

For Word, my shortcuts are always:  New, Open, Save, Save As, Close, Undo, Redo, Quick Print, and Preview and Print.  I use a separator, a small vertical line, between the file icons and the rest.  Once you add your shorctus, use the up and down arrows on the right to move each icon where you want it.  Click OK when you are finished.

Do this for each MS Office program.  For Excel, I use these shortcuts:

From left to right:  New, Open, Save, Save As, Close, separator, Undo, Redo, Fill Down, Fill Right, Paste Value, separator, Quick Print, Preview and Print.

Customize with your favorites – or if you always forget where a command is, put it here.  If you use more than one computer, you will have to customize each program on each computer separately.  I haven’t figured out how to share the toolbars yet.  Let me know if you know that trick!