February 2015 Tech Tips – F Keys

Here’s your quick Tech Tip for the month of February to help you be more productive. As always, reach out anytime! We are here to help.

There is nothing glamorous about the row of F Keys on your keyboard. They are inconveniently placed, usually only used by mistake, and who really knows what “F” even stands for? Little do you know, each of the F Keys has multiple capabilities which can spare you up to four or five clicks of the mouse. Utilizing an F Key shortcut may only save you seconds, but when that report needed to be on your boss’ desk an hour ago and you need to leave the office in fifteen minutes….these seconds are incredibly valuable. See below for ways to efficiently utilize the F Keys.

F1:    Opens Microsoft Windows Help & Support
F2:    Renames selected file, document, or folder in Microsoft Windows Explorer
F3:    Opens Search in almost all programs
F4:    Selects Address Bar in Internet Explorer or Windows Explorer
Closes the window of any program when paired with Alt
F5:    Refreshes and reloads current page in all browsers or documents
F7:    Initiates Spell & Grammar check in Microsoft Office documents
F9:    Send & Receive messages in Microsoft Outlook
F10:  Activates Menu of any open program in Microsoft Windows
F11:  Enters & Exits Full Screen Mode in all internet browsers
F12:  Use to Save As the current Microsoft Office document
Prints when paired with Shift + Ctrl

Each key has additional functions to those listed above, don’t let your F Keys collect dust! If you find these to be useful, chances are you will benefit from utilizing them all.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!