Technology

5 Mouseless Menu Shortcuts

Do you sometimes find it easier to use your keyboard instead of your mouse? Most actions in Windows, Microsoft Office, and other desktop programs can be performed with different combinations of keyboard or mouse shortcuts. Choose the approach that works best for you.

Keep your hands on the keyboard and see how you like these mouseless shortcuts for working with software menus and dialogs:

  • Windows Start Menu
  • Quick shortcut menus
  • mouseless main menu
  • dialog boxes
  • drop down menus

Windows Start Menu (Windows 7 and Windows XP)

  • [Ctrl] + [Esc] to display the Windows Start menu
  • [Esc] Cancel

Easy shortcut menus

Many Microsoft Office and Windows commands are quickly found in context menus. Right-click on highlighted text in Microsoft Word, for example, and a context menu will appear with actions like Cut, Copy, Format, etc. Alternatively, or if you don’t have the right-click gene, you can press a key to access the context menu.

Look on the bottom row of the keyboard to the right of the space bar between the [Alt] Y [Ctrl] Keys: Do you see a key with a vertical rectangular menu and horizontal lines? This is officially called the Application key: You can call it the shortcut menu key. To use the keyboard to display a context menu for the selected item/text/data:

  • press the Application (Shortcut Menu), then use the arrow keys to move to the menu option and press [Enter]
  • Alternate: [Shift] + [F10] activate context menu
  • Press [Esc] to cancel the menu

mouseless main menu

To select a main command from most main program menus: Press [Alt] + underlined letter (like [Alt] +F for the File tab or menu; this also works with the Microsoft Office Button in Office 2007).

To select a main ribbon tab in Microsoft Office 2010 or Office 2007: Press [Alt] to activate the Key Tip Badges (shortcuts). For example, press [Alt] then the letter h For him House eyelash.

Dialog Box Options

From an open dialog, to focus options: Press [Alt] + underlined letter (like [Alt] +S for Size in the Font dialog).

drop down menus

To display the options of an active dropdown menu: [Alt] + [Down].

Change the options with increments (such as inches for Margins): [Up Arrow] Prayed [Down Arrow]

Mouse? Keyboard? There is no right or wrong choice. Just choose the combination or shortcut that makes it easy for you to get the results you want.