Handy Tips & Tricks to Get the Most Out of Your Computer

Your computer can do a lot more than you might think — and most of the best tricks take just seconds to learn. This guide covers the shortcuts and habits that will save you time every single day.

⌨️ Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

A keyboard shortcut means holding down one or two keys at the same time to make something happen — without touching the mouse. They feel awkward at first, but become second nature very quickly.

Shortcut	What it does	When to use it
Ctrl + C	Copy selected text or file	When you want to duplicate something
Ctrl + V	Paste what you copied	After copying, to put it somewhere new
Ctrl + Z	Undo your last action	Made a mistake? Press this immediately!
Ctrl + S	Save your document	Every few minutes when writing
Ctrl + A	Select everything on screen	When you want to copy or delete everything
Ctrl + P	Print the current document	When you want a paper copy
⊞ Win + D	Show the desktop instantly	When windows are cluttering the screen
Alt + F4	Close the current window	A quicker way to close a program

🔡 Copy, Cut and Paste — Made Simple

These three actions work in almost every program on your computer — from emails to Word documents to photos. Once you’ve mastered them, you’ll use them every day.

1. Selectwhat you want — click and drag your mouse over text, or click once on a file to highlight it.
2. Copy itwith Ctrl + C — this takes a copy but leaves the original in place.
3. Cut itwith Ctrl + X — this removes it and holds it ready to paste elsewhere.
4. Clickwhere you want to put it.
5. Paste itwith Ctrl + V — it appears in the new location.

🔍 Finding Files Quickly

Don’t waste time clicking through folders trying to find a document or photo. Windows has a brilliant built-in search that finds things in seconds.

1. Press the ⊞ Win key on your keyboard — it’s the key with the Windows logo, usually bottom-left near the spacebar.
2. Just start typingthe name of what you’re looking for — you don’t need to click anything first.
3. Windows will show matching files, photos and programs as you type.
4. Click the result to open it immediately.

🪟 Managing Windows on Your Screen

Have you ever ended up with so many windows open that you can’t find what you need? These shortcuts help you get organised quickly.

• ⊞ Win + Left/Right arrow — Snaps a window to exactly half the screen. Open two windows side by side — perfect for copying from one document to another.
• ⊞ Win + Up arrow — Maximises the current window to fill the whole screen.
• ⊞ Win + D — Hides all windows and shows your desktop. Press it again to bring them all back.
• Alt + Tab — Hold Alt and press Tab to flick between your open programs. Release Alt to jump to the one you want.

🔎 Zooming In When Text Is Too Small

Struggling to read small text on websites or documents? Don’t reach for your reading glasses — just zoom in.

• Ctrl + Plus (+) — Zoom in, making everything on screen bigger.
• Ctrl + Minus (–) — Zoom back out.
• Ctrl + 0 (zero) — Reset zoom back to normal size.

This works in web browsers and in most programs. If you want text to be permanently bigger across your whole computer, you can change the display size in Settings → Accessibility → Text Size.

🖱️ Right-Click — Your Secret Menu

Try right-clicking on almost anything — a file, a photo, a web page, the desktop itself. A menu of useful options will appear, usually including things like Open, Copy, Delete, Print, and more. Many people never discover these menus, but they’re incredibly useful.

📜 Scrolling Without the Scrollbar

Instead of dragging the thin scrollbar at the side of the screen, you can scroll up and down simply by rolling the scroll wheel on your mouse. No clicking required. If you don’t have a scroll wheel, use the arrow keys on your keyboard.

🌐 Full Screen in Your Browser

Press F11 while using your web browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) to go full-screen — the whole monitor becomes your web page. Press F11 again to go back to normal.

📋 A Handy Cheat Sheet to Keep

Print this table and stick it near your computer until the shortcuts become habit:

Shortcut	What it does
Ctrl + Z	Undo
Ctrl + C	Copy
Ctrl + V	Paste
Ctrl + S	Save
Ctrl + Plus/Minus	Zoom in / out
⊞ Win + typing	Search for anything
⊞ Win + D	Show desktop
Right-click	Open options menu