Avoiding Explitives

If you have gray hair today, chances are you remember listening to music on a Garrard turntable, doing correspondence on a Smith-Corona typewriter, and running slide shows with a Kodak Carousel projector. Now there is only one machine that does all those things - and makes you mishugge in the process. As we all know, that machine is the computer. When it works, life is good. When it doesn't work, sepuko or a colonoscopy are joyous alternatives.

And generally, what turns the tide from "cool" to calamity is simple stuff...

• Can't get the mouse to select an item on a pull-down menu.
• Text selection in a document has run amok.
• Should have single clicked instead of double clicked and now everyone in your address book is being solicited to try non-narcotic sexual performance enhancement drugs from Lithuania.

Yes, the world of computing is full of exciting opportunities - many of which are learned by trial and error.

That said, it is not surprising that a lot of people in the workforce today did not have formal computer training. They learned from the school of hard knocks ("So you mean deleting that file is why the computer stopped working?") and with lots of sweat equity.

Many businesses provide extensive training in the software packages specific to their businesses, but presume that "the basics" are already known.

Words like cut, copy and paste - stuff every kid learned in school - now have "cyber" eye-hand coordination issues associated with their meaning.

Today's students are being taught at very early ages how to run the basic software packages like Word, Excel and PowerPoint that will get them the job some old fogey takes too long to do.

While many kids can be doing stuff on that computer for hours and hours - building the stamina to kick out the older workforce - most do not apply the age-old, time- honored concept:

The keyboard is faster than the mouse. . . always has been. . . always will be.

Control "A", Control "C", Control "N", Control "V", Control "P", runs the basics:
Select all, copy, new file, paste and print.

Works a lot faster than trying to move a mouse all over the screen! And best of all, the geeks who write software have an "agreement" to make everybody's life easier and not change those basic key commands. So if you learn them once, you'll be able to use them forever.

Although the mouse is an easy way to work, it is neither fast nor efficient. Selecting text in a document can sometimes be tricky and inaccurate. Instead, try holding the shift key and using the four arrow keys. That provides fast and to-the-letter accuracy in selecting.

Then:
Control "C", Control "N", Control "V", Control "P", runs the basics:
Copy, new file, paste and print.


Another "quick trick" is to hold the Alt key and press the Tab key. This will allow you to toggle through all of the files, folders and applications you have open.

There are several ways to learn what the people with propeller beanies call key commands:

• Start >> Help "keyboard shortcuts" will yield a grand list
• Every pull-down menu has the key commands next to the actual item
• Hovering over toolbar items gives the settings as well.
• Joining the Tech Republic web site (http://www.techrepublic.com) will allow you to get PDF downloads like, "Keyboard Shortcuts for Word".

The only key that needs to be added to the modern keyboard is the "Any" key. The instructions for many software installations includes, "Press any key to continue."

Yes, there are computer users who have searched for it. Scarey thought, but true.