Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

Series Summary

Computers are complex machines built upon very simple principles. They perform arithmetical operations millions of times over to transform digital information, moving at lightning speed, into usable human data.

A personal computer's job is to help a user create, manipulate, deliver, receive, or delete media content. This is a simple, sterile definition that sounds uninteresting on the surface. Nevertheless, these fundamental functions mimic human ability in some surprising ways. Therefore, the computer is increasingly becoming an engine of the imagination, a platform for the digital life.

The computer’s basic functionality is behind the growing demand for improved home computing capability. It has driven much of the computer industry to continually construct hardware and software systems that can meet and exceed the expectations of the computer user, whose wants are manifold and myriad.

In this free online computer training course, learn some of the basic skills of personal computing with the Microsoft Windows operating system, including how to use a computer keyboard, how to burn a CD, how to organize files, and how to find lost information. Watch these computer training videos for important beginner computer techniques.

Video Transcript

"Hi! I’m Ross. Thanks for visiting expertvillage.com. What can we do with computer files? Let’s find out. Let’s talk about the keyboard. You have the normal area, where you type here, and you have your function keys across the top, and then some specialized keys to the side and your arrow keys here. But in file navigation and program control, you have some other specialized keys that you will use often. Specifically, you have the Control, the Alt, the Escape key, and the Windows key. Now, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re not sure what the command is or what it’s trying to do, you can push the Escape key and it will typically back you out from what you’re doing. With the Control key, you can use that in combination with other keys. Like for instance, Control C to copy. So you actually hold down the Control key and then push the C key. Here we have the Windows key, and this is great for starting some built-in commands. Like for instance, Windows, hold it down and press the E key. It will start Windows Explorer, which we will be using a lot. On the other side of the keyboard, we have the Enter key. It’s synonymous with return. So either enter or return means this key right here. "