Q. I bet that you are the fastest typist in the West! I heard you say on your national radio show that you find using a mouse cumbersome. So, what’s your secret to writing all that you do for us so quickly? I use Microsoft Word.

A. If you were to see me use a computer, you might be amazed at how little I actually use the mouse. I tend to do much of my moving around on the screen using the keyboard. Here are some of my favorite keyboard shortcuts.

Let's start with the WinKey. This is the key with the backwards Windows flag or logo on it, which you may not have, depending on your keyboard.

WinKey + D =  Minimizes all windows and shows the desktop
WinKey + L =  Locks the computer (Windows XP only)
WinKey + Tab = Cycles through the programs shown on the taskbar
WinKey + F = Brings up the Windows Search box
WinKey+E =  Opens up Windows Explorer
WinKey + R =  Opens the Run dialog box
WinKey + Pause = Opens System Properties

Using the keyboard, you might find these useful.

SHIFT+F10 =  Same as right-clicking an object
CTRL+ESC =  Opens the Start menu
SHIFT =  Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the auto-run feature
ALT+underlined letter in menu =  Opens the menu
ALT+F4 =  Closes the current program
CTRL+F4 =  Closes the current window in a program
ALT+F6 =  Switches between multiple windows in the same program
CTRL+Tab =  Switches between multiple tabbed windows in the same program
SHIFT+DELETE =  Deletes selection immediately, without it hitting the Recycle Bin