100 Very Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 7

100 Very Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 7

Windows Nipun Parikh   5/08/2014 11:34:00 AM

100 Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 7

We Windows users are comfortable with our mouse, but sometimes knowing the right keyboard shortcut key can really save time, and increase efficiency at work. So here are 100 keyboard shortcuts for Windows 7 which will be useful for daily tasks. Also check out some tips to speed up your computer by doing some simple steps: Speed Up Your Computer.

Here the WIN stands for the Windows key, between the CTRL and ALT keys:

The WINdows Key

Keystroke	Function
WIN	Open Start Menu
WIN+E	My Computer
WIN+R	Open RUN Dialog Box
WIN+F	Open Search Window
WIN+U	Ease of Access Center
WIN+X	Opens Windows Mobility Center (For Notebooks)
WIN+CTRL+F	Opens the Find Computer Dialog Box
WIN+Pause/Break	Open the Computer Properties Window (System Page)
WIN+P	Choose Network Projector Display Mode
WIN+0,1….	Opens the program pinned to the taskbar. Pressing WIN+0 will open the first program pinned to the taskbar, WIN+1 will open the next and so on, or accesses a running program
WIN+SHIFT+0,1….	Opens a new instance of the program pinned on the taskbar, indicated by 0 for first program, 1 for second and so on
WIN+CTRL+0,1….	Accesses the last active instance of the program pinned on the taskbar, similar to above
WIN+ALT+0,1…	Opens the jump list or the right click menu of the program pinned on the taskbar, similar to right clicking, 0 for the first program, and so on
WIN+B	Select the first item in the notification area on the lower right, and then use arrow keys to select the desired item, press enter to see it
WIN+CTRL+B	Access the program which is currently displaying a notification or message in the notification area in the lower right
WIN+T	Cycle through the items on the Taskbar
WIN+M	Minimize all Windows
WIN+SHIFT+M	Restore all minimized windows
WIN+D	Show or Hide Desktop (It minimizes/restores all Windows)
WIN+L	Locks the computer, and displays the login screen
WIN+TAB	Accesses the WINDOWS FLIP 3D function, and cycle through all open applications, forward
WIN+SHIFT+TAB	Accesses the WINDOWS FLIP 3D function, and cycle through all open applications, backward
WIN+CTRL+TAB	Opens the WINDOWS FLIP 3D function as a stationary object, use the arrow keys to select the window, then press enter
WIN+SPACEBAR	Preview the desktop, makes all windows transparent
WIN+G	Cycles through all gadgets
WIN+UP ARROW	Maximize the current Window
WIN+DOWN ARROW	Minimize the current Window
WIN+HOME	Minimize all windows, except the current Window
WIN+LEFT ARROW	Tiles the current Window to the left of the screen
WIN+RIGHT ARROW	Tiles the current Window to the right of the screen
WIN+SHIFT+UP ARROW	Extend the current Window from the top to the bottom the screen
WIN+SHIFT+LEFT/RIGHT ARROW	Move the current Window to the next monitor
WIN+F1	Windows Help and Support Screen
ALT	Displays the hidden menu bar
ALT+D	Selects the address bar of the application
ALT+P	Enable/Disable the Preview Pane in Windows Explorer
ALT+TAB	Cycle through the open Windows, Forward
ALT+SHIFT+TAB	Cycle through the open Windows, Backward
ALT+F4	Quit/Close the current Window, shut down windows dialog box from desktop
ALT+SPACEBAR	Access the shortcut menu for the current Window
ALT+ESC	Cycle between programs in the order in which they were opened
ALT+ENTER	Open the properties dialog box of the selected item
ALT+PRINTSCREEN	Take the screenshot of the ACTIVE WINDOW and place it on clipboard
ALT+UP ARROW	Move up one folder level in Windows Explorer
ALT+LEFT ARROW	Display the previous folder
ALT+RIGHT ARROW	Display the next folder
SHIFT+INSERT CD/DVD	Load CD/DVD without Autoplay/Autorun
SHIFT+DELETE	Permanently delete the item, without sending it to recycle bin, cannot undo
SHIFT+F6	Cycle backwards through the elements of a window or dialog box
SHIFT+F10	Access the context menu of the selected item
SHIFT+TAB	Cycle backwards through the elements of a window or dialog box
SHIFT+CLICK	Select a consecutive set of items, it selects from beginning to the click
SHIFT+CLICK on taskbar	Launches a new instance of a program
CTRL+A	Select ALL items
CTRL+C	Copy the selected item
CTRL+X	Cut the selected item
CTRL+V	Paste the selected item
CTRL+D	Delete the selected item (send to recycle bin)
CTRL+Z	UNDO
CTRL+Y	REDO
CTRL+N	Open a new window (in most applications)
CTRL+W	Close the current window (in most applications)
CTRL+E	Select the search box in the upper right corner of the window
CTRL+SHIFT+N	Create a new folder
CTRL+ESC	Open the start menu
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC	Open Windows Task Manager
CTRL+ALT+TAB	Cycle through open windows using arrow keys
CTRL+ALT+DELETE	Access the windows security screen, access the task manager. IT IS THE TOP LEVEL INTERRUPT IN WINDOWS, BYPASSES ALL APPLICATIONS, AND BRINGS THE SECURITY SCREEN, INTERUPPTS ALL APPLICATIONS
CTRL+MOUSE SCROLL WHEEL	Change the view size of icons or text in windows explorer or most other applications
CTRL+CLICK	Select multiple items, by holding CTRL and clicking on different items
CTRL+CLICK & DRAG ITEM	Creates a copy of the item in the same folder
CTRL+SHIFT+CLICK & DRAG ITEM	Creates a shortcut of the item in the same folder
CTRL+TAB	Cycle through the tabs of the application
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB	Cycle backward through the tabs of the application
CTRL+SHIFT+CLICK ON TAKBAR BUTTON	Launch a new instance of the application as an Administrator
CTRL+CLICK ON GROUPED TASKBAR BUTTON	Switch between the instances of the program
F1	Display help dialog box of the application
F2	Rename File
F3	Open search
F4	Display address bar list
F5	Refresh display
F6	Cycle between the elements of a window or a dialog box
F7	Display command history in a command prompt screen
F10	Display hidden menu bar in Windows Explorer
F11	Toggle Full Screen display
TAB	Cycle through the elements of a window or a dialog box
PRINTSCREEN	Take a screenshot of the entire screen and place it on the clipboard
3 (Application Key before CTRL key)	Open the context menu for the selected item
HOME	Move to the top of the active window; move to the beginning of a line
END	Move the end of the active window; move to the end of a line
DELETE	Delete the selected item
Backspace	General left side text delete key; display the previous folder in Windows Explorer
ESC	Close a dialog box
NUM LOCK ENABLED + (PLUS +)	Display the contents of the selected folder, in windows explorer left pane
NUM LOCK ENABLED + (MINUS -)	Collapse the selected folder, in windows explorer left pane
NUM LOCK ENABLED + (ASTERISK *)	Expand all subfolders under the selected folder, in windows explorer left pane
PRESS SHIFT KEY 5 TIMES	Turn Sticky Keys ON/OFF
PRESS & HOLD RIGHT SHIFT FOR 8 SECONDS	Turn Filter Keys ON/OFF
PRESS & HOLD NUM LOCK FOR 5 SECONDS	Turn Toggle Keys ON/OFF

The most essential Plugins and Add-ons for Mozilla Firefox.

The most essential Plugins and Add-ons for Mozilla Firefox.

technology Nipun Parikh   5/03/2014 01:35:00 PM

Best Plugins for Firefox

Mozilla Firefox, the free and open-source, is the third most used Web Browsers, only behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Google's Chrome. Firefox is liked by many people because of its stability, security, and large amount of available plugins. Firefox is the preferred browser for many professional internet users, because of its interface. If you are using Firefox, then you must be using some plugins. Plugins make web browsing more easy and efficient. One tip for everyone is to remove ALL unnecessary and unknown extensions and plugins. Some of them may be malicious viruses and may harm your computer, sometimes stealing your personal data. Also refrain from using more than one toolbar. Here are some of the best and essential Firefox Plugins:

1)Noscript (Noscript Security Suite)

Noscript is an open-source extension available free for Mozilla Firefox. It is a security suite as it allows you to block JavaScript, Flash, and other plugins. Essentially it makes web browsing more safer for you. It also blocks some malicious scripts from web pages to execute. If you have a slow internet connection, then you can speed up loading web pages by disabling all the plugins on the page, so Advertisements, and other scripts will not load, and most pages will load very fast. You can download it here.

2)gTranslate

gTranslate is a translation plugin, which makes it very easy to translate words on the go. You just have to select the word, and right click, and you can instantly see the translation in the language you want! It make translation very fast. Give it a try here. 

3)Flash Video Downloader (FVD)

Almost all of us would download videos from the internet, from Youtube, from TED or from other sites. This extension allows you to download videos from almost all sites. You can download videos with just a click. Also you can download the video in different formats and different qualities. Download Flash Video Downloader here for Firefox.

 

4)Groowe Search Toolbar

There are many useless toolbars out there for Firefox, which just load up your system, and slow down Firefox. But this one is a light and easy to use toolbar which makes searching much easier. It supports lots of search engines, including Youtube. Download Groowe Search Toolbar here.

How to book Tickets with IRCTC, Tips for Travelling Smart with Indian Railways.

How to book Tickets with IRCTC, Tips for Travelling Smart with Indian Railways.

Tutorials Nipun Parikh   4/28/2014 03:25:00 PM

Indian Railways

Indian Railways is one of the largest railway network in the world, with about 1,15,000 KM of railway tracks. It is also one of the largest employer in the world. IRCTC - Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, is a part of Indian Railways, that handles the catering, tourism and online catering of Indian Railways. Almost anyone who has visited India, and almost all Indians, must have traveled in Indian Railways. It is a fun experience! We love the sleeper coaches in our trains, and we have a reason for that too. Where would you find such 3 layer sleeping berths in trains around the world? We Indians indulge in eating a lot of things in trains like the bhel, the "Cut-les", the VadaPav! And there might be rare people who don't drink "Chai" at the railway station or in the trains. Indian Railways has gone a long change since the first railway line was established in 1853 from Mumbai to Thane.

Traveling in Indian Railways is fun. But it can be a more pleasant experience if you know some things about it. Traveling smart is very important for everyone, to enhance their experience. Since the last few years, I have been extensively using my computer and internet for planning my journeys. So whenever I travel, I have complete information of the trains, including the make/type of the engine, its capacity, the coach information, the seating layout, the ticket system, station details, route details, and a lot more. So lets see some things which you should know about Indian Railways.

1)Seating Layout

There is a predefined seating layout for all the coaches in the trains. Rajdhani and Shatabdi though have a different layout. Gone are the days, when you need to go the station, and look the number of the seat you want in the train. Today, you can just look for the seat you have got in the ticket, or the seat you want in seating charts/diagrams. You can find the seat charts on erail.in(link). You will need to learn some abbreviations:

W-Window

M-Middle

A-Aisle

SL-Side Lower/ Sleeper

SU-Side Upper

UB-Upper Berth

MB-Middle Berth

LB-Lower Berth

For example if you get number 13 in a sleeper coach, then by looking at the chart, we can know that it will be a middle berth in the coach. Sometimes though, the numbers do differ from the charts. This usually happens for Chair Cars, and 2 Seater coaches.

2)Coach Composition Placement

Knowing that your coach will be placed where in the train is very important, especially when you have a lot of luggage and people, and you cant afford to run like athletes on the station platform. Go to Indiarailinfo, and enter the number of your train in the train section on the top. After that click on timetable, and you will see the Coach Composition. For example, lets see the image below:

Here we can see the coach composition of a train. We are interested in knowing the placement of engine first. And then looking our desired coach after the engine. As you can see in the image (click to enlarge), ENG is the ENGINE, following it is SLR, it stands for the guard van. So suppose we have a reservation in S1 coach, it is very far from the engine, near the end. At the station, we can ask that from which direction the train will come, and accordingly we can go and stand at the location where our location will come. So in the above case, if the train is coming from east , we would have to go the east ending part on the platform, because the engine is going in the west direction. Most stations do have screens and markers indicating where the coach would come, but some small stations don't have them. 

3)Tickets and Availability

The most important thing for traveling in the train, is a ticket! As we all know, getting a ticket for Indian Railways is sometimes very difficult, specially when you just make a plan and want a ticket. Sometimes there are reservations for months together. First thing I would like to tell you, is to use IRCTC's website for booking tickets. It is very convenient and also provides multiple payment options, including net banking, you can enable net banking for most banks. But if you prefer to book tickets offline, then I would like to give you a tip. Most third party ticketing agents charge a premium of about 20-30 per ticket, depending on the type of ticket, and they charge more during peak seasons. And most people don't want to stand for long hours on the railway stations. So one thing you can do is get a ticket from Post Offices. Yes, the major post offices provide a counter to book railway tickets. Check this at the largest Post Office in your city. Most people don't know about this, so its an advantage, and you will find shorter queues. 

Always check the availability of each train in your route. You can check the availability at erail.in very easily, or at indiarailinfo.com. Just enter the source station, and the destination station, select your journey date, and you have a list of trains. You can sort the list by day, by seating class, by arrival/departure time etc. by clicking on the respective text. It will also show you the availability for all the trains. If the seats are not available, then you can try Tatkal Quota, and see if the seats are available, although tatkal fares will be more than regular fares.

Look for any holiday special trains. Indian Railways puts some special trains for busy routes on peak periods. List of holiday special trains here.

4)Planning your journey

Planning your journey is very important. If you are going for sight seeing many places, or a pilgrimage, or a large tour comprising of many cities, then you can try the Circular Journey Tickets. This are special tickets, which you can buy for a circular journey, i.e. starting at a station, going through many stations once, and ending at the first station. The advantage of circular tickets is that you have a single ticket for the entire journey, and also they have a reduction in fare then individual tickets. More information can be found on the Indian Railways website. 

Sometimes the place you want to go might not have a station. You can always look for the nearest stations by searching for the place's information on internet. For example we once decided visiting Mahabaleshwar. Now as Mahabaleshwar is a hill station, a train obviously cannot go there. So we searched a bit, and found Wathar station, which was at the bottom of Mahabaleshwar, about 60 kms away. We took a train to Wathar station, and from there took a taxi to Mahabaleshwar. Always look for the nearest station, because if there's a railway station, then there's large possibility that you will find taxis easily.

Also holiday by trains is possible. You can book a complete holiday trip, traveling the major part of it in trains. Check out the available holiday packages here at Rail Tourism India. 

These were some tips which you can follow, and ride smart in trains. Have something to say? Comment it below in the comment box.