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Windows 95 Shortcuts

Add an item to the Start Menu. Drag icon over Start button OR Right click on Start button. Select open. The Start Menu folder opens on the Desktop. Select File New Shortcut and the rest is easy!

What will dragging a file do? Drag files with the right mouse button. This give you the option of copying, moving, or creating a shortcut.

Where is that file? Find in the start menu is powerful and very quick. You can search for type of docs, for text in files etc.

Change the name of that shortcut. Windows 95 by default will update the shortcut. If the shortcut is not updated, it will be updated when you run the shortcut.

Right Mouse Button and the Shift Key. After Windows 3.1, Windows users the world over have become very "left button-centric." With Windows 95, the right mouse button is liberally implemented. It adds considerable power to the use of the mouse. In addition, the SHIFT key often adds even more power to that right-click!

Here's just a few "Right-Shift" tricks:

To format a disk drive, right click on that drive's icon in Explorer or in My Computer.

To minimize, cascade, or tile all windows, right click on the Taskbar.

To empty the Recycle Bin quickly, right click on its' icon on the Desktop.

To close, restore, maximize, or minimize a window, right click on its' button on the Taskbar.

If a file has an associated application, but you would like to open it with a different application, hold down the shift key and right click on its' icon.

To restart Windows without restarting the computer, go to the shutdown menu and choose Restart the computer. When you click OK, hold down the shift key.

To launch Explorer on a drive or folder, right click on the icon, instead of double-clicking.

To permanently delete file(s) instead of sending it to the Recycle Bin, hold down the SHIFT key and press DELETE, or right click on the file(s) and then hold down the SHIFT key before selecting Delete from the context menu.

Short Cuts for Objects, Folders, and Explorer The following brief procedures and tables summarize the standard shortcuts for working with objects in the Windows 95 user interface, including folders on the desktop and Windows Explorer.

To copy a file

Press CTRL while you drag the file to a folder.

To create a shortcut

Press CTRL+SHIFT while you drag the file to the desktop or a folder.

To close the current folder and all its parent folders

Press SHIFT and click the Close button on the folder.

To tab through pages in a properties dialog box

Press CTRL+TAB or CTRL+SHIFT+TAB.

To switch between opening a new window and closing an existing window

Press CTRL and double-click a folder.

If you have more than one window open, this operation closes the active window. If you have only one window open, this operation opens a new window.

To bypass Auto-Run when inserting a compact disc

Press SHIFT while inserting the compact disc.

To quickly change Wallpaper

Drag the file name of a .BMP or .RLE file to the Control Panel's Desktop dialog box. This instantly installs the bitmap as Desktop Wallpaper, and saves you from having to type the file name and full path into the dialog box.

A shortcut to the Start Menu

Open Explorer, and open the Start Menu folder. Create a shortcut to the Start Menu, and place it on the Desktop. There, you'll have one click access to all that is in that menu

Shortcuts for a Selected Object.

Shortcut Action

F2 Rename

F3 Find

CTRL+X Cut

CTRL+C Copy

CTRL+V Paste

DEL key Delete

SHIFT+DEL Delete file immediately without putting it in Recycle Bin

ALT+ENTER Display properties

ALT+d.click Display properties

CTRL+r.click Place alternative commands on the context menu (Open With)

SHIFT+d.click Explore an object; if the object does not have an Explore command, this starts the default action (usually the Open command)

Managing Folders and Windows Explorer.

Shortcut Action

F4 In Explorer, display the combo box and move the input focus to the list

F5 Refresh display

F6 In Explorer, move the focus between panes

CTRL+G In Windows Explorer, choose the Go To command

CTRL+Z Undo

CTRL+A Select All

BACKSPACE Go to the parent folder

Shortcuts in the Windows Explorer Tree.

Shortcut Action

* keypad Expand everything under the selection

+ keypad Expand the selection

- keypad Collapse the selection

R. ARROW Expand the current selection if it is not expanded; otherwise, go to the first child

L. ARROW Collapse current selection if it is expanded; otherwise, go to the parent

CTRL+arrow Scroll without moving the selection

Shortcuts in the Common Open and Save dialogs.

Shortcut Action

F4 Display the Look In list

F5 Refresh the view

BACKSPACE Go to the parent folder if the focus is on the View window

General Keyboard-Only Commands. The following table shows commands for completing actions from the keyboard:

General Keyboard-Only Commands

Shortcut Action

F1 Start Help

F10 Go to menu mode

SHIFT+F10 Display context menu for selected item

CTRL+ESC Display Start menu and move the focus to the taskbar

CTRL+ESC, ESC Move the focus on the taskbar so you can use TAB and then SHIFT+F10 for context menu, or use TAB and arrow key to change tasks, or use TAB to go to the desktop

ALT+TAB Switch to the next running application

ALT+M When the focus is on the taskbar or desktop, minimize all windows and move the focus to the desktop

ALT+S When no windows are open and no items are selected on the desktop, display the Start menu; then use arrow keys to select menu commands

Accessibility Short Cuts. The following table summarizes the Windows 95 shortcuts for Accessibility features. For information about these features, see Accessibility.

Accessibility Shortcuts

Shortcut Action

Press these keys:

SHIFT 5 times Toggle StickyKeys on and off

R.SHIFT for 8 seconds Toggle FilterKeys on and off

NUMLOCK for 5 seconds Toggle ToggleKeys on and off

L.ALT+L.SHIFT+NUMLOCK Toggle MouseKeys on and off

L.ALT+L.SHIFT+ PRINTSCREEN Toggle HighContrast on and off

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Keys. The following table summarizes the shortcut keys available on the Microsoft Natural Keyboard:

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Keys

Shortcut Action

WIN+R Display Run dialog box

WIN+M Minimize All

SHIFT+WIN+M Undo Minimize All

WIN+F1 Start Help

WIN+E Start Windows Explorer

WIN+F Find files or folders

CTRL+WIN+F Find computer

WIN+TAB Cycle through taskbar buttons

WIN+BREAK Hot key to display System properties dialog box

Quicker font installations. You can go through the Fonts folder in Control Panel, and select Install New Font from the File Menu. Then, up pops the Add Fonts dialog, basically just like it did in Windows 3.1 and 3.11. But, in Windows 95, there is a new rub. Font installation is fully supported by Drag and Drop, so all you need to do is open up your Fonts folder, and drag whichever font(s) you wish to install. The neat thing with this is that the font(s) that you have just dragged into the Fonts folder immediately appear in all of the applications that use True Type fonts! No more tinkering with the [Fonts] sections of .INI files. If you have allowed Windows 95 to install the default FONTS folder inside the Windows 95 folder, then you'll need to hold down the SHIFT key while dragging the file into the Fonts folder. This prevents it from being copied into the Windows 95 System sub-folder, which would needlessly double the amount of disk space consumed.

Create a "Print To File" print driver. To create a generic driver for printing text to a file, go to the Printers folder in Control Panel. Double-Click on Add Printer, choosing "Local Printer" and "Generic" from the Manufacturer menu, and "Generic/Text Only" in Printers. Choose "FILE:" from Available Ports, clicking Next a few times to create the Printer. Right-Click on the new printer icon when it appears, choose Properties, select the paper tab, changing the Paper Source to "Continuous-No Page Break" and click on OK. You might also wish to change the name of this printer to "Print To File."

Quit Windows in a flash. Because of the Registry, Windows 95 is extremely methodical about shutting itself down. To make sure that it is done right, the GODS of GUI have even included the "soon to be infamous" Shut Down on the Start Menu. You have to click on the Start button and select Shut Down from the menu. A dialog box appears, giving the user the choice of either; shutting down completely, restarting the PC, exiting to MS-DOS "mode" or, if you have a network configured, to log on as a different user. The "restart your PC" option cycles completely through the boot process; self test, memory countdown, anti-virus scanning, CD-ROM drive configuration, well, you get the idea. You may as well go get a cup of coffee, with some systems you actually may have enough time to do so. Well, fortunately, we have discovered some shortcuts for shutting down Windows quickly: Hold down the SHIFT key when selecting the OK button to restart your PC, when selecting that choice from the Shut Down dialog. This next one works even better (and FASTER!): Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to bring up the Close Program dialog box. In this dialog, select "Explorer" and click on End Task. Explorer is the Windows 95 "Shell" so the system assumes you are trying to quit and displays the Shut Down dialog. Click on NO. Then, another box will pop up, and there you select End Task. This will shut down the Explorer "Shell". But, what actually will happen is you will see your Desktop rebuild itself in a matter of a handful of seconds (literally). Windows 95 cannot properly run without Explorer, so it automatically restarts Explorer, rereading the entire Registry in the process. So, this last "quickie" you may use especially if you are in the middle of a hot n' heavy Registry editing session, and would rather not waste an eternity waiting for the changes to take effect during all those endless reboots.