Every month we get together with Minnesota State Bar Association members for Off the Clock, an informal discussion about tech tools for solo and small firm practitioners.  Once a week we post either a tech or writing tip so you can better yourself two minutes at a time.

One of the best ways to save time is to use keyboard shortcuts.  Your wrist and arm will thank you.

• PC keyboard shortcuts
• Mac keyboard shortcuts
• A comparison chart for PC and Mac shortcuts
• Cheat sheets
• Symbol shortcuts

Don’t try to memorize all the shortcuts from the links above; find a set that you use most often.

My absolute favorite is Find (ctrl+f on a PC, command+f on a Mac).  It works in almost every program, except when you have a PDF that doesn’t recognize the text.  If you’re not sure if it’s working, try searching for a word you know is in the text to test it.And if you’re wondering where the “command” key is on a Mac, it’s the one with the apple.  I actually think of all the shortcuts on a Mac as “apple+f” or “apple+s” and so on.

Other favorites:

• option+6 on a Mac = insert the section symbol

• ctrl+s (PC) / cmd+s (Mac) = Save

• ctrl+p / cmd+p = Print

• ctrl+c / cmd+c = Copy

• ctrl+x / cmd+x = Cut (Remember the “x” is like scissors for “Cut this out!”)

• ctrl+v / cmd+v = Paste (Remember the “v” is paste by thinking of the proofreader’s mark for inserting text.)

• ctrl+k /cmd+k = Insert hyperlink in Office programs.

• ctrl+b / cmd+b = Bold text

• ctrl+i / cmd+i = Italicize text

• ctrl+u / cmd+u = Underline text

• ctrl+n / cmd+n = New Window

• ctrl+w / cmd+w = Close Window

• ctrl+m / cmd+m = Minimize window

• ctrl+a / cmd+a = Select All – Remember “a” for “all.”

My short list is all the ones I know without having to look them up.  Plus most of them are pretty self explanatory.  Remember “f” for “find,”  “s” for “save,” or “p” for “print,” “c” for “copy”… you get the idea. Not rocket science but a big time saver.

As you probably noticed, a nearly universal rule is that the common shortcuts are almost the same between PCs and Macs, just switch between the control and command keys.  Don’t be confused by the control key on the Mac keyboard, but you can pretty much ignore that when it comes to common shortcuts.

What shortcuts would help you the most?  If you’re an IP attorney working on a Mac, try option+2 for the trademark sign, option+g for copyright, and option+r for trademark.  It’s also “fun” to just run through all the keys while holding down the control, command, or option keys, with and without shift.