Connie's Quick Tips for Windows and the Web
When doing assignments and creating a research log, you can save a lot of time by copying
and pasting information from library catalogs, periodical databases and the Web into a Word
document or email note to yourself. Here are some short cuts. A copy of this guide is also
available on the class web site.
Ctrl N
Alt Tab
Opens a new browser window – either Netscape or Internet
Explorer. You can have several browser windows open at the same
time.
Allows you to switch between any open programs. Hold down the
Alt key with your thumb and press the Tab key. This is generally
faster than clicking on open programs on the status bar at the
bottom of a window or minimizing different windows.
Ctrl A
Selects everything on a page. Good for quickly highlighting all text
on a page. Works with Netscape, IE or any Windows program.
Ctrl C
Copies - Works with Netscape, IE or any Windows program.
Ctrl X
Cuts - Works with Netscape, IE or any Windows program.
Ctrl V
Pastes - Works with Netscape, IE or any Windows program.
Ctrl F
Finds words on a page. Works with Netscape, IE or any Windows
program. Useful for finding a word or section in a very long web
document.
M
Right-click
Copy
Right-click
Paste
Alt
Print Screen
Minimizes all open windows (takes you to desktop)
Quick way to copy a highlighted word or phrase.
Quick way to paste a highlighted word or phrase into a search
screen or anyplace. Sometimes this doesn’t work, for example
when trying to paste a password. If it doesn’t work, try a different
command for pasting, such as Ctrl V, or Edit, paste.
Use for screen captures. Will copy an image of open window onto
your clipboard. Can then paste it into a Word document. However,
the images will make the Word document a very, very large file.
Quick Tips Exercise
1. Open Word or WordPad or an email compose message window, such as Yahoo or Hotmail.
2. Open Internet Explorer (IE) and go to the library’s home page:
http://dept.sccd.ctc.edu/nslib/
3. From the library’s home page, go into the Library Catalog.
4. In the Basic Search mode, do a subject browse search on human evolution
5. Click on the heading Human evolution. From the list of titles on that subject, select the
first book, “African exodus : the origins of modern humanity.”
6. Highlight the title (click and drag the mouse pointer over it). Copy it using any of the copy
commands: Ctrl C, or Edit, Copy, or right-click, Copy.
7. Use Alt Tab to switch to the word processing program you opened – Word or WordPad or
your email message. (Hold down the Alt key then press the Tab key and release it when
the program you want appears in the square.)
8. In the word processing program, use a paste command to paste the title: Ctrl V, or Edit,
Paste, or right-click, Paste.
9. Save the file in the word processing program or the email message.
10. Use Alt Tab to switch back to the library catalog record. Following the same process, copy
the Subject headings and paste them into your word processing file or email message.
11. Use Alt Tab to switch back to the . Now, use Ctrl N to open another browser window. Go
to the LIB150 home page.
12. This is also an excellent way to copy and paste URLs. A URL (uniform resource locator) is
the “address” for a web page, that appears in Location box in Netscape or the Address box
in Internet Explorer. To copy a URL, just click in the address box to highlight it (or click
and drag.) Copy it using any of the copy commands: Ctrl C, or Edit, Copy, or rightclick, Copy. Then paste it into your Word or WordPad or email document, using any of the
paste commands: Ctrl V, or Edit, Paste, or right-click, Paste.