We all use computers, and most of us use hundreds of different shortcuts without even realising we are doing it, from browsing the Internet to escaping from a crashed Windows machine. In this article I have chosen my favourite and most used keyboard shortcuts that you probably use everyday without realising.

Esc

The Escape key, I find myself commonly using this whilst instant messaging. With a lack of screen space I generally Esc out of my conversations whilst I’m not chatting.

Alt + Tab

With my busy schedule Alt+Tab allows me to switch between Facebook and Pidgin in an instant – To my surprise I quite often see people look at me strangely when I do this combination.

Alt + Drag

This ones for the Linux users out there, when moving my windows around it can be a pain having to click the top of the window and drag it into place – with Alt + Drag I can click anywhere in a window and move it about. I found myself doing this a lot when using Fluxbox.

Scroll Wheel

This one isn’t a keyboard shortcut however possibly the best invention since sliced bread, in the days before scroll wheels you would actually have to move the mouse and either drag the scrollbar or press the down button – in our modern society the scroll wheel is God.

Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V

Copy and Paste! With a world full of information, we are sharing more than ever. With the practical copy and paste shortcuts ( Windows Style ) we can move information round in an instant. These two shortcuts we all use and probably never think about it!

Alt + F4

When your boss comes in and your on Digg – Alt+F4 comes to the rescue closing the window in an instant. A frequently used shortcut across most operating systems that always seems to come of use.

Ctr + Alt + Del

Back in the day, this was one of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts, well I suppose it had to be really – when a windows system crashed this was your only way out! I still commonly use this when working on windows machines to bring up the task manager.

Ctrl + R

I’ve used the refresh shortcut through many browsers for years, I’ve only recently stopped using it as much due to websites adopting AJAX and various other methods allowing me to sit there staring at irrelevant pages as they reload for me! I still however find myself using Ctrl +R across many websites.

Ctrl + T

This is a more recent shortcut used for creating new tabs in many web browsers, tabs have not been around long however I found myself adopting this shortcut in an instant, I love tabs!

Can you think of any more commonly used shortcuts? Leave a comment below!