Wilson: Keyboard shortcuts for editing text

Recently, someone asked a great question: Where do you learn keyboard shortcuts? As legal professionals, our work often involves editing text. We want to be able to do that activity as quickly as possible. Studies show that the keyboard is more efficient than a mouse. So how do you go about finding keyboard shortcuts?

Search it

Obviously, a quick search in your favorite search (or ChatGPT) engine will give you a list of keyboard shortcuts. Search for what you are trying to do with the phrase, “(Program name) keyboard shortcut for (fill in the blank),” with what you are trying to do. So, if you are in Microsoft Word, type, “Microsoft Word keyboard shortcut for select entire line.” You will likely find various sources and maybe even some examples that are helpful. Just be careful that you don’t fall into a keyboard shortcut rabbit hole.

Seek help

Most programs have a Help or Search menu. Type in what you need help with and the program will present you with menu options you may not have known about, including keyboard shortcuts. This is useful in Microsoft Office programs, as the search can present menus that might be buried three levels deep on the ribbon, just by typing a few keystrokes.

Microsoft Word for Windows

Windows users have a “super” key in Microsoft Word. If you press the Alt key, you will be presented with what Microsoft calls “Key Tips” with the next key to press to perform an action or select a menu. This allows you to quickly move through the various menus and get what you want done. For example, press Alt and then H to open the Home tab on the ribbon, then FF to go to the font box.

Mobile magic

If you use an iPad with a keyboard, press and hold the Command key for a few seconds and watch what happens: Keyboard shortcuts magically appear. The beauty of this is that it is “contextual,” meaning that the program gives you the most relevant shortcuts for what you are trying to do at that moment.

Copy and paste

Probably the best way to start seeing the value of keyboard shortcuts is to pick one and learn it. One of the first ones to learn is copy and paste. These two function as a “set”; you copy something from somewhere and then paste it somewhere else.

In almost all programs, pressing the Control (Ctrl) and C key at the same time while text is selected will copy that text to the computer’s clipboard. One confusing thing when you first start using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl C is that you often don’t know if pressing those keys actually did anything. An example here might help.

Open a new Word document and type in, “I’m a keyboard ninja.” Select that text and press Ctrl C on your keyboard. Press Enter to create a new line. Now, press Ctrl V (the “paste” keyboard shortcut). You should see the phrase you typed above pasted into your document.

If you already knew that combination, think about how you selected the text. Did you use the mouse? How could you use the keyboard to select the text, copy it and paste it?

Pointing in the right direction

The arrow keys are some of my favorite keyboard keys. You can move the cursor up and down lines quickly in your text using just the arrow keys. This allows you to get words on the page/screen and then quickly go back and make edits later, keeping you in a productive state.

The power comes from adding a couple modifier keys to the arrow keys to make it even faster. You can skip words, lines or paragraphs simply by pressing an additional key with the arrow key. For example, holding the Shift key and pressing the arrow key will select text in the direction of the arrow key used (i.e., up, down, right or left). This is a great way to quickly select words for editing.

Copy vs. cut

Using Ctrl C will allow you to copy text, but what if you want to “cut” it from one place to another? Simply change the “C” to an “X.” Ctrl X will “cut” the selected text and allow you to paste it elsewhere in your document. Paste is still Ctrl V.

Get started

Start using Ctrl C and Ctrl V. Then, add Ctrl X to expand your toolbox. Add in the Shift arrow key for selecting text. Soon, you will want to know how to select a line, paragraph or every word in the document using your keyboard.

Note: On a Mac, you would use Command C, Command V or Command X.•

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Seth R. Wilson is an attorney with Adler Attorneys in Noblesville. In addition to practicing law, he helps manage the day-to-day technology operations of the firm. He writes about legal technology at sethrwilson.com and is a frequent speaker on the subject. Opinions expressed are those of the author.