Get social with Ctrl + Shift + M

UK office workers spend an average of 3 months a year on e-mail, so spend this time wisely. Instead of awkwardly reaching away from your keyboard every time you need to send something new, press Ctrl + Shift + M to instantly get started on a new e-mail.

Reply at lightning speed with Ctrl + R

We all appreciate a quick e-mail response, especially when a simple “ok” is enough to get the job done. While viewing a received email, hit Ctrl + R to open a response immediately. Bonus points for responding before your recipient can minimise Outlook. (By the way, you can do that with Windows + M).

Relieve stress with Shift + L/R Arrow keys

Copying a couple of sentences from a longer body of text is about as finicky as simple IT tasks can get. No one has ever managed to copy exactly what they wanted in one attempt by dragging a mouse; there’s always a pesky space at the beginning, along with half of the following sentence at the end.  Making use of the shift key will mark the end of this frustration.  Simply click where you want to start, hold Shift, and use the arrow keys to select your text one character at a time.

Pro-Tip: Speed things up by simultaneously holding Ctrl to highlight entire words.

Rename files fast with F2

Renaming files is a common occurrence for any IT related role. Managing a vast number of files requires a high degree of organisation; otherwise your projects can devolve into a complete mess. To keep on top of your file names more quickly, simply highlight a file using the arrow keys, and hit F2 to start editing. Once complete, hit the enter key to save the new name.

Pro-Tip: Hold Shift while using the arrow keys to highlight multiple files at once. Hitting F2 will then allow you give all of these files the same name. (Your PC will automatically number them).

Cut the rubbish with Ctrl + Shift + V

Sometimes you just need to carry out a simple copy and paste in your browser, but the atrocious formatting that the original writer used decides to leave its stench on your work. To avoid the tediousness of manually re-typing the desired text, (or pasting it into a .txt file, for those of us who thought we were pros), simply copy the text as usual by highlighting it and hitting Ctrl + C, and then use CTRL + Shift + V to paste it as beautiful, plain text.

Multitask with Ctrl + T

While browsing the web, hit Ctrl + T to open a new tab. The cursor will automatically be active in the address bar, allowing you to type a web address or search phrase.