Glossary

A keyboard shortcut is a key combination that performs a certain command, such as closing a window or saving a file. For example, pressing "Control-S" in a Windows program or "Command-S" on the Mac is the standard shortcut for saving an open document. You can also usually close a window on the Mac by pressing "Command-W" or by pressing "Alt-F4" in Windows. The shortcut for copying data is usually "Control-C" (Windows) or "Command-C" (Mac) and for pasting data, it is "Control-V" (Windows) or "Command-V" (Mac).

Most keyboard shortcuts are shortcuts for commands located in a program's menu bar. For example, most of the commands within the File and Edit menus have standard shortcuts. Each command that has a keyboard shortcut usually has the shortcut listed next to the command in the menu. For example, the Save option in a Windows program will usually have the text "Ctrl+S" next to it, indicating that pressing Control and S together will save the document.

While most keyboard shortcuts are located in a program's menu bar, there are many keyboard shortcuts that are sometimes not visible to the user. To view a list of keyboard shortcuts available for the Macintosh and Windows operating systems, view the pages below:

Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts | Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts