How to survive in Windows if you have no mouse

Title	How to survive in Windows if you have no mouse
Description	A compilation of some interesting key combinations that allow you to work in Windows 9x without using the mouse
Date	06/02/1999
Last revision

Have you ever had to face a Windows which refused to accept the mouse? Or maybe a friend of yours has begged your help because his mouse had comitted suicide and he doesn't know how to get out of the whole thing?

Windows and the applications designed for it are prepared ( or they should be) to work either with or without a mouse. This is a compilation of some of the Windows 95/98 key functions, for those who love quick actions, those who can't stand mice and those who have suffered their desertion:

Easy keys

Keys	Function
TAB	In a dialog box, select the next element ( button, list, selection box, etc.)
ALT	Open the main menu
ALT + Space	Open the window control menu
F1	Help
ALT + Escape	Change to the next task
ALT + TAB	Change to any active task ( keep ALT pressed while pressing TAB as needed)
CTRL + Escape	Open the Start menu
ALT + F4	Close the active application. If there's no active application, close Windows
CTRL + ALT + DEL	The traditional combination for reset, in Windows brings a Window to close any active application or shut down the system

Drag & drop keys

These ones work when performing a drag&drop action and the allow the user to change the system default behaviour when releasing the mouse button

Keys	Function
CTRL	Copy
SHIFT	Move
CTRL + SHIFT	Create shortcut

Explorer keys

They work in windows generated by the Windows Explorer, including those generated from My PC and the Internet Explorer

Keys	Function
F1	Help
F2	Change the name of the selected element
F3	Find files or folders
F4	Display the address drop down list ( URL in the case of the Internet Explorer, and folder in the case of Windows Explorer windows). The F4 key should alsodisplay any selected drop down list in any Windows application
F5	Update
F10	Open the main menu
F11	Full window view
ALT + Left arrow	Return to the previous folder or page
ALT + Right arrow	Return to the next folder or page
SHIFT + Close window	When the "Open each folder in a new window" option is activated, every time we open a folder, a new window is created to display its contents. When closing one of these windows while pressing SHIFT, all previous windows will be closed too.
SHIFT + Open folder	When the "Open each folder in the same window", every time we open a folder, its contents are displayed in the current window. If we press SHIFT while opening the folder, a new window is created to display its contents
SHIFT + Delete	If we press SHIFT while deleting a file, either pressign DEL or dragging its icon to the Recycle Bin, the file is directly deleted without keeping a copy in the Recycle Bin.
CTRL + TAB	Select the location drop down list ( folder in the Explorer and URL in the Internet Explorer)
SHIFT + Follow hyperlink	Similar to SHIFT + Open folder but in Internet Explorer. When following a hyperlink, the target page is opened in a new window

The Windows key

Keys	Function
+ TAB	Similar to ALT + TAB. The first active application in the Windows task bar is selected. Once this application has been selected, using the arrows you can jump to any active application in the task bar and select it with ENTER or SPACE
+ F	Find files or folders. Similar to F3 from the Windows Explorer, but valid at any time
CTRL + + F	Find PC in the network
+ F1	Show Windows help
+ R	Run, as you can find in the Start menu
+ Pause/Break	Show System Properties page
+ E	Open Windows Explorer
+ D	Show/Hide Windows Desktop. Only for Windows 98
+ M	Minimize all windows
SHIFT + + M	Undo Minimize all windows

Size changing keys

They are active when the options Size or Move are selected in the control menu of any window

Keys	Function
Cursor arrows	Move or change size of the window. Each time you press one arrow the window moves or changes size several pixels
CTRL + Cursor arrows	Move or change size of the window. Each time you press one arrow the window moves or changes size one pixel

Selection keys

They can be used with the mouse or keyboard. They rule the way the systems behaves when selecting an element in an Explorer window or list box that support multiple selections

Keys	Function
SHIFT + click on an element	The system selects all the elements between the previously selected one and the one that have been selected
CTRL + click on an element	The system selects the new element without removing the selection mark from the elements previously selected. We can select several elements that are not close to each other
CTRL + click on an previously selected element	The system removes the selection mark from the element without affecting the rest of selected elements
SHIFT + cursor arrows	The system selects the new element without removing the selection from the previous ones
CTRL + cursor arrows	The cursor focus moves to a new element without selecting it, and without affecting the elements already selected. We can then reach the desired element using the arrows several times. Once we have reached the element we want to select, we should press SPACE to mark it without affecting the rest of selected elements

Document window keys ( MDI)

MDI system( Multiple Document Interface) is the system used by applications as Word or Excel to have several open documents. Each document has its own window, which is a child window, or is contained inside the main window. These applications should have a Window menu with a list of all the open documents

Keys	Function
CTRL + F4	Close the active document
CTRL + F6	Select next active document
CTRL + TAB	Similar to CTRL + F6, but valid only in applications with no special meaning. For instance, this key combination works in Excel, but it doesn't work in Word