What do the "Function Keys" Do on a Keyboard?

Function Keys are those marked F1 - F12 Keys located across the top of most keyboards.  The following is a "generic" list of the commands those keys will do:

F1	Brings up the help screen
F2	Renames any file or folder that you have highlighted
F3	To search for a file or folder
F4	Display the address bar list in Windows Explorer
F5	Refresh the active window
F6	Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F7	Doesn’t have any function in Windows, but will work for various commands in different application software programs
F8	This key is normally used to access Safe Mode (a trouble shooting mode that starts the computer with as few drivers as possible) when it is pressed during the computer’s boot up process.
F9	Doesn’t have any function in Windows, but will work for various commands in different application software programs
F10	Activate the menu bar in the active program
F11	This is a toggle key which allows you to go to Full Screen Mode on the Internet when using Browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Chrome & Firefox
F12	Doesn’t have any function in Windows, but will work for various commands in different application software programs

On some keyboards, including laptops and portable devices – the Function Keys will have “icons” on them – depending on the manufacturer, you will have to use your Fn key to activate either the Function Key or the Icon commands

Portable computers have Fn keys (because for their overall fewer numbers of keys).  In some cases the Fn key is a different style or color, so that corresponding other keys on the keyboard in that same color or style require you to use the Fn key to activate that specific command

Keyboard Shortcuts with the CTRL Key

Using Keyboard shortcuts – is often a quicker and easier way to activate a command than grabbing for the mouse…

Try using some of these popular keyboard shortcuts with the CTRL KEY (remember  a full keyboard has two (2) CTRL KEYS on the bottom keyboard row - one on the right and one on the left of the space bar, whereas many laptops, notebooks, etc only have one due to space  constraints.

• CTRL KEY - Holding the CTRL KEY down and pressing other key combinations will initiate quite a few actions (including these noted to the right) The commands vary based on what program you are in..

• CTRL with the + or – will magnify or de-magnify what you are seeing on the monitor when you are on the Internet; Great when you forget your glasses or reading fine print

• CTRL + H: In Word this opens the Find/Replace Dialog Box; but when you are on the Internet this opens the browsing HISTORY

• CTRL + N: On the Internet, this opens New Window; In Outlook, this opens a New Mail Message; In most WP programs, like Word & Excel, it opens a New Document

• CTRL + P: In most application programs (Word or on the Internet) this will open your Print Dialog Box so you can choose what you want to print and how many

• CTRL + S: In most application programs, this will open the SAVE Dialog Box

• CTRL + T: On the Internet, this will open a new TAB for tabbed browsing

• CTRL + A: Will highlight (same as select all command) everything in a document (word, excel, power point allowing you to change formatting etc) or, use CTRL + A when you want to highlight all the files or folders to copy and or move them to another location - such as to & from your computer and or flash or portable hard drive.. 

Cloud Computing & Syncing

CLOUD COMPUTING – simply means an online (or off-site) storage location for those things we normally save on our computers: documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, photos, music, videos etc will now also be saved in the "clouds" so that we can access from anywhere in the world, anytime....

These are just a few of popular cloud computing services - almost all offer some FREE online storage as well as a variety of paid storage plans - Even as I am preparing this information, the amount of free storage is changing, as are the rates & programs for paid storage - so do your homework... 

• GoogleDrive
• SkyDrive - those with Hotmail/Live accounts get some storage free on Sky Drive 
• Apple iCloud
• Amazon Cloud
• DropBox

When we use these services including MSN  (hotmail, live accounts) or Google (Gmail accounts) or iCloud (Apple) accounts one major advantage is that each time you're connected to the Internet and make changes to data, files, photos etc. you can choose to have your account "sync" to your multiple devices.  

"Syncing" can include documents, photo, music, apps, emails, contacts, calendars etc. changed on one device will now appear on all devices that are in "sync" (desktop, laptop, iPhone, Smartphone, tablet, iPad etc.. - Making life much easier and saving confusion, time and money (not having to buy books, music, movies, apps for each individual device)...

You want to be careful that information you are putting in the clouds is NOT COPYRIGHTED, because if they are, that could potentially be in breach of copyright laws and the files could get deleted or your account suspended because of this.  

I think many of us feel more comfortable storing Music files on an external or portable hard drive..but you can certainly upload them to any of the Clouds..

File Extensions - What are they?

The following is a list of some of the most popular "file extensions" you will see on your computer and or receive in an email...  File Extensions tell the computer the specific type of "file" something is...    Note if any file extension has an "x" at the end of it, it is an indication it was done in one of the Office 2007, 2010, 2013 programs... (ie.e docx; xlsx, pptx)
Extension	Example File Type
zip	Zip archive
pdf	PDF Document
mp3	MP3 Audio File
jpg	JPEG Image
exe	Executable file
wmv	Windows Media Video
doc	Microsoft Word Document
ppt	Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
mpg	MPEG-1 Video
tif	Tagged Image File Format
wav	Waveform Audio Format
mov	QuickTime
psd	Photoshop Document
wma	Windows Media Audio
xls	Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
mp4	MPEG-4 Part 14
txt	Plain text file
bmp	Windows bitmap
pps	PowerPoint Show
aif	Audio Interchange File
pub	Microsoft Publisher
gif	GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) Image
qbb	QuickBooks backup file
dat	Data
rm	RealMedia
mdb	Microsoft Access
htm	Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
flv	Flash video
wpd	WordPerfect Document
rtf	Rich Text Format
jpeg	JPEG image
html	Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document
pst	Microsoft Personal STorage
ttf	TrueType font
mswmm	Windows Movie Maker Project File
eml	E-mail message
bat	Batch file
wps	Text document; MS Works