Simple Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

Today we are going to go through some of the coolest Windows keyboard shortcuts that you may or may not have ever known about.  I know some of you are mouse clickers, but you can increase your productivity if you learn just a few quick keyboard shortcuts.  

The Easy Ones
To practice these, open a Google Doc or Word Doc and type something.  Then use the following keyboard shortcuts.  I use these all the time to save myself time.  (Consider not practicing the Print shortcut until you actually have something that you NEED to print.)

• Copy an item you have selected:  Ctrl + C
• Cut an item you have selected:  Ctrl + X
• Paste an item you have copied or cut:  Ctrl + V
• Undo an action:  Ctrl + Z
• Redo the last thing that I just undid:  Ctrl + Y
• Select everything:  Ctrl + A
• Print:  Ctrl + P

Converting Files for Google Drive

So, you have all your files created in Word, PowerPoint and Excel, right?  Are you aware that you can take your existing documents (or some of your existing documents) and upload them to Google Drive?  Better yet, did you know that you can take your existing Office documents and convert for use IN Google Drive?  That's a subtle distinction but you can actually do both.  You can upload your current MS Office documents (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel) and just house them in your Drive...OR... you can CONVERT your existing MS Office documents to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides then share them out or open them from anywhere.  

So, you will learn the following:

• Turn on and off the new Drive.
• Setting your uploads to convert documents automatically.  
• Upload your existing non-Google documents to your Google Drive.
• Convert your existing non-Google documents to Google Doc.

Multiple Users in Google Chrome

Many people have more than one Gmail account.  Perhaps you have struggled with trying to use multiple accounts in your Chrome Browser.  I myself have simplified the process by having two browsers open at any one given time...I use Chrome for my work email (ScottUsher@hartlandschools.us) and I use Firefox for my personal email (susher@gmail.com).  

The problem is that Firefox doesn't seem to work quite as well as does Chrome when it comes to Google accounts, which makes sense since the Chrome Browser is a Google product.  

The good news is there is a basic feature of Chrome that will make your Google life much easier.  

We will:

1. Learn how to verify you are actually logged into the Chrome Browser.
2. Learn how to verify your version of the Chrome Browser is up to date.
3. Learn how to add a user to the Chrome Browser.
4. Learn how to easily switch users.  

Make Your Email Sparkle with a Signature

Do your emails have a signature at the bottom?  If not, they can and it's really easy (and fun) to do!  Follow along and in 5 minutes you can have your very own email signature sprucing up your email.

1. Open your email and click on the settings cog on the right.
   
   

GMAIL: Setting Filters for Email

GMAIL puts all your email into one giant container and then uses filters and labels to gather what you are looking for based upon your criteria.  It's all about searching with Google and thus it's all about searching in GMAIL.  When you create a filter, you are asking GMAIL to do a pre-defined search based upon your criteria and then display the results.  

What can you do with Filters?

• Forward mail to a different account
• Organize mail using labels and tabs
• Delete mail

Here's how to create a filter:

GMAIL Labels

Google email works differently than your traditional email systems.  It is based around the concept of searching (which makes sense since Google is really good at searching).  GMAIL uses labels to help us categorize things in our searching.  Lets learn a little more about the GMAIL inbox (Part 1) and how to do work with labels (Part 2).

Part 1 - More About the GMAIL Inbox

Lets understand more about how the GMAIL inbox works:  Google puts all your email in one large container.  Every piece of email is stored in the container called "All Mail".  To see the "All Mail" container, simply click on the "More" button (which becomes the "Less" button once you do click on it).