If you are a copy and paste junky like I am, then this shortcut to select everything will save you plenty of time.

The key sequence:

Ctrl + A

The result:

Select everything possible of selecting on the current window. This is a great shortcut when doing a lot of copying from one window to another. A useful shortcut when using Ctrl C or X or V.

The key sequence:

Alt + E

The result:

This is used to bring up the Edit menu on the application that is currently active.

This is a good shortcut, but with time, you will replace most of the “Alt E” with direct shortcuts like “Ctrl C” etc.

In Office 2010, you will not get the Edit menu, but it will ask you to either continue with the old key sequence or just abort the key shortcut.

A quick tip about Office shortcuts, remember than pressing the Alt key on it’s own brings up the quick key letters on the menu ribbon, so that at a glance you know which letter does what action.

The key sequence:

Alt + F

The result:

This is used to bring up your file menu on the application that is currently active.

I use it a lot in applications where they hide the menus away, like Firefox, Media Player etc – a simple “Alt + F” and there she is!