How to select files using the keyboard. How to select multiple photos using the keyboard. Selecting with the mouse

As many people know, in order to do anything with a file or files on the computer, you first need to select them. For example, for copying to a flash card or completely deleting it. When there are not many files in the folder, there are no problems. Hold down the left mouse button and without releasing it, select all the necessary files for further work with them.

But what if there are a lot of files in the folder, say, several hundred or even a thousand? For example, these are photos from your trip that need to be copied to a folder on your computer.

Here, standard mouse selection is no longer enough. But there is a way - use a combination of keys on the keyboard, which you will learn about in this article.

Keyboard shortcut #1

The first and fastest way to select the entire contents of a folder on a computer using the keyboard is a key combination "CTRL" + "A".

The CTRL button is located at the bottom left of the keyboard, the "A" button is the English button. The one where the Russian "F" is located.

To select the contents of a directory, go into it and first press the button "CTRL", then, without releasing it, press the English button "A".

CTRL + A to highlight folder contents

After this, everything that was in the folder will be selected and ready for further actions (copying, deleting, moving).

Keyboard shortcut #2

The second way to select files with the keyboard is another key combination. The truth is that it works a little differently.

As in the first case, go to the folder where you need to mark the files. Select the first file with the mouse or the right arrow, and then hold down the button "Shift" on the keyboard and without releasing it, press and hold down arrow button. Until the contents of the folder scroll down and become highlighted.

SHIFT+ down arrow to highlight folder contents

With these simple and simple key combinations on the keyboard, you can quickly select all the files in a specified folder using the keyboard of a computer or laptop.

All files selected using the keyboard in the folder

Sometimes it happens that you have to work with text in one of the editors using only the keyboard. Let’s say the mouse is broken, but you need to finish printing the document immediately; you don’t have time to go to the store. In addition, in individual situations, you can perform any actions using the keyboard much faster. It is not for nothing that manufacturers of many programs add the function of so-called hot keys to them. In this article we will look at how to select text using the keyboard, as well as general ways to work on a computer without using a mouse.

Selecting a test using the keyboard on a laptop

If you use a laptop or netbook for work, you can select text using the keys in the following ways:

1. You should place the cursor at the beginning of the fragment that requires selection. You can do this by sliding your finger across the TouchPad. Next, you need to hold down the Shift key and move the cursor to the end of the fragment.
2. You can also place the cursor at the beginning of the text by holding down the left button on the TouchPad and move it to the end of the fragment.

How to highlight text using the keyboard when working on a PC

If you work on a computer, selecting text without using a mouse is also easy. To do this, you need to move the cursor to the beginning of the fragment using the arrows. Next, hold down the Shift key. Without releasing it, select the text using the same arrows. In this case, when you press “right” or “left,” the selection area will move one character in the corresponding direction; when you press “down” or “up,” it will move one line. To select one word, place the cursor in front of it and use the combination Ctrl+Shift+right arrow.

How to highlight paragraphs

To select a paragraph above the cursor, use the combination Ctrl+Shift + up arrow. The paragraph will then be highlighted to the very beginning, regardless of where the cursor is, at the end or somewhere in the middle. To select a paragraph to the end, press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+down arrow.

How to select pages and all text at once

In order to select the entire page at once, you need to use the combination Shift+pgUp if the cursor is at the bottom of it. If it is located at the top of the page, you should use the combination Shift+pgDown.

Now let's see on the keyboard right away. It's very easy to do. You must press Ctrl+A. Then everything printed can be deleted, centered, copied to, or some other similar action. We'll look at how to do this without using a mouse below.

From the current cursor position, you can select text up to the very beginning of the document by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Home. Until the very end - Ctrl+Shift+End.

selected fragment

You now know how to select text using the keyboard. This is done simply. Fragments are usually highlighted either to be deleted or to be moved to another part of the text. In the first case, you just need to press the Del key, to copy a fragment - Ctrl+C. To paste it in the required place (it doesn’t matter, in the same editor or in another), you should use the combination Ctrl+V. You can cut a piece of text using Ctrl+X.

How to navigate the editor menu without a mouse

So, we have figured out how to select text using the keyboard if the mouse is broken. But how do you work with the editor menu? With a laptop everything is simple. In this case, the same convenient TouchPad will help. On the computer you will have to use certain ones, let’s look at the example of the well-known Word program.

How to launch Word and change the position of the window on the monitor

Selecting text isn't the only task that can be accomplished using just the keyboard. You can launch the editor from the desktop by simply moving between the shortcuts using the arrows. The same applies to opening a program from the Start menu. It is displayed after clicking on the flag icon on the keyboard. The menu will also open when using Ctrl+Esc.

In order to minimize the editor window, press Alt+Space and select “Collapse” from the drop-down menu using the up or down arrows. To move the program, click on the “Move” line. After this, you can use the arrows to move the editor window to any place on the monitor. In order to close the menu that appears after pressing the Alt+Spacebar combination, you just need to press the Esc key.

How to open a file or create a new document

For those who often work with the Word editor, it will be useful to know not only how to select part of the text or all of it without using the mouse, but also how to open a file or create a new document. In the first case, you should use the combination Ctrl+O. After this, Explorer will open, in which you can find the required file. To move around the explorer, use the Tab key (move in a circle from folders to the files located in them, the “Open” button, the “Cancel” button, etc.) and the arrows. To create a new document, press Ctrl+N.

How to change the appearance of text without using a mouse

Sometimes the question of how to highlight text on the keyboard arises among users due to the fact that it needs to be made bold, underlined, etc. In this case, you can also use key combinations. Ctrl+I changes the selection to italics. Using the Ctrl+B keys you can make the text bold, and using Ctrl+U you can underline it.

See the table for some other popular keyboard shortcuts.

To remove formatting from a selected fragment, press Ctrl+Spacebar.

How to copy formatting

In Word, using the keyboard, you can, among other things, copy completed formatting. To do this, select the fragment with the desired design and press Ctrl+Shift+C. To apply formatting, you need to select the area to be changed and combine Ctrl+Shift+V.

Navigating through text without a mouse

In order to go to the very beginning of the document, regardless of what size it is, you should use the combination Ctrl+Home. You can move to the end of the printed text using the Ctrl+End combination. Arrows are used to move along the lines horizontally or vertically.

How to navigate a table without using a mouse

To move to the next cell in a table row, press Tab. You can move to the previous cell using the Shift+Tab combination. If necessary, using hot keys you can quickly get to the last (Alt+End) as well as the first cell (Alt+Home). In a column, you move to the first cell by using the combination Alt+Page Up, and to the very last cell by using Alt+Page Down. You can move to the lines adjacent above and below using regular arrows. You can move the text along with the line up or down by using the combination Alt+Shift+down arrow or the same keys and the up arrow.

Vertical block of text: highlight

Selecting text using the keyboard in Word is also possible in a vertical position. In order to perform it this way, you need to press Ctrl+Shift+F8, then limit the block with arrows. Now the letters in the selected fragment can be made bold, italicized, underlined, etc. You can also highlight the block with a color or change the color of the letters themselves. True, you won’t be able to copy this section of text.

How to save typed text and exit the program

To save the printed document on your computer, press Ctrl+S. To print a file, you need to use the combination Ctrl+P. You can navigate within the displayed dialog box using the Tab key and arrow keys. In order to close a document, you must press Ctrl+W. You can also stop Word using the Ctrl+F4 combination.

Thus, we have figured out how to use the keyboard to select the entire text, its individual parts horizontally or vertically. As you can see, this is not at all difficult to do. So, if your mouse breaks, you can now easily finish printing the document you started.

You can copy and move files from one location on your hard drive to another in different ways, including using special programs -. But in this lesson I will talk about the simplest and fastest way to manipulate files (although this is a matter of habit) without using third-party programs.

So, if you need to copy (duplicate) or move a file (or folder), then you just need to do a few simple steps.

First, we find the files that need to be copied (or moved) and select them.

You can select multiple files in different ways. The easiest way is to press the left mouse button and, without releasing it, circle the desired files, which are marked in a darker color:

If you need to select all files at once, then in order not to circle all the files, you can press the key combination Ctrl+A.

If you need to select several files selectively, then press the Ctrl key, hold it and point the mouse at the desired file.

in the form of an arrow, then click on the desired file (thus selecting it) and move on to the next one.

If you see a mouse pointer when you hover over a file shaped like a hand, then you don’t need to click on it to select a file, because it stands out on hover. Continuing to hold the Ctrl key, we select all the necessary files (or folders) in this way.

If you need to select a group of files in a row, then the easiest way is as follows. Move the pointer to the first file in this group and select it, then press the Shift key and select the last file in the group. This way you will select the entire group of files.

If you need to copy or move one file, then you do not need to select it.

After all the necessary files are selected, right-click on them. In the context menu that pops up, we are interested in two items: Cut And Copy:

Select an item Cut in order to move files to another location, and the item Copy in order to create copies of files in another location while keeping the originals in their place.

After clicking (left mouse button) the item Copy the selected files are placed in the so-called clipboard, and you do not notice anything.

After clicking the item Cut the files are also placed on the clipboard, but at the same time they become darker, showing us that after the transfer they will be deleted from this folder.

Now we need to open the folder into which the selected files will be copied (or transferred). Having opened the desired folder, click on the empty space inside it with the right mouse button and select Paste (left mouse button).

Any information on a computer is saved in files of different sizes and formats. For more convenient storage of files, folders are used, which usually contain data combined according to some criteria (games, music, photos, etc.).

Carrying out operations with files requires their preliminary selection. You can select files one at a time, several in a row, or all at once. You can select all files in a folder using the mouse, or just the keyboard.

Quick navigation through the article

Selecting with the mouse

The left and right mouse buttons can be used to select files. Necessary:

• Open the desired folder;
• In an empty space (at the top or bottom of the folder), press the left mouse button and drag the cursor from the first to the last file or vice versa;
• Performing similar actions while pressing the right mouse button will open a context menu in which you can select the desired operation (copy, delete, add to archive, etc.).

Using the Mouse and Keyboard

Special keyboard shortcuts and keyboard/left-click combinations are also used to select files. There are several ways:

• Press “Ctrl+A” in the English layout;
• Select the first file in the folder by left-clicking -> press and hold the “Shift” key -> click on the last file;
• Select the last file and, while holding “Shift”, click on the first one;
• Select the first file and press the key combination “Sift+End”;
• Select the last file and press the key combination “Shift+Home”;
• Click on the first file and, holding “Ctrl” on the keyboard, click on all the others in sequence.

Selecting using menu commands

In the Windows operating system, folders open in windows that have a line with menu commands, including actions for selecting all files. To do this you need:

• Open the desired folder;
• Execute the command “Arrange” -> “Select All” (in Windows 7), or “Edit” -> “Select All” (in Windows XP and below).

Using a File Manager

Users who are accustomed to using special programs when working with files can use a file manager to select all files in a folder:

• Open Total Commander (or other manager);
• Select “Selection” -> “Select All” from the menu.

If the folder contains other subfolders in addition to files, then in the file manager you need to run the command: “Select” -> “Select all” -> “Files/folders” -> “Only files”.

In the last video tutorial we looked at the mechanism for copying files. In this case, we copied only one file. In real work with a computer, it is often necessary copy several at once(many, all) files.

For example, you want to copy to your flash drive a hundred photos that your friends took on your trip together. If you copy them one by one, the process will take a long time.

The thought arises that “I wish I could select them all at once and copy them.”

This is exactly what we will do in this video lesson. We'll see how you can select several files at once that are listed in a row, let's see how to select multiple files, if they are in different places on the list and are arranged in a chaotic order. We will also learn how quickly, with just two keys on the keyboard, select all files, which are in the folder.

A selected group of files can be copied (or deleted) in one action, which significantly speeds up the work of copying files.

Video lesson: How to select several files at once

Video courses by Dmitry Kashkanov. This email address is being protected from spambots. You must have JavaScript enabled to view it.