Types of keyboard shortcuts

There two ways of using the keyboard. For example, to make text bold you could use:

• Keys to access the tabs and commands on the screen.
• A direct key combination unrelated to the Ribbon.

Many people think of any keystroke sequence or combination that carries out an action as a keyboard shortcut, and generally that's a fine definition. But for this course, let's be a bit more precise in defining a keyboard shortcut. Defining the difference is important because the different types work in different ways.

There are two basic types of keyboard shortcuts and we cover both of them in this course.

Access keys
Access keys give you access to the Ribbon. They relate directly to the tabs, commands, and other things that you see on the screen. You use access keys by pressing the ALT key followed by another key or a sequence of other keys.

Every single command on the Ribbon, the Microsoft Office Button menu, and the Quick Access Toolbar has an access key, and every access key is assigned a Key Tip. If you are familiar with the old system of underscored letters on menu items, think of Key Tips as the new version of those. You'll learn more about Key Tips later.

Key combinations
Key combinations perform specific commands. They are unrelated to the Ribbon or other things that you see on screen. The keys need to be pressed together to trigger the action and most, but not all, involve pressing CTRL plus other keys (for example, CTRL+C to copy).

Key combinations have mainly not changed in the 2007 Office release, and will work the same way as previously.