A shortcut key is a key, or a group of keys pressed together, that does a job without the mouse. Ctrl+P, for example, opens Print. You hold the first key (Ctrl, Alt or Shift) and tap the last one. Punjab Police SI and Constable papers ask shortcuts from Windows, MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Chrome. This page puts them in tables, program by program.
38
Past questions on this page
Punjab Police SI & Constable
12
Function keys
F1 to F12
3×
Ctrl+E (centre) asked
Word and PowerPoint
F5
Starts a PowerPoint slide show
Asked twice
Special keys and function keys
Delete, Backspace, Insert, Esc and F1 to F12.
Modifier
Ctrl
Control key. Used for most file and edit commands: Ctrl+S, Ctrl+C.
Modifier
Alt
Alternate key. Used for windows and menus: Alt+Tab, Alt+F4.
Modifier
Shift
Gives capital letters and upper symbols. Also changes a shortcut: Shift+F5.
A modifier key does nothing alone. It changes what the next key does.
WHAT THE INSERT (INS) KEY DOES
- Insert modeNew letters push old letters to the right.
- InsPress Ins onceThe mode switches (it is a toggle key).
- Overwrite modeNew letters replace the old letters.
| Function key | Common job |
|---|---|
| F1 | Help |
| F2 | Rename a file (File Explorer); edit the cell (Excel) |
| F3 | Find the next match (browsers) |
| F4 | Alt+F4 closes the window; in Excel, switches $ references |
| F5 | Refresh (browser); start slide show (PowerPoint); Go To (Excel) |
| F7 | Spelling and grammar check (Office) |
| F10 | Shows the menu / ribbon key letters |
| F11 | Full screen (browser) |
| F12 | Save As (Office) |
QUICK CHECK
Which of the following keys of a computer keyboard is used to delete the character at the cursor position?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: A — Delete
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Delete removes the character at the cursor (to its right). Insert only switches between insert and overwrite.
QUICK CHECK
Within a text editor operating in Insert mode, what is the expected behaviour when the Ins (Insert) key is pressed once, and then new characters are typed?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: C — The text editor will switch to Overwrite mode, and subsequent typing will replace existing characters.
Punjab Police Constable, 2025. Ins is a toggle. Pressing it once moves the editor from Insert to Overwrite mode. Option B describes Insert mode, before the key is pressed.
Windows shortcuts that work almost everywhere
Copy, paste, undo, switch windows, screenshots and Task Manager.
| Shortcut | Job |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V | Copy / Cut / Paste |
| Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Undo / Redo |
| Ctrl+A | Select all |
| Ctrl+N / Ctrl+O / Ctrl+S | New / Open / Save |
| Ctrl+P | |
| Ctrl+W | Close the current document or tab |
| Ctrl+F / Ctrl+H | Find / Replace |
| Windows key combo | Job |
|---|---|
| Alt+Tab | Switch between open windows (most recent first) |
| Alt+Esc | Cycle through items in the order they were opened |
| Alt+F4 | Close the active window or program |
| Ctrl+Alt+Delete | Security screen; open Task Manager from it |
| Ctrl+Shift+Esc | Open Task Manager directly |
| Win+D | Show the desktop |
| Win+E | Open File Explorer |
| Win+L | Lock the computer |
| Shift+Delete | Delete a file without sending it to the Recycle Bin |
KEY TERM
Task Manager
Task Manager is the Windows system monitor. It lists the programs and processes that are running and how much CPU and memory each uses. You can end a stuck program from it.
Ctrl+Alt+Delete→Task Manager→End task
QUICK CHECK
Which of the following keyboard shortcuts can be used to activate a system monitor program that provides information about the processes being executed in a computer?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: B — Alt+Ctrl+Delete
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Ctrl+Alt+Delete leads to Task Manager; the order of Ctrl and Alt does not matter. Shift+Delete deletes a file permanently.
QUICK CHECK
In Windows 10, which of the following keyboard shortcuts is used to cycle through items in the order in which they were opened?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: B — Alt+Esc
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Alt+Esc goes through windows in the order they were opened. Alt+Tab, the famous one, goes by most recent use.
QUICK CHECK
In the Windows operating system, which key on the keyboard is pressed to take a screenshot of the whole window?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: B — Ptr Scrn
Punjab Police SI, 2023. "Ptr Scrn" is the paper's spelling of the Print Screen (PrtScn) key. Ctrl+P prints a document; it does not take a screenshot.
MS Word shortcuts
Bold, alignment, superscript, page break and Replace.
REMEMBER
L-E-R-J = Left, cEntre, Right, Justify. Only centre hides its letter inside the word.
| Word shortcut | Job |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+= (Ctrl+Shift++) | Superscript (x²) |
| Ctrl+= | Subscript (H₂O) |
| Ctrl+Enter | Page break: the text after the cursor moves to a new page |
| Shift+Enter | Line break inside the same paragraph |
| Ctrl+H | Find and Replace box, Replace tab open |
| Ctrl+D | Font dialog box |
| Ctrl+K | Insert a hyperlink |
| Ctrl+N | New blank document |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo the action you undid |
QUICK CHECK
In MS Word 2019, which shortcut key is used to make selected character as superscript?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: C — Ctrl + Shift + +
Punjab Police SI, 2021. Shift+= types the plus sign, so Ctrl+Shift+= is written Ctrl+Shift++. It raises text to superscript; Ctrl+= gives subscript.
QUICK CHECK
Which of the following keyboard shortcut keys is used to insert a page break in an MS-Word 2016 document?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: C — Ctrl + Enter
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Ctrl+Enter starts a new page. Shift+Enter is the trap: it only breaks the line inside the same paragraph.
QUICK CHECK
Which of the following keyboard shortcuts is NOT used in MS-Word 2010 for formatting text?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: C — Ctrl+O
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I and Ctrl+U format text. Ctrl+O opens an existing file and changes nothing about the text.
MS PowerPoint shortcuts
New slide, slide show, copying formatting and the ribbon.
RUNNING A SLIDE SHOW
- F5Start from the first slide
- Shift+F5Start from the current slide
- exitEscEnd the show
| PowerPoint shortcut | Job |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+C | Copy the formatting (attributes) of a selected shape |
| Ctrl+Shift+V | Paste that formatting on another shape |
| Ctrl+F1 | Expand or collapse the ribbon (all Office programs) |
| Ctrl+H | Open Replace |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo, e.g. bring back a slide you deleted by mistake |
| Ctrl+E | Centre the selected text |
QUICK CHECK
In MS-PowerPoint 2016, which of the following keyboard shortcuts is used to add a new slide?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: D — Ctrl+M
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Ctrl+M adds a slide. Ctrl+N is the trap: it makes a whole new presentation.
QUICK CHECK
In MS PowerPoint 2019, which shortcut key is used to copy the attributes of a selected shape?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: D — Ctrl + Shift + C
Punjab Police SI, 2021. Ctrl+Shift+C copies the formatting of the shape; Ctrl+Shift+V pastes it. Plain Ctrl+C would copy the shape itself.
QUICK CHECK
In MS-PowerPoint 2010, the keyboard shortcut used to expand or collapse the ribbon is _________.
Tap an option to answer
Answer: B — Ctrl+F1
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Ctrl+F1 shows or hides the ribbon in every Office program. Ctrl+F4 closes the window instead.
MS Excel shortcuts
Jump around the sheet, add links and close the workbook.
| Excel shortcut | Job |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+K | Insert a link (hyperlink) |
| Ctrl+L / Ctrl+T | Create Table box (not a link) |
| Ctrl+O | Open an existing workbook |
| Ctrl+W | Close the workbook |
| Ctrl+; | Today's date |
| Ctrl+G / F5 | Go To box |
| Shift+Enter | Cell above |
| Alt+Enter | New line inside a cell |
QUICK FACT
Ctrl+W closes the workbook. Its neighbours are editing keys: Ctrl+X cut, Ctrl+Y redo, Ctrl+Z undo.
QUICK CHECK
In MS-Excel 2016, which of the following keyboard shortcuts is used to go to the end of the worksheet or to the last cell containing data?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: B — Ctrl+End
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Ctrl with a movement key jumps across the whole sheet. Ctrl+End goes to the last used cell; Ctrl+Home goes back to A1.
QUICK CHECK
In MS Excel 2019, which shortcut key is used to insert a link?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: A — Ctrl + K
Punjab Police SI, 2021. Ctrl+K opens Insert Hyperlink in all Office programs. In Excel, Ctrl+L opens Create Table.
Browser shortcuts (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
Tabs, bookmarks, finding text and pasting without formatting.
| Browser shortcut | Job |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+T | New tab |
| Ctrl+W | Close the current tab |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Reopen the tab you just closed |
| Ctrl+Tab | Go to the next tab |
| Ctrl+D | Bookmark this page |
| Ctrl+Shift+B | Show or hide the bookmarks bar (Chrome) |
| Ctrl+H / Ctrl+J | History / Downloads (Chrome) |
| Ctrl+P | Print the web page |
| F5 / Ctrl+R | Reload the page |
FINDING A WORD ON A LONG PAGE
- Ctrl+FOpen the find box and type the word
- nextF3 (or Enter)Jump to the next match
- EscClose the find box
QUICK CHECK
Which of the following keyboard shortcuts can be used to show or hide the Bookmarks bar in Google Chrome?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: A — Ctrl+Shift+B
Punjab Police SI, 2023. Ctrl+Shift+B toggles the bookmarks bar. Ctrl+D bookmarks a page; Ctrl+B alone is Bold in Word.
QUICK CHECK
Which of the following commands is used on Chrome, Firefox and Chromium-based Microsoft Edge to paste text only (without source formatting)?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: A — Ctrl+Shift+V
Punjab Police Constable, 2025. Adding Shift to Ctrl+V drops the formatting. Ctrl+V keeps it, and Ctrl+X cuts.
QUICK CHECK
When using the Find (Ctrl+F) function in a lengthy document, what is a common way to quickly jump to the next occurrence of the searched term after finding the initial instance?
Tap an option to answer
Answer: A — Pressing F3
Punjab Police Constable, 2025. F3 (or Enter in the find box) goes to the next match in browsers. Ctrl+Tab moves to the next tab, not the next match.
Quick revision
Flashcards, traps and one-line facts.
FLASHCARDS
Shortcuts: tap to check
- Ctrl+E
- Centre align (Word, PowerPoint)
- Ctrl+H
- Replace (Word, PowerPoint); History (Chrome)
- Ctrl+M
- New slide (PowerPoint)
- Ctrl+N
- New document / presentation
- F5
- Start slide show from slide 1
- Esc
- End the slide show
- Ctrl+Y
- Redo
- Ctrl+Z
- Undo
- Ctrl+Enter
- Page break (Word)
- Ctrl+K
- Insert hyperlink
- Ctrl+F1
- Show / hide the ribbon
- Alt+Esc
- Cycle windows in opening order
COMMON TRAPS
- Ctrl+N vs Ctrl+M in PowerPoint: new presentation vs new slide.
- Ctrl+Z undoes, Ctrl+Y redoes. Don't swap them.
- Shift+Enter is a line break in Word but moves up a cell in Excel.
- Ctrl+L is left align in Word but Create Table in Excel.
- F5 starts from slide 1; Shift+F5 starts from the current slide.
- Alt+Tab = most recent order; Alt+Esc = opening order.
Also asked onceTap to open
- Ctrl+N creates a new (blank) presentation in PowerPoint, and a new document in Word.
- Deleted a slide by mistake? Ctrl+Z (Undo) brings it back.
- Ctrl+H opens Find and Replace with the Replace tab active (Word), and Replace in PowerPoint.
- Ctrl+P opens Print in MS Word, in Chrome and in almost every program.
- Ctrl+E centres text in Word 2010 and PowerPoint 2019.
- Ctrl+B applies bold in Word.
- Ctrl+Y redoes text editing in Word.
- F5 starts a PowerPoint slide show (F12 is Save As, F1 is Help); Esc exits it.
- In PowerPoint's Selection pane, Ctrl+Shift+B moves the selected item backward (Ctrl+Shift+F moves it forward).
- Ctrl+O shows the Open options in Excel (Ctrl+P is Print).
- Ctrl+Home goes to cell A1, the top of the worksheet.
- Ctrl+W closes a workbook in Excel.
CHECK YOURSELF
You are making a PowerPoint deck. Name the keys to: add a slide, start the show from the current slide, end the show, and undo a mistake.
Show answer
Ctrl+M adds a slide. Shift+F5 starts from the current slide. Esc ends the show. Ctrl+Z undoes the mistake.