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ChrisGreaves.com - WinTips
Week of Monday, May 4, 2009
If in Doubt, Press Enter
I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been called a genius for using this trick.
Regular Windows applications (major office suites, established products, but NOT the downloaded game “Sex Goddess of the Urban Vampires”) will always present their dialog boxes with the safest option pre-selected.
Take a look next time one of those simple “Are you sure that you want to delete?” boxes pops up. The “NO” button will be pre-selected.
Don’t click. Don’t use the mouse at all. Just tap the Enter key.
The Enter key will sometimes take you where you didn’t know about, but it will never take you where you didn’t ought to go.
In spreadsheet select a block of data. Choose (any spreadsheet processor) Insert, Chart from the menu. Chances are you’ll be presented with a complicated dialog box with more options than you can throw a pie at.
Tap the Enter key. You’ll be led through a series of dialog boxes. Keep tapping the Enter key. Voila! A chart!
Same thing in Notepad; type in some text then use Alt-F4 to exit Notepad. The “YES” button will be highlighted in response to the question “Do you want to save your work?”.
Again, this is for “If in doubt”. Obviously if you know your way around you can make reasoned choices; but don’t let a weird dialog box hold you up.
Get on with it!
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Toronto and Mississauga, Friday, April 22, 2011 5:17 AM
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