F1
- Almost always used as the help key,
almost every program opens a help screen when this key is pressed.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
- Windows Key + F1 would open the Microsoft
Windows help and support center.
- Open the Task Pane.
F2
- In Windows renames a highlighted icon, file,
or folder in all versions of Windows.
- Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens document
window in Microsoft
Word.
- Ctrl + F2 displays the print preview
window in Microsoft Word.
- Quickly rename a selected file or folder.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
F3
- Often opens a search feature for
many programs including Microsoft Windows when at the Windows
Desktop..
- In MS-DOS or Windows command line F3
will repeat the last command.
- Shift + F3 will change the text in
Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the
beginning of every word.
- Windows Key + F3 opens the Advanced find
window in Microsoft Outlook.
- Open Mission
Control on an
Apple computer running Mac OS X.
F4
- Open find window in Windows 95 to
XP.
- Open the address bar in Windows
Explorer and Internet
Explorer.
- Repeat the last action performed
(Word 2000+)
- Alt + F4 closes the program window
currently active in Microsoft Windows.
- Ctrl + F4 closes the open window
within the current active window in Microsoft Windows.
F5
- In all modern Internet
browsers, pressing F5 will refresh or reload the page or document
window.
- Open the find, replace, and go to
window in Microsoft Word.
- Starts a slideshow in PowerPoint.
F6
- Move the cursor to the Address bar in Internet Explorer, Mozilla
Firefox, and most other Internet browsers.
- Ctrl + Shift + F6 opens to another
open Microsoft Word document.
- Reduce laptop speaker volume (on
some laptops)
F7
- Commonly used to spell check and grammar
check a document
in Microsoft programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, etc.
- Shift + F7 runs a Thesaurus check on
the word highlighted.
- Turns on Caret browsing in Mozilla
Firefox.
- Increase laptop speaker volume (on
some laptops)
F8
- Function key used to enter the
Windows startup menu, commonly used to access Windows Safe Mode.
- Used by some computers to access the
Windows Recovery system, but may require a Windows installation CD
- Displays a thumbnail image for all
workspaces in Mac OS
F9
- Refresh document in Microsoft
Word.
- Send and receive e-mail in Microsoft
Outlook.
- Opens the Measurements toolbar in
Quark 5.0.
- Reduce laptop screen brightness (on
some laptops)
- With Mac OS 10.3 or later, displays
a thumbnail for each window in a single workspace.
- Using the Fn key and F9 at the same time opens Mission
Control on an
Apple computer running Mac OS X.
F10
- In Microsoft Windows activates the menu bar of an open application.
- Shift + F10 is the same as right-clicking on a highlighted icon, file, or
Internet link.
- Access the hidden
recovery partition on
HP and Sony computers.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
- Increase laptop screen brightness
(on some laptops)
- With Mac OS 10.3 or later, shows all
open Windows for the active program.
F11
- Enter and exit full screen mode in all modern Internet
browsers.
- Ctrl + F11 as computer is starting
to access the hidden
recovery partition on
many Dell computers.
- Access the hidden
recovery partition on
eMachines, Gateway, and Lenovo computers.
- With Mac OS 10.4 or later, hides all
open windows and shows the Desktop.
F12
- Open the Save as window in Microsoft
Word.
- Ctrl + F12 opens a document In Word.
- Shift + F12 saves the Microsoft Word
document (like Ctrl + S).
- Ctrl + Shift + F12 prints a document
in Microsoft Word.
- Preview a page in Microsoft
Expression Web.
- Open Firebug or browser debug tool.
- With an Apple running Mac OS 10.4 or
later, F12 shows or hides the Dashboard.
- Access the list of bootable devices on a computer at startup, allowing you to select a different device to boot from (Hard drive, CD or DVD drive, Floppy drive, USB drive, Network)
