Stop Mousing Around: A Handy, Dandy Guide to Helpful Keystrokes

Many Collage users I speak with don’t realize they can use their keyboards to perform basic content editing functions. Rather than reach for your mouse each time you need to edit, often it’s easier and more efficient to use keystrokes to copy, paste or bold text, etc. So to help you make the leap to “keyboard jockey,” here's a list of essential keystrokes that should help with content editing shortcuts. BTW, most of these keystrokes aren’t unique to Collage. They’re pretty much universal for all programs, so you can use them in Word, Outlook and most browsers.

Keystroke Shortcuts

• Ctrl + C = copy text
• Ctrl + X = cut text
• Ctrl + A = select all text
• Ctrl + V = paste copied text
• Ctrl + Z = undo (previous action)
• Ctrl + Y = redo (previous action)
• Ctrl + B = bold text
• Ctrl + I = italicize text
• Ctrl + F = find text (search your content or code for a particular word, phrase)
• Ctrl + Print Screen = take a screen shot of your monitor, which you can paste into a document or email

Bonus Keystroke: The “Soft Return”

There’s one more keystroke that is used so frequently and is so crucial to content editing and page formatting in Collage that I felt it deserved its own section. The standard return (line break) in Collage--which is performed by hitting the “Enter” key--is a hard return or paragraph (two-line) line break. Many users are frustrated by the paragraph, two-line break and can’t figure out how to create a single-line break when formatting a page.

To create a single-line break/soft return, use this keystroke:

• Shift + Enter = soft return

These keystroke shortcuts should give you additional tools for your content editing toolbox and empower you to own Collage rather than letting Collage own you. If there are any keystrokes I’m missing that you feel your fellow Collage users should know about, please share them in the comments.