Top 12 Uses of Function Keys

1. F1 - Help and Support

While working in an application, depressing F1 key will open the help menu. If there is no open application,depressing F1 will open Windows Help 


2. F2 - Rename



  • Depress the F2 key to rename the selected file or folder
  • Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens a new document in MS Word 
  • Ctrl + F2 to open print preview in MS Word
3. F3 - Find

Depressing F3 key opens the search box 

  • To find files or folders in Windows
  • To search in an open document or web page
  • Shift + F3 toggles between  lower case and upper case for selected text on MS Word.
4. Alt+F4 - Close

Depressing  F4  key , 

  • Opens the address bar in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.
  • Repeat the last performed action in MS Excel.For e.g. if your last action was to insert a row, you can repeat the procedure by depressing F4 

Depressing Alt+ F4  key , 



  • Closes the current active window.
  • Opens the Shut Down dialog box,if there is no active window.
  • Repeat the last performed action in MS Excel.For e.g. if your last action was to insert a row, you can repeat the procedure by depressing F4 
5. F5 - Refresh

Depressing  F5  key ,

  • Refresh the screen
  • Refresh and reloads the web page in all browsers
  • Opens Find and Replace dialog box on MS Office programs
6. F6 

Depressing  F6  key will select the Address Bar in most Browsers.

7. F7 
  •  In MS word , depressing F7 key does spell and grammar check.
  •  In MS word , depressing Shift+F7 does Thesaurus check for a highlighted word.
  • Depressing F7 key  turns on/off Caret browsing in Mozilla Firefox."Caret Browsing"  feature  allows you to navigate a page just like a document in MS Word or any other word processing application.Further, You can also move the cursor between lines using arrow keys and can select the text or click on any link using your keyboard.
8. F8 - Starts Windows in safe mode

Depressing F8 key starts the Operating System in safe mode.
Top Uses of Function Keys

9. F9 


In MS Excel ,depressing CTRL+F9 minimizes a workbook window to an icon.



10. F10



  • In Microsoft Windows depressing F10 Key activates the menu bar of an open application.
  • Depressing Shift + F10 ,opens the right click menu.
  • In MS Excel,CTRL+F10 maximizes or restores the selected workbook window.
11. F11 -Full screen mode

Depressing F11 key  activates the full screen/kiosk mode on most browsers.

12. F12

  • Opens Firebug,an extension (add-on) for Mozilla Firefox which facilitates the debugging, editing, and monitoring of any website's CSSHTMLDOMXHR, and JavaScript
  • F12 - Open a new document in MS Word 
  • F12 + Ctrl + Shift to print in MS Word 
  • F12 + Shift to Save in MS Word 
  • F12 to open the Save As dialog box in MS Word