Tip #10 - Duplicating with the Ctrl Key

100 Amazing Computer Tips

Tip #10 - Duplicating with the Ctrl Key

One of the great things about having one company, like Microsoft, dominate the software environment is that there is a lot of consistency in the software for its many programs. An example of that is the ability to Ctrl + mouse drag (hold down the Ctrl key, hold down the mouse button and drag) to duplicate objects. In this case "objects" can refer to text, calendar events, worksheets or graphic objects. Here are some of the ways I use Ctrl + drag.

Outlook - When I set up an appointment with a new client I put in all kinds of information in the event window such as directions, phone numbers and the like. When I have a second appointment I want to avoid entering that all again so I find a previous appointment, hold down the Ctrl key and drag the appointment to another day. When I release the mouse button the duplicate of the original appointment stays. Now all I have to do is change the date of that duplicated appointment and I'm all set.

Excel - When you want to duplicate a worksheet in Excel, put your mouse on the sheet tab, in the lower left side of the screen, of the sheet you want to duplicate, hold down the Ctrl key and drag the mouse to the right or left. As you do this you will see a little black triangle indicating where the duplicated sheet will be placed. When you release your mouse button the sheet will have been duplicated.

Word - To duplicate text that you have in a Word document you use the same technique. First, you have to select the text you want to duplicate. Then leave your mouse on the selected text, hold down the Ctrl key and drag the text to a new location. When you drag your mouse in Word you will see a dotted vertical line indicating where the duplicated text will be placed.

PowerPoint or Publisher - Here Ctrl + drag really comes in handy. If you've drawn a box, created a line, inserted a graphic/clip art, etc., and want to duplicate it, use Ctrl + drag. Click on the object, hold down the Ctrl key, hold down the mouse button and drag. When you release the mouse button you have copied the original object. Imagine if you want to scatter a bunch of stars on the page, rather than copying and pasting and ending up with a pile of the stars in the center of the page, you can use Ctrl + drag to duplicate them all over the page. It’s a snap!

Just remember to release the mouse button BEFORE you release the Ctrl key. 

Happy Computing!

Diane

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