Basic Computing and HTML Skills

There are a few basic skills that can make HTML coding much faster and easier.

Copy and Paste

One of the handiest skills you need to learn is how to Copy and Paste in Windows. This will save you a lot of time and effort once you have mastered it. The process is quite simple and can be done in 4 steps:
  1. Highlight the text you wish to copy: Click down once, with your cursor on one side of the text you want to copy, with your left mouse button. Hold the mouse button down. Then drag your mouse pointer over the text until all of the text you wish to copy is colored differently than the rest of the text on the page. Now let go of the mouse button. If you have highlighted correctly, the text should stay colored differently.

  2. Click on Edit/Copy: Next, press down the CTRL key with one finger and hold it down, then press the letter C with another finger, and then let both go. CTRL-C is the Copy shortcut key combination.

  3. Place your cursor: Decide where you want the new text to go on your document and click once where you want the new text to be inserted. The cursor should flash.

  4. Click on Edit/Paste: Finally, press down the CTRL key with one finger and hold it down, then press the letter V with another finger, and then let both go. CTRL-V is the Paste shortcut key combination.

If you prefer, you can perform steps 2 and 4 by right-clicking and choosing Copy or Paste. Using the browser's menu commands is a third method, but it is the slowest.



Here is a block of example text you can practice on:

Alt-Tab to Switch Among Windows

When working with multiple programs or multiple browser windows, it is very inefficient to have to close one window and then open another. Here is a quick way to switch from one open window to another:

If you just need to switch back and forth between two windows, hold down the Alt key and tap the Tab key once. Do it again to return to the previous window.

If you have more than two windows open, press and hold Alt-Tab, and you'll see a box that holds a row of icons - one for every open window. Hold down Alt as you press Tab to rotate through the icons. When the one you want is highlighted, let go and you'll jump directly to that window.

Try both methods of switching windows now. (If you only have one window open, you can open more by clicking File | New | Window in Internet Explorer.)

Return to Web Page Design.


Revised Oct. 1, 2003

My first HTML element is this text, then an image Jennifer Kyrnin, About Web Design Guide
Then another text block




My first HTML element is this text, then an image Jennifer Kyrnin, About Web Design Guide

Then another text block