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Everyone knows them, but not everyone knows what they do: the [Ctrl] and [Strg] keys on your keyboard. They are used frequently, especially in word processing.
Ctrl key and Strg key: This is the difference
Especially in online texts, the two key designations [Strg] and [Ctrl] are often used for the same tasks. The reason for this is quite simple.
- [Ctrl] and [Strg] are one and the same key. The abbreviation “Strg” stands for “Steuerung” (control), while ‘Ctrl’ means “Control.”
- Accordingly, the [Strg] key is found on German keyboards, while the [Ctrl] key is found on English or international keyboards. In mobile systems, however, the key plays no role.
- Regardless of your keyboard layout, the key is always in the same place. You will find it at the bottom left of the keyboard. It can be easily reached with your left hand.
- While you may have to spend a little time searching for it when you first use it, you will probably soon find that using this handy key becomes part of your standard routine when working on the computer.
- The key itself has no function of its own, as it is a so-called modifier key: a command is only executed when you combine the key with one or more other keys.
- The [Ctrl] key is mainly used for shortcuts. These help you to perform various functions on your PC more quickly, which would otherwise often be cumbersome to access via program menus.
These are the most important examples of use
When working on a text or moving and sorting, the copy function is particularly useful. Until now, you have always selected the text area with the mouse, then clicked the right mouse button to open the context menu and selected the “Copy” command? Quite tedious.
- It’s much easier if you select the word or file and then press the key combination [Ctrl] + [C]. This will copy the selected area to the clipboard.
- Use the Paste command to place it in another location in the text or in another folder. To do this, press [Ctrl] + [V].
- Or are you looking for a specific word on a page?
The search window opens with the shortcut [Ctrl] + [F]. - To directly select an entire text area or the entire contents of a folder, press [Ctrl] + [A].
- With the combination [Ctrl] + [Z] you can undo the last entry or action. This can often be done several times in a row.
- By pressing [Ctrl] + [P] you can open the print dialog in most programs.
- Hold down Ctrl and turn the mouse wheel to change the zoom in many applications.
- In Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
- Some programs use specific hotkeys and even allow you to define your own key combinations.
- For example, in many development environments, you can use Ctrl hotkeys to navigate through code more quickly, search it, use auto-complete, or restart the debugger. It’s worth taking a look at the instructions and documentation.
The Ctrl key on a Mac
On a Mac keyboard, the [Ctrl] key is also located in the lower left corner.
- It is the right choice for individual shortcuts such as shutting down or restarting.
- However, on Apple products, the functions of the [Ctrl] key on a PC keyboard are performed by the [Cmd] key or [Apple] key, which is located next to the space bar.
- Examples: [Cmd] + [C] = Copy, [Cmd] + [V] = Paste, [Cmd] + [F] = Search.
- As you can see, Mac shortcuts are very similar to those in Windows. This means you don’t have to learn completely new combinations when switching between systems. Many Windows shortcuts also work in Linux.
