The “Undo” feature is one of the handiest tools in Microsoft Windows.
If you make a mistake, simply click Edit>Undo in most Windows programs and the mistake will be washed away in an instant.
But did you know that there’s an even easier way to “undo” an operation?
Simply press the Ctrl+Z key combination and the last thing you clicked, typed or changed will be restored to its previous state.
What’s more, if your hands are already on the keyboard, pressing Ctrl+Z is a lot faster than grabbing the mouse and clicking Edit>Undo!
This little jewel isn’t limited to a single operation either. Clicking Ctrl+Z multiple times in a row will keep “undoing” the previous changes until you stop or Windows runs out of things to undo!
As you can see, it really is quite a time saver! It’s also easy to remember if you practice it a few times.
Ctrl+Z also works in many situations where “Undo” simply isn’t available.
For example, if you accidentally delete a file in Windows Explorer (or File Explorer), just press Ctrl+Z and the deleted file will be instantly restored without having to open the Recycle Bin.
Regular readers of this blog are well aware that I’m a huge fan of keyboard shortcuts, and in my opinion Ctrt+Z is the king of the bunch!
And by the way, you Mac users can use Command+Z to do the same thing!
Do you have a favorite keyboard shortcut that you simply can’t live without? If so, send me an email and let me know about it.
Bonus tip: This post features a short list of my favorite keyboard shortcuts.