One shortcut that can save a lot of time on Windows and Mac computers but not everyone knows about is using the right mouse click to pop up a menu giving quick access to some often used commands.

The commands that you can access when you right click change depending on what your mouse is over at the time but usually always provide a quick way to access commands that you might usually go back to the menu for.

For example, in Word you can right click on a misspelled word to quickly access the spellcheck and find the correct spelling. You can also add the word to your dictionary if it's an unusual word that you know is spelled correctly.

When using software that has both a Mac and Windows version, the right click usually works the same on them both. In the example below, Word on Windows gives an extra Smart Lookup option.

Right clicking in Word also lets you cut, copy and paste quickly and easily. Once you've selected a word or paragraph you can right click on the selection to cut, copy or paste. You can also use the right click menu to change the font and look up the word in the dictionary. Again the Windows version offers a few extra features to change the font and styling.


You can also use the right click on the desktop to perform some common actions. On the Mac you can create a new folder, get information about a file, change the desktop wallpaper and clean up the icons on the desktop. Windows allows you do much the same as well as changing the display settings and changing some of the options for how you view the desktop.

Outlook also has a lot of options if you right click on an email, it can save you a lot of dragging and dropping, help you flag emails and also allow you to reply or forward emails.


If you investigate right clicking on your favourite applications, you will usually find shortcuts and easier ways to do a lot of things so it's always a good idea to play around and see what you can find.