Windows Keyboard Shortcut of the Day


Ctrl+F1: Switch off the task pane in Office

Posted in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint by estephen on August 29th, 2008

When you start up Excel or other Office programs, they often stick a “Task Pane” up on the right, usually with the “Getting Started” heading. Annoying, isn’t it?

Switch it off one time with Ctrl+F1.

Switch it off permanently by following these steps (which you have to repeat for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.): Hit Alt+T to open the Tools menu, O to select the Options command, then deselect the “Startup Task Pane” checkbox using Alt plus whatever is the underlined letter (which is different in different programs — nice consistency there, Microsoft), then press Enter for OK.

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