Top 5 Fun Ways to Use the F4 Key in Windows 10

Function keys act as shortcuts to perform certain actions, such as refreshing a page or saving a file. Like all function keys, you can find the F4 key at the top of most computer keyboards.

Although often used with the Alt and Ctrl keys, you can use the F4 key for your Windows 10 PC specific actions. If you are curious about the capabilities of the F4 key, read below.

1. Launching the Address Bar in Internet Explorer

You can use the F4 key to open the address bar in Internet Explorer in Windows 10.

Stage 1: Launch the Internet Explorer application on your PC.

Step 2: Press F4 to open the address bar and below the address bar you will see a list of recently visited web pages.

2. Repeating the Last Action in Microsoft Word

Just like you use Ctrl + C to copy items, in Microsoft Word you can use F4 to repeat this last action (Copy, Paste, Delete or other).

Stage 1: Launch the Word application on your PC. This can be a new Word document or an old file.

Step 2: Take any action on the Word file. i.e. write a sentence, add an icon, draw a shape, etc.

Stage 3: Click the F4 key and the last action performed should be repeated.

3. Repeating the Last Action in Microsoft PowerPoint

This is like the F4 function shown above, but for Microsoft PowerPoint.

Stage 1: Launch the PowerPoint application on your PC. This can be a new PowerPoint document or an old file.

Step 2: Perform any action in the PowerPoint file, for example add images, paste text, add transitions, etc.

Stage 3: Click the F4 key and the last action performed should be repeated.

4. Locking Formulas in Microsoft Excel

The use of the F4 key in Excel is different from Word and PowerPoint. In Excel, the F4 key can be used for Absolute Cell Reference.

Stage 1: Launch the Excel application on your PC. This can be a new Excel or an old file.

Step 2: Enter a standard formula in the Excel cell.

Stage 3: Click on the cell with the formula and press F4 once, this should bring up a dollar sign. The dollar sign locks the column and row. What this means is that when you copy the formula and use it elsewhere in the excel file, it will continue to refer to that cell. This is called Absolute Cell Reference.

5. Using the F4 Key with Other Keyboard Functions

You can also use the F4 key to collaborate with other keys on your keyboard. Some popular actions include:

Closing a Program with Alt + F4 in Windows

Stage 1: Click on it to activate the program you want to close.

Step 2: Press the Alt and F4 keys at the same time, the active program will be closed immediately.

Closing a Tab in Internet Explorer with Ctrl + F4

Stage 1: Click to activate the tab you want to close.

Step 2: Press the Ctrl and F4 keys simultaneously and the active tab should close.

Bonus: Remap Keys on Your Windows 10 Keyboard

If you want to use a different key on your keyboard to perform a certain action in Windows 10, you should try to remap your keyboard keys. You can use the following applications to remap your keyboard keys:

Sharp Keys

For example, to map one key to another, make the Ctrl Key function as Alt Key, then you can try SharpKeys. It is an open source program that communicates directly with the Windows Registry to make mapping changes.

Auto Hotkey

Auto HotKey is another powerful remapping software. Although the program is free, users may need to understand the programming language to use the tool effectively.

The Key Can Be So Much Fun

One of the many benefits of knowing the capabilities of the F4 key is that it provides shortcuts for completing certain tasks. These shortcuts should make your work faster and easier as they reduce the number of actions you take.

Want to learn more keyboard shortcuts? Check out these Microsoft Office keyboard shortcuts for working on documents.