The BlackBerry Patch

Using keyboard shortcuts can speed task completion on any computer. These same benefits are available to you on the Blackberry by using keyboard shortcuts to speed navigation and data entry.

The Calendar is one application where you can experience a large increase in efficiency by using keyboard shortcuts. To fully utilize the keyboard shortcuts, the Quick Entry option needs to be disabled on the Calendar application. Click the wheel (or scroll ball) and selecting Options from the Calendar menu. Locate and highlight the Enable Quick Entry setting, click the wheel or scroll ball to select Change Option from the menu, select No, and click the Escape button and save the change.

Once Quick Entry is disabled the follow keyboard shortcuts can be used in the Calendar application:

• Change calendar views by pressing D for Day (the default setting), W for Week, M for Month, and A for Agenda.
• Navigate the calendar quickly by pressing N for next, P for Previous, T for Today, and G for Go to Date.

The keyboard can also speed day to day tasks in the Message list in the BlackBerry’s Email application. The following key combinations can be used to sort messages:

• ALT-i: show only incoming mail
• ALT-o: show only outgoing mail (messages you have sent – i.e. checkmark icon)
• ALT-p: show phone log messages
• ALT-s: show SMS messages
• ALT-v: show VoiceMail messages

The following key combinations can be used to navigate messages:

• n: go to the next days messages
• p: go to the previous days messages
• t: go to top of message listing
• b: go to end/bottom of message listing
• backspace: close message listing and return to home screen (ribbon)
• spacebar: pagedown
• cap + spacebar: pageup

While typing an email message there are a couple of keyboard shortcuts to speed and ease typing. The first is if you enter two spaces at the end of the sentence, it will automatically enter a period and the next letter will be capitalized. Also, if you press and hold down a letter for a moment it will capitalize the letter.

One last helpful hint…sometimes you get a phone number that is spelled out, e.g., 800-WIN-CASH. The Blackberry does not have the letters on the keys, so translating the characters to numbers can be difficult. Here is where it gets really cool; you dial a phone number with letters (such as 208-426-HELP) by pressing the Alt key and typing each letter with the keyboard. The BlackBerry will then translate the letters to numbers for you and dial the correct number.

Happy typing on your BlackBerry. More from the BlackBerry Patch next week!