Improve Data Editing Efficiencies - for Speed and Accuracy...

Increasing the speed and accuracy, when estimating parts for manufacturers, is one thing estimators constantly try to achieve. Even the fastest cost estimating systems available today leave room for improvement. By actively taking steps to utilize common time-saving techniques any data-entry person can process data with more speed and greater accuracy.

A first step for anyone who wants to enter data faster is to improve their typing skills – rather obvious I’ll admit – but ask around to see how many people have a typing program installed on their computer.

Next there are short-cut keys.

Regardless of what software is used, every employee should be aware of time-saving short-cut keys -- most of which for those wanting to be power users -- simply can’t afford to miss. Windows has short-cut keys and so don't many state of the art software programs. These short-cuts provide a way to perform a variety of routine tasks that can first save incredible amounts of time and second reduce data entry errors.

Listed below are the basic windows short-cut key combinations:

CTRL-C: Copy - Copies highlighted text, to memory, from the screen.
CTRL-V: Paste - Copies the text from memory to an open document or data entry field.
CTRL-X: Cut - Removes highlighted text and stores to memory.
CTRL-Z: Undo - Restores the previous action(s) instructed via keyboard or mouse, by the user.
CTRL-U: Underline - Underlines the highlighted text.
CTRL-B: Bold - Bolds the highlighted text.
CTRL-I: Italic - Italicizes the highlighted text.
CTRL-P: Print - Calls up the print function.
CTRL-N: New - Calls up a new document, new email, etc.
The way these work is that located on the far bottom left of most keyboards is a key labeled "Ctrl." This key coupled with at least one other key provides added functionality for users helping them accomplish more than just the routine and manual finger-by-finger key typing. Short-cut keys function similarly to macros in that they handle a group of tasks after pressing just some keys. To activate any of these short-cuts begin by pressing the "Ctrl" key then, while keeping this key depressed, press 1 or more other keys to invoke the intended action.

For example: Highlight some text on the screen, press and hold the "Ctrl" key and then also press the "C" and then release both keys. The information that you had just highlighted is now in memory ready to be pasted (CTRL-V) to another location. That text, now in memory, can be copied within the same document, to another document or to most data entry fields.

These time-saving short-cuts can greatly help estimators get more estimates out -- more quickly -- specifically by helping to move and/or copy data between two or more estimates. Again part of the power in using this strategy beyond saving time is that it reduces fatigue related data-entry errors that might occur from poor transposition or missed-key typing -- worded differently… the "copy and paste" routine uses data that had already been correctly identified.These short-cuts can also be accomplished by using mouse operations, however every time your hand moves between the keyboard and the mouse –- time is lost.

"While CTRL-C, V, and Z are readily used my all time favorite is CTRL-N because so far, this will instantly start NEW whatever it is that I'm working in."

Review your cost estimating system to learn about the short-cuts you can use to speed up your estimating and increase your data-entry accuracy. For more information on additional windows-based short-cuts please visit Microsoft's short-cuts page.

Care to share a topic, comment, or suggest an idea for a future article? Let us know… Jay Snow, Marketing Manager, MTI Systems. Jay.Snow@mtisystems.com.