Quickly Undo and Redo Changes

Have you ever been working in a document or spreadsheet and deleted something you actually wanted to keep?  Don't worry!  There's no need to remember what you wrote in order to recreate it.

Most programs (including all Office programs) make use of an undo and redo feature.  The undo feature does exactly what it sounds like it does:  it allows you to undo recent changes.  In most cases, it will not undo changes letter-by-letter, but it will undo typing blocks of text in small chunks.

If you are undoing changes and accidentally went too far, it's time to make use of the redo feature.  This will undo your undo-s.  It is also useful if you want to compare the original text with your recent edits.  The redo feature will only work until you make another edit.  Once you make a change, the ability to revert what you just did with the undo button disappears.

In Office 2007 and later, the Undo and Redo buttons are located at the top of the screen, near the logo for the program you are using.  In other software, you will usually find them somewhere on the toolbar.  The Undo button is usually an arrow pointing to the left, and the Redo button is usually a similar arrow pointing to the right.  These features can also be accessed from the Edit menu.

However, these features have a standard keyboard shortcut.  Ctrl + Z will undo your changes, and Ctrl + Y will redo them.  These keyboard shortcuts work in a variety of programs, including many that do not have undo and redo buttons built in.  For example, I was just able to undo a change to this text as I typed it inside a browser window.