Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know
Minimise all windows
Sometimes you have a bunch of stuff running, and you want it all to go away so you can get to the desktop. Merely pressing Windows key + D will minimise everything you have up, which will save you some time pressing the minimise button for each window. It should be noted that Windows + M offers similar functionality, but there is no undoing, so Windows + D is the more favourable approach. In macOS, we favour leveraging the power of Mission Control to handle virtual desktops, switching between apps, and peaking at your desktop beautifully.
You can use the menu key on a keyboard to right-click. Not every keyboard has the key (shown above), but many do. Pressing the button will right-click whatever you have in focus/selected in Windows. .Use your keyboard to navigate system tray icons Tapping the Windows key + the number that corresponds to the position of the program is a quick way to open them. For instance, if Chrome were the second icon on your taskbar and that's what you wanted to begin, you'd hit Wind
Web Browsing Tricks
Jump to address bar. There are many ways to jump right to the address bar from anywhere in a browser. Pressing Ctrl + L, F6, and Alt + D all accomplish this goal.
Automatically add www. and .com to a URL You can shave off a couple of seconds typing in a URL by simply click Ctrl + Enter after you type the name of the site. Need .net instead of .com? Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter instead.
Instant image search (Chrome only) If you hold down the "S" key and right-click on an image, it will open an image search on a new tab.
Use private browsing The uses for not having cookies and history saved are obvious for certain activities, you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared computer (of course!). Pressing Ctrl + Shift + N will launch a new private in Chrome, Ctrl + Shift + P will do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Cycle through open tabs Pressing Ctrl + Tab while in a browser will flip between each one (Ctrl + Shift + Tab to go backwards). This can be much faster than moving the mouse and clicking on a tab. Ctrl + Num (1, 2, 3, 4, n..) will also take you to particular cost in that numeric order. Ctrl + 9 always brings you to the very last tab, even if it's beyond the ninth one.
Scroll through pages with the spacebar Tapping the spacebar on a website will scroll down in full-page chunks and hitting shift + space will take you back up.
Convert your browser into a notepad Type this into the address bar, and you can write notes. Alternatively, while not as fast. Use Google Keep or Gmail's compose a mail to write letters and have those saved on the cloud as you type and go.
Icon-only bookmarks on your toolbar You can delete the name of your bookmarks leaving only the icon, so they take up less space on the taskbar. In Chrome: right-click the marker> edit > delete the name and save.
Use the scroll wheel Put your middle mouse button to use by clicking on links to automatically open them in a new tab/window. Also, if you use the scroll wheel button on a tab, it will close it.
Copy links quicker Right-click the link like usual but taps E on your keyboard to copy the link.
Make content editable Bring up the console on Chrome or Firefox (right-click, Inspect). On the console, enter the command document.designMode = "on" that will let you edit any text on the screen.
Zoom In, Reset Zoom Use the browser magnifier to adjust a website for more comfortable reading. Ctrl/Cmd + (plus/minus sign) does the trick. To reset to the default zoom level use Ctrl + 0.
File Management Tricks
Rename a file quickly Right-clicking and selecting rename is not very efficient. Instead, press F2 while a file is selected to change its name. To alter the name of another file, type Tab without deselecting the current folder. On Macs, hitting Enter will rename (which may sound counter-intuitive to Windows users) while Cmd + O is used to open.
Cloud backup important files If you're working on a critical project, make sure you aren't backing up locally only. Services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or any of the other popular cloud storage solutions will do the legwork for you in the background.
Rename files sequentially in Windows or Mac You actually don't need to download any programs to perform a batch file rename. Instead, you can select all the files you want to change, right-click the first one in the list, select rename (or use F2), and type in the name. This will automatically change all the other files with the same root name with a suffix: (1), (2), and so on.
On Mac, you can do something similar. Select the files, then right-click and an option to rename the whole batch as a series will show up.
Select multiple files using the keyboard To select a bunch of files using your keyboard, you can press Shift + Down Arrow to select a single file or Shift + Page Down to select a large group of data at one time. Ctrl + A will decide everything.
Right-click drag files and folders in Windows, And you'll be presented with a context menu containing options to move, copy, zip or create a shortcut.
Security Tips
Lock your computer if you get up Sick of your "friends" going onto your computer at work or home and posting things on your Facebook/Twitter page on your behalf? It's certainly an annoyance, but an easy one to prevent.
Windows + L will lock your system right away, requiring a password (if you've set one) to log in again.
On macOS use Cmd + Option + Power to log off. On the latest revision of macOS (High Sierra), a quicker option to simply lock the screen was added which works using the shortcut Cmd + Ctrl + Q.
Scan suspicious files with VirusTotal If you're worried about a file being infected, you can upload it to VirusTotal to have it checked by a few dozen antivirus engines from the cloud. Often times someone has already uploaded the same file, sparing you the wait.
See who is logged on to your router Software such as Wireless Network Watcher makes this particularly smooth and even has alarms for when someone new appears. You can also do this by logging into your router (current router IP addresses) and checking for a list of wireless clients which should display the name of the device, its currently assigned IP address and its MAC address.
Permanently remove deleted data so software such as Recuva can't undelete files/folders open a command prompt and enter cypher/w:C: to wipe deleted files from your C: drive (change the letter to target a different drive or folder). If you need to go the extra mile and use a file shredder program, check out Eraser (Windows) and FileShredder (Mac).
Read installers Even major programs can install toolbars and other unwanted pieces of software during installation. Take a few seconds to read each step to make sure you are not agreeing to install something different than the program you were actually seeking. Far too often, people just push next over and over, and end up with a browser covered in various search bars that only aren't needed. In the worst of scenarios, these can have nefarious intentions.
General Tricks
Bring back a closed tab We have dedicated a section to web browsing further down below, but this one is too useful to be missed. Accidentally closed a tab? Simply press Ctrl + Shift + T to reopen the most recently closed tab and get back to what you were doing (Cmd + Shift + T on Macs).
Window snapping and multiple monitor control Pressing the Windows Key + Arrow Keys will cause a window to quickly snap to each side of either monitor. Alternatively, hitting Shift + Windows Key + Arrows will cause the window to jump to the other monitor. While pressing Windows + P will allow you to quickly set up a second display or projector.
As mentioned before, in macOS, we favour leveraging the power of Mission Control to handle virtual desktops, switching between apps, and peaking at your desktop beautifully. Though Macs don't support window snapping out of the box, a $0.99 app called Magnetcomes highly recommended.
Password-protect files A simple way to lock down access to specific data is to create an encrypted archive. Odds are you already have installed a copy of 7-Zip, WinRAR, or The Unarchiver (Mac) or some equivalent. Create a new file, select to encrypt its contents and password-protect them.
Undo everywhere to fix those little mistakes Did you know you can undo almost any action? Ctrl + Z is the ultimate hotkey, and for sure you knew about it already, however, note that cancel doesn't just apply to type. If you accidentally delete or move a file, you can hit Ctrl + Z to bring it right back to where it was (Ctrl + Y will redo whatever you undid).
YouTube keyboard shortcuts If you thought using the spacebar to pause a YouTube video was useful (except when the focus is elsewhere, and it doesn't work), instead try using K for breaking, while J and L will step backwards/forward 10 seconds. M works for mute. Super handy.
Find your Wi-Fi password In Windows, go to the "Network and Sharing Center." Right-click on the Wi-Fi network connection icon > Wireless Properties. Click on Show Characters box to show your Wi-Fi password.
- In macOS, all passwords are stored in the Keychain app. Use Spotlight to find "Keychain Access." Open the app and find your Wi-Fi network name in the list of saved credentials. Double click it and then click the box to show your password (it will require your OS level password).
- Adopt a Clipboard manager. Once you're used to relying on a clipboard manager, the productivity boost works out similarly as how you become more efficient with multiple monitors or virtual desktops. We have an article dedicated to this, but in short, for Windows try ClipClip. For macOS use Flyout.Screenshot like you mean it Simply hitting the print screen on your keyboard is the easiest way to capture a screenshot. But Windows and macOS provide several other ways to screenshot, many of which are better options. But then, there's grabbing a screenshot and annotating. We love Monosnap for doing just that thanks to its simplicity, speed, and cross-platform support.
- Delete the Windows. old folder.Reduce the number of programs running at startup If your PC is taking too long to boot, it's probably because you have far too many programs running at startup. It's easy to reduce these, and it will make your PC launch noticeably faster. Make sure you research what you are turning off as some processes might be needed by third party programs you have installed.
- Windows: Open the task manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and head to the startup tab to configure what programs you want to launch with your system.
- Windows 7 and prior: Open run (Windows key + R) and enter MSConfig to access a window with a similar startup section.
- macOS: Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Select your user and click on the Login Items tab. You can remove or hide startup applications from here.
Windows are hidden "god mode" folder Windows offers a centralised Control Panel for all of the OS settings, making it easy for users to tweak everything from desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter this mode, create a new folder with this exact name (copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be able to jump in and change all kinds of settings. - Command prompt here In the Windows File Explorer, type "cmd" into the address bar and it will open the command prompt in that directory.
Typing Tricks
Paste the plain text of what was copied When you copy text from any source, programs will usually include any formatting that comes with it. To paste this as plain text, press Ctrl + Shift + V instead of the standard Ctrl + V, and the system will paste unformatted text. This also works on Mac: Cmd + Shift + V.Note that many but not all programs follow this parameter, particularly Microsoft programs like Word or Outlook don't, which is annoying. There are a few alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in Notepad: 1) Ctrl + Alt + V will show a 'paste special' dialogue box. 2)Ctrl + Spacebar will remove formatting in the already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single letter, pressing Ctrl + Backspace will cancel the whole word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text quicker if you screw up an entire word.Move the cursor to the beginning of the next or previous word. Moving the cursor around manually while typing is a great way to make your work take longer than it needs to. To speed up the process, move the cursor around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the beginning of the previous word, use Ctrl + Left Arrow. To move it to the beginning of the next word, use Ctrl + Right Arrow. In macOS, you can accomplish the same using the Option key. To select words/paragraphs as you're going, hold Shift + Ctrl + Arrow (up or down will pick entire bodies of text).
Emoji keyboard If you're addicted to using emoji, know desktop OS support them natively just like mobiles do. On Windows press the Windows Key +. (period) and on macOS Cmd + Control + Spacebar. An Emoji panel will appear so you can carry on, as usual, using all the expressions you want.Making sub and superscript text If you need to create a sub or superscript text (think exponents for superscript), press Ctrl + = for subscript and Ctrl + Shift + = for superscript.Use Windows' character map to identify and create different symbols Search the Start menu for "character map", and you should find a utility that lets you copy every character imaginable and even provides an Alt + Numpad code for later use. For example, the euro sign (€) can be made with Alt + 0128.Keyboard Shortcuts
Open the task manager directly If you want to bypass the interrupt that happens when pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del and jump right to the task manager, hitting Ctrl + Shift + Esc will launch it directly.
Use Spotlight Windows built-in search is not useless, but it certainly is unreliable and slow. macOS' Spotlight, on the other hand, is brilliant. Hit Cmd + Spacebar to open an app by typing just the first 2-3 letters of its name, search for files, or even do calculations.Interrupt all processes Ctrl + Alt + Delete used to be a standard PC shortcut, and one almost all power users are familiar with. The vital thing to note is that it interrupts all processes, including the one that is bogging down your system, which can mean the difference between needing to restart or not. In macOS, you can also summon the Force Quit dialogue box by using Cmd + Shift + Esc.Cycle through open windows Pressing Alt + Tab allows you to cycle through currently open windows (Alt + Shift + Tab will cycle backwards). This makes switching back and forth between running processes quick and painless. In macOS, the shortcut is Cmd + Tab.Launch programs with your own hotkeys Right-click the shortcut to any application in Windows, head into the properties and in the shortcut tab you should see a "shortcut key" field where you can type your preferred launch combo. Also of note, if you click the "advanced" options in the shortcut tab, you can set it to run as an Administrator, which is particularly useful for creating a shortcut to an elevated Command Prompt. This could be set to launch with the keys Ctrl + Alt + Numpad 1 for example.
Close the current program Typing Alt + F4 will close the program that is running. This is useful as it saves you time mousing over the "X" and clicking. People will often use this as a joke, telling you to press Alt + F4 to fix a problem. Don't fall for it unless you want to close what you are doing.Close the current window/tab Stick of moving all the way to that X button? Press Ctrl + W and the current window will close. (Don't do it now, or you will miss the rest of the tricks!)
Bring up the system information window.This is so much quicker than digging this out the traditional way... Just press Windows + Pause/Break and the System Information panel will be ready to go. This might be the only use for the Pause/Break key you will ever find, so enjoy it!
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