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10 Keyboard Hacks That Will Change Your Life
Refinery 29 ^ | 5/20/15 | Christina Bonnington

Posted on 05/20/2015 10:54:01 AM PDT by lulu16

Turns out, there are a few savvy (and super-easy) keyboard tricks that can do just that. Your desktop, browser, Gmail, and even Facebook all have simple keyboard-based shortcuts you can press to more quickly accomplish things you do all the time — things like creating a new tab in Chrome or favoriting a tweet.

We’ve rounded up 10 super-handy keyboard hacks that will help you zip through your daily grind, so you can spend more time on things that matter — or at least save your index finger from repetitive stress syndrome. And, we've organized them from the most basic and well-known to the most advanced. Even if you’re already a keyboard-shortcut pro, keep scrolling; we're sure we’ve got a keyboard trick you never knew existed.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: computer; dsj02; keyboard
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Some I'm planning on learning:

4. Chrome Tabs & Windows We basically live in Chrome, so these tips end up being especially useful. To create a new tab, hit Command/Control+T. Similarly, for a new window, hit Command/Control+N. To switch between tabs (on both Macs and PCs) tap Control+Tab or Control+Page Down. The latter trick is great when you want to cycle through your open tabs, or when you want to alternate between two tabs (Control+Shift+Tab or Control+Page Up lets you navigate back to the previous open tab).

6. Hyperlinks In Gmail No need to copy and paste a URL into an email. If you highlight the text you want to turn into a link, then hit Control/Command+K, a pop-up in Gmail appears and lets you paste in the URL. Now, instead of having an email littered with http://s and www.s, you’ve got clean text with a few blue, clickable links.

1 posted on 05/20/2015 10:54:02 AM PDT by lulu16
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To: lulu16

My favorite remains Ctrl+Alt, Delete.


2 posted on 05/20/2015 10:58:18 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: lulu16; dayglored

I love Ctrl+Q to quit applications in OS X and Linux. Wish it’d work with Windoze.


3 posted on 05/20/2015 11:05:52 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: martin_fierro

ALT-F4.


4 posted on 05/20/2015 11:08:24 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (As we say in the Air Force, "You know you're over the target when you start getting flak!")
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To: lulu16

Many of these tips can be accomplished by using your mouse. Like adding a new tab, just click the + sign after the last open tab. No key board typing needed.


5 posted on 05/20/2015 11:08:47 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232 ((VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!))
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To: lulu16

Wish I could ALT+F4 the democrats.


6 posted on 05/20/2015 11:09:01 AM PDT by red-dawg (NO Prisoners.)
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To: martin_fierro
I love Ctrl+Q to quit applications in OS X and Linux. Wish it’d work with Windoze.

Just use Alt + F4.

7 posted on 05/20/2015 11:09:15 AM PDT by Sparticus (Tar and feathers for the next dumb@ss Republican that uses the word bipartisanship.)
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To: lulu16; rdb3; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; JosephW; Only1choice____Freedom; amigatec; ...

8 posted on 05/20/2015 11:10:21 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: red-dawg

CTRL+C or CTRL+S would also work as most of the rats brains still run on DOS, Windoze is to picturesque for them to comprehend.


9 posted on 05/20/2015 11:20:19 AM PDT by mabarker1 (congress, The Opposite of Progress.)
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To: martin_fierro

Alt+F4 or either [Alt+F C] OR [Alt+F X] (depends upon the app, older ones used eXit to close, newer tend to Close)


10 posted on 05/20/2015 11:23:48 AM PDT by roamer_1 (Globalism is just socialism in a business suit.)
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To: Vigilanteman
My favorite remains Ctrl+Alt, Delete.

OK, I've given that multiple tries and my device shuts down every damn time.

What's it supposed to do?

11 posted on 05/20/2015 11:26:25 AM PDT by Ken H
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To: Vigilanteman

I lost my “hit any key” hammer


12 posted on 05/20/2015 11:32:04 AM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: lulu16

Anyone else tired of the gratuitous use of the word “hack”? Sorry but shortcut keys aren’t “hacks”. Thanks for the list though...


13 posted on 05/20/2015 11:33:52 AM PDT by lwd
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To: Vigilanteman

I’ve reprogrammed my keyboard so that every key is the enter key.

Work goes by so much faster now.


14 posted on 05/20/2015 11:49:04 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Hillary: polarizing calculating disingenuous insincere ambitious inevitable entitled over-confident)
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To: lwd
Anyone else tired of the gratuitous use of the word “hack”?

Aka, RTFM?

15 posted on 05/20/2015 11:50:25 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: lulu16

I like ‘CTRL +’ and ‘CTRL -’ to zoom in and out on pages.


16 posted on 05/20/2015 11:51:26 AM PDT by CivilWarBrewing (,)
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To: lwd
'10 Keyboard Hacks Shortcuts That Will Change Your Life'
17 posted on 05/20/2015 11:52:49 AM PDT by CivilWarBrewing (,)
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To: lulu16

bkmk


18 posted on 05/20/2015 11:57:35 AM PDT by Sergio (An object at rest cannot be stopped! - The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight)
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To: CivilWarBrewing

How about Ctrl-W to close browser tabs individually?

I use that ALL the time.


19 posted on 05/20/2015 12:34:45 PM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (Liars use facts when the truth doesn't suit their purposes.)
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To: lulu16

You can tell when someone really knows how to use their computer, because they only really have to use the mouse about half the time that other users do. Many of these ‘keyboard hacks’ have been around for years.


20 posted on 05/20/2015 12:52:18 PM PDT by zeugma (Are there more nearby spiders than the sun is big?)
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