13 Shortcuts You May Not Know

Check out some of the best tech tips you may have never known about. These shortcuts just might change your daily life.

1. Browsing Shortcuts

Don’t waste any more time going for your mouse to open a new tab. Use?CTRL + T?to open a new tab in your browser. Accidentally close a tab? Just hit?CTRL + SHIFT + T.?Do you like to operate your online life with more than five tabs open–like I do? No problem! There is a shortcut for that, too. Type?CTRL + (any tab number 1-9)?to jump to that tab in your window. If you are a Mac user, just swap?CMMD?for the?CTRL?button, and things work just the same.

2. Navigation Shortcuts

Leave the mouse at home with these navigation tips! If you’re surfing the world wide web and want to go back a page, just key in?ALT + LEFT.?To go forward one page, hit?ALT + RIGHT.?Actually make it all the way to the bottom of a page? Head back to the top quickly by typing?CTRL + ALT + UP.?And if you want a fast way to get to the bottom of a page, try?CTRL + ALT + DOWN.

3. Lose the .com at the End of URLs

You’ll never have to type “.com” again with this trick. Quickly complete a URL after typing the site address using?CTRL + ENTER. It will add the domain for you!

4. Gmail Shortcuts

Take your Gmail game to a whole new level. Easily create a numbered list by utilizing?CTRL + SHIFT + 7. If you need a bulleted list, simply try?CTRL + SHIFT + 8. Plus, never look for that link icon again to add a link to text. Just apply?CTRL + K?after highlighting the text you want to be linked to automatically link it.

5. Rearrange Your Google Waffle

For those that don’t know what the Google Waffle (otherwise known as the App Launcher) is, it’s that grid of nine small boxes in the upper right corner of your browser when using Google Suite. Did you know you can reorganize it based on your needs? Just click and hold an icon to drag it wherever you want it to go.

6. Open Routine Tabs With Ease

Do you find yourself starting your day navigating to the same sites over and over? Here’s a shortcut that will save you time every single day. Open all of the sites you use daily. Then employ?SHIFT + CTRL + D?to save all of your open windows to a new folder. The next day, just right-click on the folder, choose to open all the tabs, and your routine sites will deploy.

7. Shake It Up

Go back in time with this useful iPhone or iPad shortcut. Ever found yourself getting a little swipe-left happy and accidentally deleted an important email? Or have you ever deleted a block of text that you actually needed? Just shake your device to “undo.” A prompt will appear to save the day, and your action with magically be undone.

8. Close Out Your Tab

Drop that mouse! If you’re a Chrome user, just use?CTRL + W?to close out the current tab you are browsing. Mac users can just interchange this shortcut with?CMMD + W.

9. Land on the Address Bar

You may never have to use your mouse again with this tech tip. You can jump up to the address bar by applying?CTRL + L. If this is the only tip you take away, you will have cut your browsing time in half or given yourself even more time to browse!

10. Switch Between Apps

This shortcut is a favorite that I use daily multiple times. If you want to go back to the last app you were using, take advantage of?ALT + TAB.?Just keep pressing the TAB key while holding the ALT key to cycle through all the apps you have open.

11. Split Your Screen

Are you a Chromebook user? Need an extra monitor? Try splitting your screen. You’ll want to type?ALT + [?to snap it to the left or?ALT + ]?to snap it to the right. Then drag your other tab to the empty side, and you’ll have simultaneous viewing on just one screen.

12. Create a Timer

We all know there are several?online timers?to choose from. However, if you ever need one in a pinch, you can use Chrome to make it happen. Open a tab in Chrome, and in the search box, type “timer 60 seconds“. A timer will start when you press enter. Note: You can set it for any length of time.

13. Reopen Your Closed Tab

Did you get a little too click-happy and close that website too soon? Have no fear. You can get it back by simply typing?CTRL + SHIFT + T. If you’re on Mac, type?CMMD + SHIFT + T. You can also open a new tab by deploying?CTRL + T?or?CMMD + T.

Hopefully, you stumbled upon at least one shortcut you weren’t aware of. If I didn’t cover your favorite one, please leave it in the comments, and I’ll add it to my list.

This was originally published on TechNotes on February 8, 2022.