Keyboard shortcuts are great for those who don’t like using a mouse. They can also save you time. You can still use whatever browser you like best. Most of these shortcuts work in all browsers.
A few of these shortcuts are labeled “Chrome only” which means, duh, they work in Google’s Chrome browser only. But most of these shortcuts work in Firefox, IE, and Chrome. So whether you use Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, or all three, you’ll find some useful tips that will help make using your browser faster and easier.
The following two shortcuts are for Chrome only.
* (Chrome only) Ctrl+B toggles the bookmarks bar on and off.
* (Chrome only) Shift+Escape opens Google Chrome’s Task Manager.
All of the following shortcuts work in Firefox and Chrome. Most work in Internet Explorer as well.
* Ctrl+L to move your cursor to the address bar.
* Ctrl+K moves your cursor to the address bar to enter a Google search.
* Ctrl+T opens a new tab.
* Ctrl+N opens a new window.
* Ctrl+Shift+T opens the last closed tab.
* (Chrome only) Ctrl+Shift+N opens a new window in “Incognito Mode.”
* Ctrl+Tab cycles through open tabs; Ctrl+Shift+Tab reverse cycles through open tabs.
* Ctrl+J opens the Downloads tab.
* Ctrl+W closes the current tab.
* Ctrl+R refreshes the current page.
* Ctrl+H opens the History tab.
* Alt+Home loads your homepage.
* Ctrl+1 through 9 switches to a particular open tab position.
* Ctrl++, Ctrl+-, Ctrl+0 Enlarges, reduces, and restores default text sizes, respectively.
And did ya know…
You can use the up/down arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll up or down a web page when browsing, instead of using your mouse. Indeed, you can save your carpal tunnels 🙂 by using this little trick. And, if you want to scroll up and down on a large page you can click the Page Down button on your keyboard, and it will scroll in increments until you get to the bottom. You can use the Page Up button to go back up. If you want to go back to the top of the page from anywhere on the page – just hit the “Home” key.
And, if your a bottom feeder, like TC, you can get to the bottom of the page quickly from anywhere on the page by pressing the “End” key. Now don’t those old carpel tunnels feel better already?
I was aware of some of these, but not all. Thanks for making this list.
I just HAVE to make a comment about carpal tunnel. Do you remember the typewriter?
I was a “typist” for many years. One of the first things we were taught was the proper posture while typing.
Start with arms straight down at your sides, elbows bent forming a right angle with the keyboard, which, by the way, puts a “keyboard” lower than the desktop. 40 years of typing and NO carpul tunnel problems. Think about it.
The space bar moves the screen down one page and Shift then space bar to go up a screen.