Best keyboard shortcuts and tricks: most used methods

For all those users of laptop and desktop it never hurts to know one or two tricks and gain that extra speed and agility when it comes to moving around a digital interface. Today we are going to take a look at the best keyboard tricks and shortcuts regardless of the operating system and number of buttons to press.

Index of contents

Selection and editing

Apart from the keyboard shortcuts specific to specific programs, such as the Office, Adobe, etc. package, there are keyboard shortcuts that are of universal use. Here you have the most popular:

• Ctrl + C: copy content Ctrl + V: paste content Ctrl + Alt + V or Ctrl + Shift + V: paste content without native format

Note: both shortcuts are universal in nature and are supported in hundreds of applications and operating systems but may not work in Microsoft Word.

• Ctrl + X: cut content Ctrl + Z: undo, go back one step

Note: In Windows this shortcut can be used within a folder to retrieve an item that has been removed. It is a shortcut supported in practically all editing programs.

• Ctrl + S: save item Del or Delet: delete item, send to recycle bin. Shift + Delet: destroy item (does not stay in the recycle bin) Click + Shift on one item, click on another one (in a folder): automatically selects all items between the first and last, inclusive. Click and Ctrl: Select individual items within a folder. Ctrl + drag: copy an item (create a duplicate) Ctrl + Shift: create a shortcut to the selected item Print Pant: take a screenshot that is cached. We can paste it in programs like Photoshop or Paint. Alt + Print Screen: captures only the active window. We can paste it in programs like Photoshop or Paint.

General navigation

Within existing operating systems for PC, be it Windows, MacOS or Linux, it is also possible to find keyboard tricks of a transversal nature, being present in most of them:

• F1: show help F2: change the name of the selected item F3: open the item search window F4 (in folder): show the system path of the folder where we are Alt + Enter: show the properties of the selected item Alt + Space bar: shows the system menu of the active window Shift + F10: shows the quick access menu of the selected window or element Alt + Tab: quick navigation between active windows by clicking Tab to advance between them Alt + Esc: Brings the elements in the order that they have been opened to the active screen. It is similar to Alt + Tab.

Internet browsing

Although we know that there are still misguided souls who navigate with Internet Explorer and just want to see the world burn, the truth is that search engines like Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox or Opera are the most popular. The shortcuts listed below work on all of them:

• Ctrl + A: select all Ctrl + Tab: move forward in open tabs Ctrl + Shift + Tab: move backward in open tabs Tab: move forward between the selectable elements in a web portal without using the mouse Shift + Tab: the above in reverse (backward) Ctrl + P: open the print dialog Ctrl + H: open the search history Ctrl F: open the word search on the active page Ctrl + T: open a new tab Ctrl + N: open a new navigation window Ctrl + Shift + N: open a window in incognito mode Ctrl + Shift + T: open the last closed advantage Ctrl + D: save the page in bookmarks F5: reload the page Ctrl + R: reload the page also clearing the cache Ctrl + Shift + W: close all open tabs and the browser Alt + Spacebar + N or X: minimize and maximize the current window

Keyboard shortcuts on Windows OS:

Original image created by YagoRG

• Ctrl + F4: close the active document within a program that allows multiple documents to be open simultaneously Ctrl + Esc: show the start menu Esc: cancel the current task Alt + F4: close the document, program or game in the active window Ctrl + Alt + Del or Del: restart the operating system

Conclusions on keyboard tricks and shortcuts

As you have seen, not another thing, but there are shortcuts for a tube. The ability to open multiple programs simultaneously with increasing complexity made these tricks a navigation channel that greatly streamlines user management.

The number of them available locally in the operating system tends to vary from each other, although what is clear is that those more popular keyboard shortcuts are so universal that their absence is almost a design error.

We recommend reading: Best keyboards for PC.

If you liked this mini-guide and would like us to make other specific ones for programs in the Adobe or Office package, let us know in the comments. With nothing more to say, Alt F4!