Thursday, June 6, 2019

Keyboard Kung-Fu Part 1: Windows 10

I'll admit my keyboard shortcut knowledge for GUI manipulation has never been very strong. I've been thinking a lot about efficiency recently to get more done and have more free time. Saving a few minutes per hour could be the difference between having work life balance and not, or having that creative time at work where you can really innovate and create something special.

The below are a number of keyboard shortcuts for Windows 10 and Chrome/Firefox running on Windows. I haven't included the most well known shortcuts (Ctrl+C/V/X), those that use keys that are not typically on a laptop keyboard, or anything to do with Microsoft Internet Explorer/Edge (for reasons that are self evident). All of the articles I used to collect these shortcuts are below in the "References" section - it definitely seemed like you had to go to several different sources to collect all of the gems.

I've highlighted some of the shortcuts I didn't know about before this research that I think are especially useful. I'll be doing the same exercise for OSX shortly and will make an equivalent post. Ping me on Twitter if you have other favorites!

Windows Explorer
Shift+deleteDelete bypassing recycle bin
Ctrl+Shift+NNew folder
Ctrl+Shift+EShow subfolders within a folder
Alt+EnterOpen properties for selection
Alt+ArrowSelect folder the is before after, or child/parent with up and down


Open Common Menus
Windows + XOpen Poweruser menu (!Open PowerShell as Admin, Event Viewer, Task Manager, Explorer, etc!)
Windows + SOpens search
Windows + TabOpens task viewer which helps with switching programs (select with arrow keys)
Windows + IOpens Windows settings
Windows + EOpen Windows Explorer
Windows + RRun dialog box
Windows + PChange presentation mode for display
Shift+f10Display shortcut menu for selection
Alt+PrintscreenCapture current window to clipboard


Virtual Desktops
Windows + Ctrl + right or left arrowShow Virtual Desktop to right or left
Windows + Ctrl + DNew virtual desktop
Windows + Ctrl + F4Close virtual desktop


Window Management
Windows + Alt + #This Opens items on your task bar by number of items pinned.
Windows + Shift + #This Opens a NEW window for the item on your task bar
Windows + MMinimize all windows
Windows + left or right arrowDock current window on either side of the screen
Windows + down arrowMinimize window or dock to lower corner of screen
Windows + up arrowMaximize window or dock to upper corner of screen
Windows + ,Peek at desktop (kind of cool if you just want to check, release the Windows key to go back)
Alt+EscCycle through windows in the order they were Opened (change focus)
Ctrl + NNew window
Ctrl + TNew tab
Ctrl + RRefresh


Text Files
Ctrl + Right or Left arrowMove cursor to the beginning of word
Ctrl + Shift with arrow keySelect a block of Text
Shift + arrow keySelect individual characters
Ctrl + BackspaceDelete previous word
Ctrl + DeleteDelete next word
Ctrl + Up or DownMove to beginning or end of paragraph


F-Keys
F2Rename item
F3Search equivalent to ctrl+f in most programs
F6Cycle through screen elements in a Window or desktop
F11Toggle full screen on active window


Browser Shortcuts (Work on both FFox and Chrome)
Ctrl+Shift+TabView and select Open tabs with arrow keys
Ctrl+ numberSwitch to the Open tab correlating to the number you choose
Ctrl+9Go to the LAST tab, even if it's more than 9.
Ctrl+Shift+TOpen last tab you CLOSED (useful!)
Alt+D OR Ctrl+LSelect the address bar (never use the mouse)
Ctrl+WClose tab
Ctrl+JView downloads
Ctrl+Shift+DeleteDelete browsing history/cache (or at least Open window)
Ctrl+PPrint webpage to PDF
Ctrl+EnterAutomatically put www. and .com on either side of a string and go to the site (not super useful IMO)
Ctrl+ClickOpen link in new tab
Alt + Arrow keyBack or forward navigation
Ctrl+OOpen Files
Ctrl+KGoogle search in the URL bar


Chrome Specific
Ctrl+Shift+NNew incognito window


FireFox Specific
Ctrl+Shift+PNew private window


References: 
https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/04/windows-keyboard-shortcuts-productivity.html
https://notebooks.com/2015/08/21/over-100-windows-10-keyboard-shortcuts-you-should-know/
https://www.online-tech-tips.com/internet-explorer-tips/how-to-switch-between-tabs-in-ie7-using-shortcut-key/
https://memeburn.com/2016/06/google-chrome-keyboard-shortcuts/
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/google-chrome-shortcuts-pdf/
https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/4cqi8c/most_used_trick_shortcut/
https://www.howtogeek.com/115664/42-text-editing-keyboard-shortcuts-that-work-almost-everywhere/