Tech
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Posted by Ford James in Tech
There are plenty of quick tech tips we all use to enhance our time with various gadgets and while using the internet, so we want you to share your favourite! From software shortcuts to hardware hacks, anything is eligible here as long as it's straightforward enough for others to easily adapt into their tech habits.
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The Short Cut that I like the most in windows is Win + D (minimize all applications) because I always have many tabs or applications that make me lazy to minimize applications for a long time.
Man, this is a brilliant one! Thanks for sharing this one, I'm going to use this one like crazy now
I suppose mine is when using OBS
A lot of people arent aware that by simply using Shift/Ctrl/Alt - You are able to essentially resise and move anything around the screen, a lot of people head into settings using manual controls.
So I like that little hack.
Mine is pretty niche, it helps to perfectly align text in Adobe InDesign when creating a piece of work that has a lot of copy on.
If you’ve ever worked in Adobe InDesign and struggled to align your text perfectly, this shortcut is an absolute game-changer: Cmd + \ (Mac) or Ctrl + \ (Windows). This simple keystroke forces the text to align within its frame perfectly, ensuring everything looks super clean and professional. It’s especially handy when working with justified text or aligning columns in a layout—no more manual tweaks or eyeballing the alignment!
I use this shortcut all the time when working on editorial designs, brochures, or even simple layouts. It saves so much time and ensures your designs have that polished, precise look every time. Give it a try next time you’re in InDesign—it’s a small hack with big results!
On a web browser Ctrl+Shift+T (re-open closed tabs).
I had to teach this to my manager recently. I think it is common at work to have windows open with millions of tabs from the rabbit hole of email and links that cause a pop-up. And then the devastation of accidentally closing it all down due to a misclick. Fortunately I was able to save a lot of time by using the above tech short cut.
This is one of my personal favourites!
as an IT tech for a school district, I'm having to work on Windows PCs all the time. And with Windows 11 and some of their frustrating UI changes, I've started doing more and more in the command line for things.
However, sometimes when you open the cmd line, it just opens to a user-level prompt. I need to use the admin-level prompt way more often.
So after you FLAG-R to open the Run line and type cmd, press CTRL-SHIFT-ENTER to have it open with admin permissions instead of user. You'll usually get the UAC box pop up, but at least it's faster than dealing with the steadily worse "start" menu. Don't even need the mouse (even accepting the UAC is only a couple tabs and enter)
The Shortcut i use everyday is:
Ctrl+Shift+Esc : Task Manager
Alt + Tab : Select an Open Application
But the most valuable one is...
Win + Shift + Left or Right arrow : to move an application (after selected with alt+tab) from a screen to another.
One of the most casual shortcuts I use since some time is
WINDOWS + .
This brings up the emoji/GIF options to quickly insert in most of your text bars.
On Nvidia cards Alt+F10 is great as it gets you an instant replay of the last several minutes. No need to have OBS up, no worrying about missing something cool happening, and no performance penalty either.
These are the shortcuts that I use the most, they help me a lot when creating content, if I need to record or take screenshots quickly.
Windows logo + Alt + G this helps me record the last 30 seconds
Logo Windows + Alt + R is used to start a recording or stop it And finally we have,
Windows logo + Alt + Print Screen, this is used to take a screenshot
🔴 THE CLASSIC LIFESAVER WHEN SOMETHING IS FROZEN OR TOO SLOW 🔴
This one maybe is not a new discover because since the 90’s this SHORTCUT function save my B… so many times
Just pressing the well know Ctrl+Alt+Del. This keyboard shortcut will work regardless of what programs you have open.
I suppose that everybody must know this one but if someone doesn’t know there is
Also this will open a new screen with options to lock, switch user, sign out, change a password, open the Task Manager, and more as well wery useful
WARNING ⚠️
This shortcut method will shut down your computer or laptop without the normal safely closing programs or apps
This could cause corrupted files, so be sure to turn off your PC correctly if you can.
Let’s Participate it 💪🏼
Use F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I to open developer tools in most browsers, then navigate to the "Console" tab. Here, you can type document.designMode = "on" and press enter. This turns the entire webpage into an editable document, allowing you to make temporary changes to the content for quick testing or fun, without affecting the actual site. Remember, this is client-side only and won't save changes.
Windows + Shift + S - you can click and drag around an image or portion of the screen to capture just that bit to the pasteboard for a quick grab without have to print the whole screen and then crop it in Photoshop/paint etc.
Mine is a little niche, but I'm a big fan of Windows + R. This opens the Run dialogue box, and from there you can open System Info, Device Manager, Command Prompt, Powershell, etc. Without needing to search through your start menu.
A close second is the change made in (I believe) windows 10 to have the Print Screen key just open the ScreenSnip tool. I take a lot of screenshots on my computer, and sometimes I need just a single window or just part of one. For the former situation Alt+Print Screen was wonderfull, as another user has already mentioned, but for the later it meant I had to take the screenshot, open up Paint, do my cropping and other editing, then save it or select all and copy, and only then could I paste or upload it wherever I need it. Now I hit print screen, drag a box over what I need, and it goes directly to the clipboard and gets automatically saved to a specific subfolder in my Pictures directory in case I need it later!
With the keys (Shift + Ctrl + Win + B), you can refresh the computer's drivers. This is useful when the screen freezes
My favorite shortcut is "Win+G", thanks to this shortcut a menu will open with many settings that you can change and customize as you like. This is especially useful for those who play video games.
I still see people manually putting all their apps down to the task bar if they need something from their desktop. But actually Windows Key + D will do that for you.
Or just be a true king and don't keep any icons on your desktop :D I like my most used apps pinned to the task bar, play in borderless windowed mode, so I just need to press the Windows Key and got access to the task bar and everything on it, whenever I need it.
WIN + V
This shortcut is extremely useful for me since I can acesse my history of text or image copies (ctrl + c) and use one copied even if I have copied another text. I often use it to get some texts and then past in another place in the order I want without the need to be changing screen all the time.
about 15 years ago I needed that for my work (to copy 2 things from different places and then paste them into Excel). To reduce ALT+TABs I've created a small script, which combined both texts into one and then copied the final result.
It was a pure abomination (I'm not a programmer), but it worked, saved me a hundred moves each shift
I think this one of the best features that Microsoft have added to the Windows. I was used to use this function already in Android systems since 2012.
But I think this is useful for a lot of people, for exemple, for me, I have to make spreadsheets to my clients with products and information and price, so I have to copy from a store page the name of the product, the price, the transportation fee and the delivery time, so to copy all this info in one go helps me a lot.
For Android + windows I recently discovered Phone link app, pretty handy to move stuff around
shift+tab while playing on Steam opened for a total new interaction in the games. Steam saved pc gaming.
I find myself using a lot of WinKey + E to quickly open Windows Explorer. The other being WinKey + Shift + S to take a quick screencap of selected area you want on your screen and have it on your clipboard, this is way better than ol' prtscrn as you have to recrop it later on with it.
On a Windows PC my 2 favourite shortcuts are WINDOWS key + E to bring up file explorer and WINDOWS key + L to lock the PC.
My favorite shortcut? Easy!! Moving my thumb up and to the sides, from the screen border in my iPhone to activate the app slider. Whoever came up with that, deserves a pizza.
I'm the type of person who likes minimalism and efficiency. First we discuss the shortcuts that are most often used, namely ctrl + c & ctrl + v because they are very efficient and help in everything, Second split windows with win + arrow with it making it easier for me to do multitasking, then the last is win + m the function is to minimize all windows I often use it after all my tasks are complete plus my minimalist and clean windows wallpaper so statisfying to see it.
Thank You :)
If your PC has an Nvidia card and you want to see the performance of your GPU overlayed when playing a game you can hit ALT + R and it will display all the performance specs of your game. E.g. FPS, Temp etc.
My room doesn’t have any windows, which means it gets completely dark when I go to sleep at night. Since I don’t like sleeping with the door open and I don’t have a lamp, I decided to turn my computer into a "programmed lamp".
To do this, I open the Command Prompt by pressing Windows + R and then typing cmd.
In the Command Prompt, I type the following code: shutdown -s -t 5400
shutdown -s -t is a command to schedule your computer to shut down after a certain amount of time (in seconds). This time is defined by the number placed after the command, which in my example above is 5400. 5400 seconds equals one and a half hours.
This way, I can fall asleep with the light from my monitor without worrying about leaving my computer on all night.
Practical example of how I do this.
(Not really.)
These days, Windows settings have search bars that help a lot but if you'd just like to have a little settings folder with common, easily-labeled shortcuts for settings, find a place to put a new folder on Windows 10 or 11 and name it the following:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}You'll end up with a folder and 204 quick access options for Autoplay, Devices, Internet options, and more.
I often take screenshots, but the best way to do it, capturing only the affected window is ALT + PRINT, unlike PRINT which captures the entire screen!
I like to use the usual ctrl + A, ctrl + C and ctrl + V to copy and paste entire blocks from one spot to the other, but the quite universal ctrl + Z do undo actions is a real live-saver. One of my favourite shortcuts that is a bit more niche is the ctrl + shift + N to create a new folder in Windows. It allows to easily create a good structure in personal as well as in work related files.
I'm a bit of a distracted person, so it often happens that I close a browser tab without meaning to. That's why “Ctrl + Shift + T” to reopen that closed window is very useful!!!
I also really like “Windows + Shift + S” to take screenshots and send them somewhere, for example. After I discovered these functions my life changed haha
The ones I use the most are the classics, ''ctrl + c'' which copies texts, ''ctrl + v'' which pastes copied texts and ''ctrl + z'' which reverses actions, because of writing and rewriting college texts. But a good hourly mention is ''Alt + TAB'' when I'm in a game and I want to quickly change screens to see something.
For anyone who frequently types, CTRL, Shift, V is a life saver. Especially from one document to another because certain formats are defaulted on one thing and not on another. Specifically college or masters students like myself know my struggle.
My favorite shortcut is ALT+F9 with Nvidia apps I can record videos while I'm playing a game and it's very convenient to press ALT+Z and then select the recording option this way I just have to press ALT+F9 to start recording and press it again to close the recording, thanks to this shortcut I can record anything from the desktop to a game without having to press a ton of keys.
For work needs I am constantly cutting links or formatted texts and pasting them in different emaisl, chats or shared resources, and I need that only the text is copied, without the formatting of capitals and bold letters, or the associated URL, etc...
While we all know ‘ctrl+v’, we may not all know that ‘ctrl+shift+v’ will paste the unformatted text into all those types of destinations.
One of my favorite tools to utilize is chrome extensions. There are so many quality of life changes you can make with extensions. From shifting audio to left and right channels, to accessibility features, to optimizing websites based on your needs. If there's something you could think to improve, there's probably an extension for it!
A couple months ago i moved to Linux Garuda (Arch based distro) and the ALT + F2 has become my most used tech-hack. Fastly it allows me to search/run applications, games, commands and every bookmarked website in my browsers.
Some hate it, some love it.
There are many shortcuts I use all the time, like "Ctrl+W" to close tabs in a browser, "Ctrl+T" to open a new tab, and "Ctrl+Tab" or "Ctrl+Shift+Tab" to switch between tabs. But "Alt+Tab" to switch between apps and windows? That’s just the top-tier QoA improvement ever made.
As for hardware, the fact that you can clean a RAM stick with an eraser and get decent results is mind-blowing - sometimes, that’s all it takes to get the RAM working again.
It might be basic but nothing beats the good old CTRL + C which lets you copy things and and CTRL + V which lets you paste things. And if you made a mistake, no worries, CTRL + Z will undo whatever you just did! I use these every day.
Those who use chrome or edge there is a quick search shortcut if you have many stacks of tabs open like me, on chrome it is " Ctrl + Shift + A " and on Edge it is " Ctrl + Shift + Tab " . this will make a search bar to show up et Voila !!
Password managers are a godsend! I use Google for convenience but there are others available.
I have to have numerous different passwords for work and then I have a few different email addresses. That's not even mentioning the likes of ebay, paypal etc.
Remembering them all can be a nightmare as I don't have any that are the same, so having them encrypted nicely to my biometrics make life much easier!!
I don't know if I was supposed to be talking about this here, but I can skip YouTube ads without needing illegal applications... just put the iphone or ipad browser in desktop mode and drag the final video and it will skip the ads.
Put to site in desktop mode
When the ad starts, just drag the video to the end of the ad
You can test this now, but it only works on the iPhone.
Legit was when I found out that i could easily move the text cursor on my iPhone when writing texts was a game changer just by holding down space! It gives you soo much more control over editing text!
https://www.tiktok.com/@techwithkt/video/7214214569890303274Excellent! Just love it.
The magic Alt + Enter, quite a handy shortcut in Windows that any gamer and streamer can find useful. This shortcut switches between fullscreen and windowed modes. Some games cut off sound as you alt-tab in fullscreen mode, which is not convenient if you are streaming and want to check the guide or stream/video record.
It is much faster than looking for these options buried somewhere in the settings menu.
For some reason, I believe that ChatGPT’s voice-to-text processor is more advanced than any other. I’ve used tools that convert voice messages into text, like the one integrated into Telegram. However, I’ve noticed that ChatGPT offers much greater accuracy.
When I’m unable to type, whether because I’m walking, feeling lazy, or for any other reason, I turn to this tool. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m doing right now to generate this text. This is one of the many resources that benefits me nowadays, especially in these times when time is such a valuable asset for me.
The fact that in windows 10 and 11 you simply press Windows button + Shift + S and the screen selection pops up so you can take a screenshot of a specific section of the screen was a total life changer for me haha
Command + T on Mac in Photoshop is my favorite shortcut because it lets me quickly transform any object in my project. With this combination, I can resize, rotate, and modify the object directly on the canvas, without having to search through menus. It’s fast, convenient, and gives me immediate visual control, showing the changes in real-time.
This shortcut makes my workflow much smoother, especially when I need to make frequent adjustments to images, text, or shapes. It's easy to remember and saves me time, allowing me to focus more on the creative side of my work.
simple Win + L
Lock your device when is someone nearby if you wan't they watching your PC
I see a few "Print Screen" shortcuts for screenshots, but an even easier way to take a screenshot with just your left hand is "Windows + Shift + S" and it'll automatically open the snipping tool. Useful for when you want to only SS a specific part of your screen
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