Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know
- Thread starter Julio Franco
- Start date
Joe Average
Posts: 6 +2
Would have been nice if you had included Ubuntu or KDE keyboard shortcuts. Its what I use every day. A tech blog ought to be OS agnostic.
JackTheBear
Posts: 22 +13
Convert your browser into a notepad is missing part, it doesn't work unless you include the full url:
data:text/html, <html contenteditable>
data:text/html, <html contenteditable>
Forebode
Posts: 197 +45
just use winkey+arrows, helpful with many monitor setup as well.
Didn't realize this but our CMS' editor kept deleting the code, so I've just added a link now.
Here is the version we wanted to share which adds some styling:
data:text/html, <title>Text Editor</title><body contenteditable style="font-size:2rem;font-family:georgia;line-height:1.4;max-width:60rem;margin:0 auto;padding:4rem;">
To add to the YouTube keyboard shortcuts. You can use the period and comma keys to skip frame-by-frame. Useful if you need to take a screenshot of a video and want to find the best frame.
Mugsy
Posts: 772 +203
I've known/use most of these but I wish I had known about the "Problem Steps Recorder" sooner!
A few tips I didn't see:
While PrintScreen & Shift PrintScreen are great for taking a snapshot of the ENTIRE screen, use Alt + PrintScreen to capture only the top-most window/dialog. Great when you only need to show someone what a particular app, popup or warning message says without sharing a massive screen cap.
And I didn't see mention of dragging the titlebar of a window to the top of the screen and it immediately expands the window to the full height of the screen. Great for expanding the Command window so you can see more of your output.
Not mention of the obvious "F5" to Refresh any window, not just browsers.
And of particular use, while Alt + F4 closes the currently running program, Ctrl + F4 typically closes just a single tab in browsers or other programs that support the use of tabs.
A few tips I didn't see:
While PrintScreen & Shift PrintScreen are great for taking a snapshot of the ENTIRE screen, use Alt + PrintScreen to capture only the top-most window/dialog. Great when you only need to show someone what a particular app, popup or warning message says without sharing a massive screen cap.
And I didn't see mention of dragging the titlebar of a window to the top of the screen and it immediately expands the window to the full height of the screen. Great for expanding the Command window so you can see more of your output.
Not mention of the obvious "F5" to Refresh any window, not just browsers.
And of particular use, while Alt + F4 closes the currently running program, Ctrl + F4 typically closes just a single tab in browsers or other programs that support the use of tabs.
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One more trick please - how to remember all the trick above?..
Kibaruk
Posts: 3,836 +1,189
WIN+SHIFT+[Number]: opens a new window of whatever taskbar.
WIN+ALT+[Number]: Lets you see the most recent documents or folders opened, open a new one, pin/unpin, etc.
WIN+X: Menu that shows very useful functions on windows.
Potato Judge
Posts: 161 +73
Info overload. lol. Bookmarked.
I saved this article as a downloadable PDF file here.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cCoyobxs6t9AUDtfHDSs549FdfQvycy6/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cCoyobxs6t9AUDtfHDSs549FdfQvycy6/view?usp=sharing
thelatestmodel
Posts: 268 +305
Netflix - press S to skip the intro on any show. You're welcome 
Toju Mikie
Posts: 279 +265
You can use left and right arrow keys to skip and go back 5 seconds on YouTube. Storage Sense is an inbuilt app in Windows 10 to find big files to delete.
treetops
Posts: 3,064 +784
Noicee!
arrowflash
Posts: 583 +696
I actually didn't know about some of these! Namely Windows+X, Ctrl+Shift+Esc, and F2 as a shortcut to rename files in Explorer. Very good tips that will definitely save me time, thank you!
One tip of my own for WinRAR, is create a recovery record if you're backing up important files. I never tested it myself, but I've heard that a 5 percent recovery record is already pretty good, and 10 percent can recover even very damaged files.
As for renaming .exe files to circumvent malware that block AVs and malware removal software, I remember trying this a few times in the past and it never worked.
Also, I know this is a revamp of an old article, but afaik VLC doesn't have sync issues anymore since v2.x.
One tip of my own for WinRAR, is create a recovery record if you're backing up important files. I never tested it myself, but I've heard that a 5 percent recovery record is already pretty good, and 10 percent can recover even very damaged files.
As for renaming .exe files to circumvent malware that block AVs and malware removal software, I remember trying this a few times in the past and it never worked.
Also, I know this is a revamp of an old article, but afaik VLC doesn't have sync issues anymore since v2.x.
bluetooth fairy
Posts: 235 +166
TechSpot positions itself as a source for those who already are tech enthusiasts and power users. But I doubt, that for such audience this article is actually "must read" one. That's why we see a lot of comments like "good article, though I knew 80% of it".
Knot Schure
Posts: 431 +206
I think you could have saved yourself some 'work' by not including the Mac information.
That cult, who is usually ~9% of the computing world will likely not read any non-Mac site, which is not endorsed by their higher cult members.
I took a visit to their world, post 'Linus-repair-gate' the other month, and despite having no valid argument(s), they were defending Crapple to the end. I thought I even heard cries of Allah Akbar etc...
That cult, who is usually ~9% of the computing world will likely not read any non-Mac site, which is not endorsed by their higher cult members.
I took a visit to their world, post 'Linus-repair-gate' the other month, and despite having no valid argument(s), they were defending Crapple to the end. I thought I even heard cries of Allah Akbar etc...
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Mugsy
Posts: 772 +203
This is an old thread. I spotted my own comment from 2017 above. Here are some more tips I think many don't know:
Need *another* instance of an already running app (like another blank Notepad), Shift +LClick the app on the toolbar to open another instance.
When searching using Google/Bing/Yahoo/etc, enclose compound phrases in quotes. So instead of searching for:
computer parts
...and getting thousands of useless hits that include *anything* containing either word, instead search for:
"computer parts"
...so the only results returned are those containing that exact wording.
You will find keeping your searches to just three "keywords" gives the best results, but a phrase in quotes counts as a single keyword. So a search for:
"Windows 7" "keyboard short cuts" "Libre Calc"
...will return far more accurate search results than the same seven words without quotes.
And on eBay, not only should you use quotes as much as possible, but use the minus sign ("-") before words you wish to filter OUT of your searches (words with quoted phrases too.)
Also on eBay, you can do an OR search by using parenthesis:
("flash drive", "thumb drive") -ssd
...will return searches containing *either* phrase but filter out internal SSD drives.
Need *another* instance of an already running app (like another blank Notepad), Shift +LClick the app on the toolbar to open another instance.
When searching using Google/Bing/Yahoo/etc, enclose compound phrases in quotes. So instead of searching for:
computer parts
...and getting thousands of useless hits that include *anything* containing either word, instead search for:
"computer parts"
...so the only results returned are those containing that exact wording.
You will find keeping your searches to just three "keywords" gives the best results, but a phrase in quotes counts as a single keyword. So a search for:
"Windows 7" "keyboard short cuts" "Libre Calc"
...will return far more accurate search results than the same seven words without quotes.
And on eBay, not only should you use quotes as much as possible, but use the minus sign ("-") before words you wish to filter OUT of your searches (words with quoted phrases too.)
Also on eBay, you can do an OR search by using parenthesis:
("flash drive", "thumb drive") -ssd
...will return searches containing *either* phrase but filter out internal SSD drives.
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Very Good article
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