In today’s fast-paced digital world, mastering efficient ways to navigate through your computer can significantly impact your productivity. While many people are familiar with popular Windows shortcut keys like Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, there are numerous lesser-known shortcuts that can save you time and effort. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of these hidden gems and show you how they can help you improve your Windows experience and make your work easier.
Windows + h : To enable speech to text
Let’s start with the cool feature of speech-to-text conversion. If you press the Windows key plus the letter h in any text editor, such as Microsoft Word, or in the search field of any web browser, it will open the settings for open mic. And you are now prepared to begin speaking commands that will be converted to text. Currently, it functions well with the English language, but has few issues understanding native languages.
Windows + v : Access Clipboard History
The Clipboard History function was introduced in Windows 10, and it gives you the ability to access and manage many objects that have been copied. A clipboard management window, which displays the most recent objects copied to your clipboard, can be brought up by pressing Win+V on your keyboard. If you paste your text or image from here, you won’t have to keep copying and pasting.
Alt + PrtScn : Capture Active Window Only
Capturing screenshots is an everyday task for many Windows users. However, most are unaware of the Alt+PrtScn shortcut, which captures only the active window instead of the entire screen. By pressing Alt+PrtScn, you can effortlessly capture focused content without the need for additional editing or cropping.
Windows + X : Access the Power User Menu
The Power User Menu is a quick-access hub that provides shortcuts to various Windows tools and settings. Pressing Windows + X opens this menu, allowing you to navigate directly to essential functions such as Device Manager, Control Panel, Task Manager, and more. This handy shortcut eliminates the hassle of searching through multiple menus, putting crucial system tools at your fingertips.
Windows + Shift + S : Take Custom Screenshots
Snip and Sketch is a new tool that was included in Windows 10 that makes it easier to grab screenshots and annotate them. You may activate the snipping tool on your computer by pressing the shortcut keys Windows + Shift + S. This allows you to capture custom areas of the screen and save them to the clipboard for subsequent use. This versatile shortcut is perfect for professionals who need to share particular sections of their screen with pinpoint accuracy on a regular basis.
Windows + , (comma) : Quickly see desktop
When you are working on numerous tabs and files at the same time, it is possible that you will want to refer to or see files and photos that are visible on your desktop. You can accomplish this by pressing the Windows key in conjunction with the comma button.
This is different than the combo of Windows and D as it will keep the desktop open. While, pressing Windows and the comma key simultaneously will show you a view of your desktop. You will be back to the earlier screen you were viewing before you hit this combination, If you release the Windows button.
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Ctrl + Shift + T : To open recently closed tab in the browser
In Windows, pressing the combination of Ctrl+ Shift+T has a specific functionality within web browsers. It allows you to reopen the most recently closed tab in your browser window.
When you accidentally close a tab, whether it was an important webpage or simply a page you wanted to revisit, you can use the Ctrl+Shift+T shortcut to quickly bring it back. It saves you the trouble of going through your browsing history or searching for the page again.
Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera support this keyboard shortcut. Ctrl+Shift+T reopens tabs in order, starting with the most recently closed. You can keep pressing the shortcut to restore multiple tabs in the reverse order they were closed.
It’s worth noting that this functionality may vary depending on the browser version and any customizations you may have made to your keyboard shortcuts.
Ctrl+k and Ctrl+l : Ease out address bar access of web browsers
Ctrl+k:
In many web browsers, pressing Ctrl+K focuses the cursor or input field to the browser’s default search bar or omnibox. This allows you to quickly initiate a web search without the need to manually click on the search bar. Once the cursor is in the search field, you can type in your query and hit Enter to perform the search.
The specific behavior associated with Ctrl+K may vary slightly depending on the browser you are using. For example, in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, Ctrl+K also automatically adds the browser’s default search engine keyword (such as “google.com” or “duckduckgo.com”) to the search bar, enabling you to directly search using that engine.
Ctrl+l:
Similarly, using Ctrl+L in web browsers focuses the cursor to the address bar, also known as the URL bar or omnibox. This shortcut provides a quick way to modify or enter a website URL directly, eliminating the need to move the mouse and manually click on the address bar.
Once the cursor is in the address bar, you can type a new URL or edit the existing one. Furthermore, hitting Ctrl+l selects the full URL, making it simple to replace or copy the address.
These keyboard shortcuts, Ctrl+K and Ctrl+L, make searching the web and navigating to URLs faster and easier. Remember, the exact functionality of these shortcuts may differ slightly across different web browsers, but the overall purpose remains the same.
Conclusion:
Mastering lesser-known shortcut keys can significantly enhance your productivity on Windows, allowing you to navigate through your computer with ease. These hidden treasures unlock the full capability of Windows, from switching applications quickly to accessing clipboard history and taking custom screenshots.