If you consider yourself a hardcore computer user, you probably think that you know all the tricks. However, there is always something new you can learn to improve your computer skills. This article will find some valuable tips and tricks that can make it easier to use your computer.
We have put together some of the most influential computer tricks you can regularly use to help improve your productivity by saving several seconds you could have otherwise spent on getting the same task done. You can also share these skills with some of your less savvy friends to help them improve their user experience.
1. Go Back to a Closed Tab
We have all made the mistake of closing an active tab accidentally. Or maybe you meant to close it but spotted some exciting information that you'd love to read. Usually, you would have to go back to your browser history and manually find the recently closed tab.
This can be very daunting, especially if you had several tabs open up at the same time. If you have been looking at your computer screen for extended periods, your eyes can easily miss the needed information.
To make things easier, press control, shift, and T simultaneously, and you will go back to your previously closed tab. If you are a Mac user, press command, shift, and T, and you will magically get your tab back.
2. Repeat the Last Command in Excel
Not all of us are big fans of Microsoft Excel. Playing around with numbers and formulas may not be your cup of tea, but there comes a time when you have to get the job done. It, therefore, makes sense that you want to find quick shortcuts and tricks that can make it easier for you to use the Microsoft Excel interface.
If you press F4 when using Microsoft Excel, it will automatically repeat the most recent command. Let's say you selected a cell and highlighted it to green; you can go ahead and choose other cells on the sheet and highlight them in the same color by pressing F4.
3. Create a Copy of the Same File
Creating a copy of the same file can be pretty frustrating. Some people have to do it the long way by moving the file to an external storage or a different internal hard disk partition. While it still gets the job done, you sometimes don't have enough time to take the long route.
To make things easier, if you use a Mac, hold the Alt key, click on the file you want to move, and drag it to your desired destination. Suppose you use a Windows PC, press control, and click and drag the file. You will create a copy of the same file, and you can drop it wherever you want by clicking the mouse button.
4. Open a Link in a New Tab
If you do not know this trick, opening a link in a new browser tab will cost you a few precious seconds. You will have to right-click on the hyperlinked text and wait for the options to come up, after which you will select “open link in new tab.” That's two or three seconds you will never get back.
If you are using a mouse instead of a touchpad, you can quickly open any link on your browser in a new tab with a single click. All you have to do is press the middle button on the mouse, and your new tab will come up. Similarly, if you middle-click on any open tab, you will close it.
5. Make Copy and Paste Easier
Usually, you can only copy a single text, file, or image on your Windows PC. However, a copy and paste program can copy multiple images and file sports to the clipboard. It also allows you to browse or search through the items on your clipboard or save them so you can use them later.
6. Pause a YouTube Video or Go Back and Forward 10 Seconds
I know what you are thinking; press the spacebar, and your YouTube video will pause or play automatically. Well, that could work, but only if you had already clicked on the video. If you have not clicked on the video, hitting the spacebar will scroll down the page. To avoid such an inconvenience, press K, and you will automatically play or pause your YouTube video.
To go backward 10 seconds while playing a YouTube video, press the J button. The L key, on the other hand, will take you 10 seconds ahead.
7. Move Your Window to a Specific Side of the Screen
When multitasking or using two windows simultaneously, you can have difficulty getting anything done if you have to keep minimizing one window to see what is on the other window. If you can align different windows to opposite sides of the monitor, things can be significantly easier. You can move an open window to any direction off the screen by pressing the Windows key alongside any of the arrows, and your window will automatically align itself to that end of the screen.
If you are using two monitors simultaneously and once each monitor displays a different window, you can press Windows plus shift plus an arrow, and the window will move to a monitor on that specific side.
8. Clear Cache
When you visit any website, your browser automatically stores different information, downloads, and files used to operate an online application. Clearing your cache allows you to protect your personal information and helps applications run more effectively on the computer.
The easiest way to clear cache is by pressing control + shift + r. Clearing the cache will also reload the open page.
And there you have it, 8 of the most helpful computer tricks you will use in your day-to-day operations. Whether you want to reopen a tab you closed accidentally, repeat a previous command when using Excel, create a copy of a file, or open a link in a new tab, there is a shortcut for it. The computer tricks can also make it easier for you to copy and paste multiple items, align a window to a specific side of the screen, and clear your cache.
