April, 2021

Keyboard Shortcuts!

Hello From IT!

This month’s Tech Bits is all about some of the best keyboard shortcuts you can use right now to help speed up your workflow. I will share 6 tips, 3 for Mac users and 3 for Pc users. Let's start with the Mac!

Command ⌘-Tab - App Switching

This keyboard shortcut is your application switcher. When you press and hold Command ⌘ and then press the tab key you will see a horizontal list of all the apps that are currently opened. While still holding Command ⌘, you can press tab to cycle through to the next application.

Command ⌘- space bar - Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search is great to search for anything on your Mac. By pressing and holding Command ⌘ and then the spacebar you will see a horizontal rectangular box pop up. Here, you can type in anything you are looking for, such as an application, a name of a document, search the web. It can even do math for you!

Shift-Command ⌘-3 and Shift-Command ⌘-4 - Take a screenshot

Taking a screenshot is a tool that I find myself using daily to keep track of information immediately and to share with others. When you press and hold the keys “Shift, Command ⌘” then press the number 3 you will take a screenshot of your entire screen. This will be saved on your desktop. When you press and hold the keys “Shift, Command ⌘” then press the number 4, your mouse icon will turn into a plus sign with a circle in the middle of it. This will allow you to select and highlight specifically what you want to capture.

PC Keyboard Shortcuts

ALT + TAB - Switch Between Open Windows

This keyboard shortcut launches a layover window that shows all open programs. Hold onto the ALT key and click the TAB key to move to the next application. Release both keys to open the selected window.

Windows key + D - Show Desktop / Restore Open Windows

Rather than moving your mouse into the bottom right corner of your screen to see your desktop, press the Windows Key and the D key. Press it again to restore your windows exactly as they were before.

Windows Key - L key: Lock your computer

A great habit and something that takes some practice is locking your computer when you are away from it. By pressing the Windows key and L Key, it will immediately lock your computer and you will need to reenter your password to log back in.

One more Bonus keyboard shortcut!

Tabbing between chrome windows.

A quick way to go through your tabs on chrome is via keyboard shortcuts! Let me show you 2 different ways on both Mac and PC:

I like to have about 6-8 tabs opened in a given Google Chrome window. This allows me to see what that tab is about without me clicking on the tab. I can quickly go to a specific tab by clicking Command and then the numbers 1-9 (depending on how many tabs you have opened) on Mac or CTRL and then the numbers 1-9 on a PC.

Finally, if you would like to cycle through the tabs, you can press and hold Control then press Tab or hold Option-Command then the Left or Right Arrow Keys on a mac. On the PC, you hold the CTRL key and then press the PgUp or PgDn key to cycle through.

That’s it for this month’s TechBits! If you found this information useful and intriguing, lets us know the value it provided by emailing us at techbits@episcopalrelief.org. We’ll see you next month!