Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts

There are a bunch of shortcuts that most of us should already know: cut, copy, paste, new tab, things like that. These are the basics. That being said, if you really want to show off for the boss—blowing them away with your efficiency and professionalism—some more advanced options are also handy to know.

Listed below are some shortcuts to take advantage of:

Keyboard Shortcuts to Make You the Team MVP

Instant Snipping Tool

Win+Shift+S
Print Screen is a great option for sharing a screenshot, but only if you’re comfortable sharing the contents of your entire display. The Snipping Tool that this shortcut opens lets you select what you’re taking a shot of more granularly and copies it to the clipboard, where you can share it or use it as needed.

Reopen Browser Tab

Ctrl+Shift+T
We’ve all accidentally closed a browser tab before we were finished with it. This shortcut will reopen the most recent tab that you closed, and go back the more you press it.

Access the Emoji/Symbol Keyboard

Win+.
You may come across a need for a symbol that isn’t common enough for its own committed key on your physical keyboard—a trademark symbol (™) or a letter with an accent mark (á), perhaps. This shortcut pulls up a menu you can use to insert emojis, kaomojis, GIFs, your clipboard history, and critically, many different symbols.

Start a Virtual Desktop

Win+Ctrl+D
Sometimes, a clean slate is the most effective productivity booster out there. A virtual desktop enables you to create one so that you can distribute your tasks amongst them, creating a more focused workspace. Maybe one desktop is for a specific project, and another for your collaboration tools. Switching between them is also simple… all you have to do is press Win+Ctrl+Arrow Key.

Open Task Manager Directly

Ctrl+Shift+Esc
An app freezes up. Uh oh, time to close it and try again. Instead of using the Ctrl+Alt+Delete and accessing the Task Manager through the Windows Security screen, you can jump directly to it via Ctrl+Shift+Esc and force the problematic application to shut down.

Insert a Hyperlink

Ctrl+K
Whether you’re a Microsoft Office user or prefer Google’s software suite, you can easily insert a link using Ctrl+K.

Delete Entire Words

Ctrl+Backspace
Have a lot you need to delete? This shortcut allows you to delete entire words, as compared to individual spaces.

Snap Windows

Win+Arrow Keys
Resizing your application windows manually is a real pain. Luckily, you can position your windows in the quadrants of your display by pressing Win+Arrow Key, left or right and then up or down.

While These May Only Save Seconds Each, These Seconds Add Up

Over time, saving a few moments here and there can ultimately take a considerable amount of time off your plate… and modern business tech can contribute to a lot of saved time. Macro Systems is here to help make your IT as invisible as possible, from tips like these to actual support from a dedicated team of professionals. Find out more about what we offer by giving us a call at 703-359-9211.