You know, we all have one friend or co-worker whose computer skills make us feel like we need to learn more. They barely touch mouse and their hand goes lighting fast on the keyboard and they casually talk to Siri or Cortana. Your friend is simply a whiz when it comes to hotkeys.
And you can be too.
Let's go to learn 15 Amazing Shortcuts you need to know. This will change your computer skills and it's very important for you if your daily work on the computer.
1. Create a Virtual Desktop
Imagine you are working on a task or project all day and you need to do some more task immediately. Opening new task and windows will bring you confusion between your work and also it will ruin your workflow. So, in this case, you need to do that task in a new window or a virtual desktop which is a new one and you can add another task with the new Desktop. The shortcut for this work is -
Windows Key + CTRL + D (Windows 10 Only) । CONTROL + UP (MAC)
It will switch to a new fresh desktop and you are ready to go.
2. Switch between Virtual Desktop
After making a new virtual desktop you can start your new task with it. But how can you get back to your previous work, is that gone. Don't panic it just hiding. To switch between your virtual desktop. You can use the shortcut bellow -
CONTROL KEY (MAC) । WINDOWS KEY + CTRL (Windows)
By Pressing that shortcut button, you can use the left and right arrow key to switch between your desktop. When you are done with the new desktop you can close it by pressing
WINDOWS KEY + CTRL +F4 (Windows) । OPTION KEY + X (MAC)
Please make sure you select the right desktop you want to close. If you select the wrong one then your important desktop may go. It just a virtual desktop. Just try before doing anything finally. It will good to try before using it finally.
3. Return to the Desktop From Apps
You are working and you open too many tasks in a Desktop, then you have to open another one task. You don't have to minimize then one by one. Just Press
WINDOWS KEY + M
To minimize then all at once. You can also pick a task from all of the running app by pressing -
WINDOWS KEY + COMMA (Windows 10) । COMMAND + F3 (MAC)
It is really a good trick if you need to take a break from your work. Showing an empty desktop will release you from your work a few seconds.
4. Open an Apps From the Taskbar
If you have to work daily with some app consider taking them into your taskbar and you can run that of apps by one click from the Keyboard. To Opening the taskbar app you can press
WINDOWS KEY + 1 to 9
Unfortunately, there is no similar hotkey for MAC OS. But I'm pretty sure MAC users are quite content with MAC's awesome app navigation.
5. Split-Screen Between Two Apps
If you have to work with two tasks at once. you can split your screen and at a time you can work with two tasks. To do that in Windows use
Windows Key + Left Arrow (Split left) Windows Key + Right Arrow (Split Right) Windows Key + Up Arrow (Maximise Task) Windows Key + Down Arrow (Minimize Task)
6. Switch Apps
Suppose you are working with many apps at a time and you are using that apps one by another by maximizing and minimizing the tasks. But by the shortcut, you can easily switch between apps and work with them. To do so in Windows use
CTRL + ALR + TAB (Windows) । CONTROL + TAB (MAC)
And to switch between the windows you can use
ALT + TAB (Windows) । COMMAND + TAB (MAC)
It will help you to work with your Apps relevantly and help you to make easier the tasks use. And it is also a quick solution to do work with your tasks.
7. Program Management and Troubleshooting
If you have a problem with an app or program. Like it stops working and you can't do anything, like by clicking close it's not responding. A malfunctioning app, for it you don't have to shut down your computer. Just press
CTRL + SHIFT +ESC (Windows) । COMMAND + OPTION + ESCAPE (MAC)
It will open the task manager and you can force close that specific program that malfunctioning in your computer. Losing one app data is not similar to losing all the data you are working with. Do this work to avoid restarting your computer.
8. Open File Explorer
Not all the apps are installed on the system, some specific apps are stayed on the storage device to open it directly or some important file to open through File Explorer. In this case, you can use:
Windows Key + E । For MAC user this is your Finder App
9. Use The Magnifier
If you need to see an image or anything on your computer by 10x zooming like a detective you can use that Magnifier to zoom in your content.
Windows Key and (+) or (-) Key (Windows) । ALT, COMMAND (+) or (-) Key (MAC)
Will allow you to zoom your content on where the mouse pointer is.
10. Take Screenshots
If you find any information and you want to collect that information in your computer then you can take the screenshots for saving the information on your computer. To take screenshots you can use
Windows Key + Print Screen Kay । COMMAND + SHIFT + 3 (MAC)
In Mac, you can take a screenshot by pressing 3 or 4. 3 For the whole window and 4 for the selected window.
11. Use Action Center
In newer windows, there are many options in the action center. Turning on Bluetooth, Wifi, Share internet and turn notification On/Off. That all many other functions are available in one place called Action Center.
Windows Key + A
For Mac, their notification center is always helpful for that.
12. Talk to Cortana or Siri
Nowadays the computer comes with a personal assistant and those are very helpful to you for getting some information and they can remember you for your work or any meeting. Casually you can talk to your assistant. And you can call them up just press
Windows Key + C । COMMAND + SPACE
13. Use the Windows Game Bar
Like you are playing online game and you need to record that game or stream it online. You can use Game Bar, Game Bar is a build-in feature in Windows 10 newer version. The shortcuts for Game Bar are:
For Game Bar- Windows Key + G (Setup Recording Manually) Windows Key + ALT + R (Start Recording Automatically and to start streaming press Windows Key + ALT + B । In MAC press Shift + COMMAND + 5 to record the screen using quick time player.
14. Lock Down Your PC
If you using a which is not your personal or you want to go outside for some time or your work is finished and you want to leave your PC for a moment. Then you can lock your PC using this shortcut and if your PC is password protected, no one can access your PC and your work until someone knows your PC password. Or by this shortcut, you can lock your user-profile if your computer has multiple users. To do that press
Windows Key + L । SHIFT + COMMAND + Q (MAC)
Just make sure you set up your password and don't forget it.
Please let us know which shortcut you like most and comment on us about it. Thanks
