Today you’re getting 3 killer keyboard shortcuts that are sure to help you work faster and be more productive.
I’ll explain each one and how to do it whether you use a mac or windows computer, give you a quick summary of research on why you should use shortcuts and then wrap up. Here we go..
- Toggle between open windows of the same app
- Mac: cmd + ~ (tilde) Alternate between open windows of a single application. For example, if you have three different keynote files open.
- Windows: alt+tab shows the windows rather than just the app icon.
2.Take a screenshot to show them what you’re talking about
Ever need to capture your screen to show someone what you’re seeing? Yes you do.
- Mac: cmd-shift-3 Captures entire window you’re viewing, saves file to desktop.
- Windows: PrtScn for whole screen, or CTRL + PrtScn for current window.
- Mac: cmd-shift-ctrl-4 Gives you crosshairs so you can drag the frame to exactly what you want to capture. Adds the screenshot to your clipboard (instead of adding the file to your desktop). Now, sharing that screenshot is just a cmd-V (paste) away.
- Windows: Windows + Shift + S
- Mac: cmd-shift-4 Gives you crosshairs, but by omitting “control” the screen image file is saved to desktop. Why is this awesome? Now you can annotate. (See 1b!)
2b. Annotate screenshots to really show them what you’re talking about
Think you need a fancy app? Think again.
Follow these steps (Mac):
- Find screenshot image file on your desktop.
- Open in Finder.
- Annotate directly from preview by clicking the pen icon. After annotating, just cmd-S (save) and your annotated file becomes your saved file.
For Windows, you can download Snip and Skitch from the app store. It has some sweet keyboard shortcuts, too.
- 3. Type a URL into the address bar FAST
Need to enter a web address fast? Don’t touch that mouse! (All browsers)
- Mac: cmd-L Highlights address bar of the current window; type address.
- Mac: cmd-T Opens new tab; type address.
- Windows: alt + D Navigate to address bar.
- Windows: ctrl + E Navigate to search box.
And here’s a little boost of motivation to get you regularly using these shortcuts…
- A study by the University of California, Irvine, found that using keyboard shortcuts led to a 21% increase in typing speed compared to using the mouse and menus.
- Another study by Loughborough University showed that participants who learned keyboard shortcuts for data entry tasks completed them 28% faster and with significantly fewer errors than those who relied on the mouse.
Give these keyboard shortcuts a try and see just how much faster and move productive you become when you’re on your computer.
Your move.
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