Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know - TechSpot PDF

2/9/2020 Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know - TechSpot
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FEATURES TIPS & TRICKS
Computer Tips & Tricks

Everyone Should Know
Productivity Hacks for your PC & Mac
By Julio Franco on March 28, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/guides/676-best-computer-tricks/ 1/23
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Many hardcore computer users might consider

themselves above learning new tricks, but there are
always new ways to sharpen your skills on the PC
and we bet that you will find at least one useful thing
here that you didn't know before.
We've compiled some of the most handy computer

tricks you should be taking advantage of. The
ultimate goal is to help you become more productive LOGIN _

by shaving valuable seconds off your workflow. Of
course, you can always pass along these tips to your
not-so-savvy
FORUMS friends and family members to help
them become better PC users as well. 10k
The original tips & tricks guide was published back in

2013. We've since revised the article, pulled some
tips that are no longer relevant, and added many
more that we find to be must-haves on this list. The
original guide was also very Windows-centric, and it
continues to be however we've added a lot of macOS
equivalents and information relating to shortcuts
generally used by desktop power users.
General Tricks
Bring back a closed tab We have dedicated a section
to web browsing further down below, but this one is
too useful to be missed. Accidentally closed a tab?
Simply press Ctrl + Shift + T to reopen the most
recently closed tab and get back to what you were
doing (Cmd + Shift + T on Macs).
Window snapping and multiple monitor control

Pressing the Windows Key + Arrow Keys will cause a
window to quickly snap to each side of either monitor.
Alternatively, hitting Shift + Windows Key + Arrows
will cause the window to jump to the other monitor.
While pressing Windows + P will allow you to quickly
set up a second display or projector.
As mentioned before, in macOS we favor leveraging

the power of Mission Control to handle virtual
desktops, switching between apps, and peaking at
your desktop beautifully. Though Macs don't support
window snapping out of the box, a $0.99 app called
Magnet comes highly recommended.
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Password-protect les A simple way to lock down
access to certain
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archive. Odds are you already have installed a copy
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of 7-Zip, WinRAR, or The Unarchiver (Mac) or some
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equivalent. Create a new archive, select to encrypt its
contents and password protect them.
Undo everywhere to x those little mistakes Did you

know you can undo almost any action? Ctrl + Z is the
ultimate hot key, and for sure you knew about it
already, however note that undo doesn't just apply to
typing. If you accidentally delete or move a file, you
can hit Ctrl + Z to bring it right back to where it was
(Ctrl + Y will redo whatever you undid).
YouTube keyboard shortcuts If you thought using the

spacebar to pause a YouTube video was effective
(except when focus is elsewhere and it doesn't work),
instead try using K for pausing, while J and L will step
backward/forward 10 seconds. M works for mute.
Super handy.
Find your Wi-Fi password In Windows, go to the

"Network and Sharing Center." Right click on the Wi-
Fi network connection icon > Wireless Properties.
Click on Show Characters box to show your Wi-Fi
password.
In macOS all passwords are stored in the

Keychain app. Use Spotlight to find "Keychain
Access." Open the app and find your Wi-Fi
network name in the list of saved credentials.
Double click it and then click the box to show your
password (it will require your OS level password).
Adopt a Clipboard manager Once you're used to LOGIN _
relying on a clipboard manager, the productivity boost

works out similarly as how you become more efficient
FORUMS
with multiple monitors or virtual desktops. We have
an article dedicated to this, but in short, for Windows 10k
try ClipClip. For macOS use Flycut.
Screenshot like you mean it Simply hitting print

screen on your keyboard is the easiest way to
capture a screenshot. But Windows and macOS
provide several other ways to screenshot, many of
which are better options. But then, there's grabbing a
screenshot and annotating. We love Monosnap for
doing just that thanks to its simplicity, speed, and
cross-platform support.
Grab a photo from your phone How often have you

found yourself wanting to take a picture and move
that immediately to your workflow in your PC.
Mac users Apple simplified this for macOS/iPhone

owners with Continuity Camera. In any supported
app, simply go to the top menu: select Edit > Insert
From Your iPhone or iPad > "Take Photo" or "Scan
Document." This will activate the camera on your
iPhone, take a photo and it will automatically show
up on your desktop.
Windows Microsoft developed a side project to do

the same with iOS and Android phones, though it's
unfortunately not well maintained. Two good
alternatives are AirDroid and Portal, or simply sync
with Dropbox or Google Photos.
Windows Power User Menu You can open a quick list

of common power user destinations in Windows by
right clicking the bottom left of the start button on
Windows 8 and 10 which opens a context menu with LOGIN _

shortcuts to power options, the event viewer, device
manager and so on. This menu is also accessible by
pressing
FORUMS the Windows key + X.
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Easily extract images from a Word (.docx) le
Change the file name from .docx to .zip and open the
file. The pictures will be in one of the directories.
Enable 'Night Mode' on all your devices If you often

work at night or simply like to read on a screen before
going to sleep, this can be a game changer. We
recommend using F.lux on both Mac and Windows,
although both operating systems have some support
for this already built-in. Same goes for your mobile
devices.
Find/delete large les wasting space A handy tool

called Space Sniffer can be used to easily find which
files and folders are taking up the most space on your
drive. From there, you can delete them and open up
a ton of storage space. Other Windows alternatives
(free) include WinDirStat and TreeSize. On macOS
you can use Finder or Siri to find large files with no
third party app, but we like to use GrandPerspective.
Delete the Windows.old folder. If you have plenty of

free space and don't mind the untidiness, you can
simply ignore the folder and it should be deleted
automatically 30 days after the update. But if you are
strapped for storage space, you can use Windows'
own tools to remove it with ease.
Command prompt here In the Windows File Explorer,

type "cmd" into the address bar and it will open the
command prompt in that directory.
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Reduce the number of programs running at startup If

your PC is taking too long to boot, it's probably
because you have far too many programs running at
startup. It's easy to reduce these and it will make your
PC launch noticeably faster. Make sure you research
what you are turning off as some processes might be
needed by third party programs you have installed.
Windows: Open the task manager (Ctrl + Shift +

Esc) and head to the startup tab to configure what
programs you want to launch with your system.
Windows 7 and prior: Open run (Windows key + R)

and enter msconfig to access a window with a
similar startup section.
macOS: Go to System Preferences > Users &

Groups > Select your user and click on the Login
Items tab. You can remove or hide startup
applications from here.
Windows hidden "god mode" folder Windows offers a

centralized Control Panel for all of the OS settings,
making it easy for users to tweak everything from
desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter
this mode, create a new folder with this exact name
(copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-
465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will
change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be LOGIN _

able to jump in and change all kinds of settings.
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Typing Tricks
Paste the plain text of what was copied When you
copy text from any source, programs will usually
include any formatting that comes with it. To paste
this as plain text, press Ctrl + Shift + V instead of the
standard Ctrl + V, and the system will paste
unformatted text. This also works on Mac: Cmd +
Shift + V.
Note that many but not all programs follow this

parameter, particularly Microsoft programs like Word
or Outlook don't, which is annoying. There are a few
alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in
Notepad: 1) Ctrl + Alt + V will show a 'paste special'
dialog box. 2) Ctrl + Spacebar will remove formatting
in already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and
choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.
Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single

letter, pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete the entire
word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text LOGIN _

quicker if you screw up a whole word.
Move cursor to beginning of the next or previous

FORUMS
word Moving the cursor around manually while typing 10k
is a great way to make your work take longer than it
needs to. To speed up the process, move the cursor
around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the
beginning of the previous word, use Ctrl + Left Arrow.
To move it to the beginning of the next word, use Ctrl
+ Right Arrow. In macOS you can accomplish the
same using the Option key. To select
words/paragraphs as you're going, hold Shift + Ctrl +
Arrow (up or down will select entire bodies of text).
Emoji keyboard If you're addicted to using emoji,

know desktop OS support them natively just like
mobiles do. On Windows press the Windows Key + .
(period) and on macOS Cmd + Control + Spacebar.
An Emoji panel will appear so you can carry on as
usual using all the expressions you want.
Making sub and superscript text If you need to make

sub or superscript text (think exponents for
superscript), press Ctrl + = for subscript and Ctrl +
Shift + = for superscript.
Use Windows' character map to identify and create

foreign symbols Search the Start menu for "character
map" and you should find a utility that lets you copy LOGIN _
every character imaginable and even provides an Alt
+ Numpad code for later use. For example, the euro
sign (€) can be made with Alt + 0128.
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Keyboard Shortcuts
Open the task manager directly If you want to bypass
the interrupt that happens when pressing Ctrl + Alt +
Del and jump right to the task manager, hitting Ctrl +
Shift + Esc will launch it directly.
Use Spotlight Windows built-in search is not useless,

but it certainly is unreliable and slow. macOS'
Spotlight on the other hand is brilliant. Hit Cmd +
Spacebar to open an app by typing just the first 2-3
letters of its name, search for files, or even do
calculations.
Interrupt all processes Ctrl + Alt + Delete used to be

a common PC shortcut, and one almost all power
users are familiar with. The important thing to note is
that it interrupts all processes, including the one that
is bogging down your system, which can mean the
difference between needing to restart or not. In
macOS, you can also summon the Force Quit dialog
box by using Cmd + Shift + Esc.
Cycle through open windows Pressing Alt + Tab LOGIN _

allows you to cycle through currently open windows
(Alt + Shift + Tab will cycle backwards). This makes
switching
FORUMS back and forth between running processes
quick and painless. In macOS the shortcut is Cmd + 10k
Tab.
Launch programs with your own hotkeys Right click

the shortcut to any application in Windows, head into
the properties and in the shortcut tab you should see
a "shortcut key" field where you can type your
preferred launch combo. Also of note, if you click the
"advanced" options in the shortcut tab, you can set it
to run as an Administrator, which is particularly useful
for creating a shortcut to an elevated Command
Prompt. This could be set to launch with the keys Ctrl
+ Alt + Numpad 1 for example.
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Close the current program Typing Alt + F4 will close

the program that is running. This is useful as it saves
you time mousing over the "X" and clicking. People
will often use this as a joke, telling you to press Alt +
F4 to fix a problem. Don't fall for it unless you want to
close what you are doing.
Minimize all windows Sometimes you have a bunch

of stuff running, and you want it all to go away so you
can get to the desktop. Simply pressing Windows key
+ D will minimize everything you have up, which will
save you some time pressing the minimize button for LOGIN _
each window. It should be noted that Windows + M
offers similar functionality, but there is no undoing, so
Windows
FORUMS + D is the more favorable approach. In
macOS we favor leveraging the power of Mission 10k
Control to handle virtual desktops, switching between

apps, and peaking at your desktop beautifully.
You can use the menu key on a keyboard to right

click Not every keyboard has the key (shown above),
but many do. Pressing the button will right click
whatever you have in focus/selected in Windows.
Close the current window/tab Stick of moving all the

way to that X button? Press Ctrl + W and the current
window will close. (Don't do it now, or you will miss
the rest of the tricks!)
Bring up the system information window This is so

much quicker than digging this out the traditional
way... Just press Windows + Pause/Break and the
System Information panel will be ready to go. This
might be the only use for the Pause/Break key you
will ever find, so enjoy it!
Use your keyboard to launch programs on the

Windows taskbar Tapping the Windows key + the
number that corresponds to the position of the
program is a quick way to open them. For instance if
Chrome were the second icon on your taskbar and
that's what you wanted to open, you'd hit Windows LOGIN _

key + 2.
Use your keyboard to navigate system tray icons

FORUMS
Tapping the Windows key + B will automatically select 10k
the system tray area at which point you just have to
highlight something with the arrow keys and hit enter
to open it.
Enable copy and paste in the Windows command

prompt While you're tinkering with the command
prompt shortcut, if you right click it > head to
Properties > Options > and check the box next to
"QuickEdit mode" you will be able to select text with
left click, copy with enter and paste with right click.
Web Browsing Tricks

Jump to address bar There are a number of ways to
jump right to the address bar from anywhere in
browser. Pressing Ctrl + L, F6, and Alt + D all
accomplish this goal.
Automatically add www. and .com to a URL You can

shave off a couple of seconds typing in a URL by
simply click Ctrl + Enter after you type the name of
the site. Need .net instead of .com? Press Ctrl + Shift
+ Enter instead.
Cycle through open tabs Pressing Ctrl + Tab while in

a browser will flip between each one (Ctrl + Shift +
Tab to go backwards). This can be much faster than
moving the mouse and clicking on a tab. Ctrl + Num
(1, 2, 3, 4, n..) will also take you to certain tab in that
numeric order. Ctrl + 9 always brings you to the very
last tab, even if it's beyond the ninth one.
Scroll through pages with the spacebar Tapping the LOGIN _
spacebar
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chunks and hitting shift + space will take you back up.
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Instant image search (Chrome only) If you hold down 10k
the "S" key and right click on an image, it will open an

image search on a new tab.
Use private browsing The uses for not having cookies

and history saved are obvious for certain activities,
you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared
computer (of course!). Pressing Ctrl + Shift + N will
launch a new private in Chrome, Ctrl + Shift + P will
do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Convert your browser into a notepad Type this into

the address bar and you can write notes.
Alternatively, while not as fast. Use Google Keep or
Gmail's compose mail to write notes and have those
saved on the cloud as you type and go.
Icon-only bookmarks on your toolbar You can delete

the name of your bookmarks leaving only the icon so
they take up less space on the toolbar. In Chrome:
right click the bookmark > edit > delete the name and
save.
Use the scroll wheel Put your middle mouse button to LOGIN _
use by clicking on links to automatically open them in
a new tab/window. Also if you use the scroll wheel
button
FORUMSon a tab, it will close it.
10k
Copy links quicker Right click the link like usual but
tap E on your keyboard to copy the link.
Make content editable Bring up the console on

Chrome or Firefox (right click, Inspect). On the
console enter the command document.designMode =
"on" that will let you edit any text on the screen.
Zoom In, Reset Zoom Use the browser magnifier to

adjust a website for more comfortable reading.
Ctrl/Cmd + (plus/minus sign) does the trick. To reset
to the default zoom level use Ctrl + 0.
File Management Tricks

Rename a le quickly Right-clicking and selecting
rename is not very efficient. Instead press F2 while a
file is selected to change its name. To alter the name
of another file, type Tab without deselecting the
current file. On Macs, hitting Enter will rename (which
may sound counter-intuitive to Windows users) while
Cmd + O is used to open.
Cloud backup important les If you're working on a

critical project, make sure you aren't backing up
locally only. Services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or
any of the other popular cloud storage solutions will
do the legwork for you in the background. Of course,
you can also throw the files on a thumb drive or
external HDD to be extra safe, but backing up to the
cloud can be done seamlessly.
Rename les sequentially in Windows or Mac You LOGIN _
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perform a batch file rename. Instead, you can select
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all the files you want to change, right-click the first
10k
one in the list, select rename (or use F2), and type in
the name. This will automatically change all the other
files with the same root name with a suffix: (1), (2),
and so on.
On Mac, you can do something similar. Select the

files, then right click and an option to rename the
whole batch as a series will show up.
Select multiple les using the keyboard To select a

bunch of files using your keyboard, you can press
Shift + Down Arrow to select a single file or Shift +
Page Down to select a large group of files at one
time. Ctrl + A will select everything.
Right click drag les and folders in Windows And

you'll be presented with a context menu containing
options to move, copy, zip or create a shortcut.
Security Tips
Lock your computer if you get up Sick of your
"friends" going onto your computer at work or home
and posting things on your Facebook/Twitter page on
your behalf? It's certainly an annoyance, but an easy
one to prevent.
Windows + L will lock your system right away,

requiring a password (if you've set one) to log in
again.
On macOS use Cmd + Option + Power to log off. On LOGIN _

the latest revision of macOS (High Sierra) a quicker
option to simply lock the screen was added which
works
FORUMSusing the shortcut Cmd + Ctrl + Q.
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Scan suspicious les with VirusTotal If you're worried

about a file being infected, you can upload it to
VirusTotal to have it checked by a few dozen antivirus
engines from the cloud. Often times someone has
already uploaded the same file, sparing you the wait.
See who is logged on to your router Software such as

Wireless Network Watcher makes this particularly
easy and even has alarms for when someone new
appears. You can also do this by logging into your
router (common router IP addresses) and checking
for a list of wireless clients which should display the
name of the device, its currently assigned IP address
and its MAC address.
Permanently remove deleted data so software such

as Recuva can't undelete les/folders Open a
command prompt and enter cipher /w:C: to wipe
deleted files from your C: drive (change the letter to
target a different drive or folder). If you need to go the
extra mile and use a file shredder program, check out
Eraser (Windows) and FileShredder (Mac).
Read installers Even major programs can install

toolbars and other unwanted pieces of software
during installation. Take a few seconds to read each
step to make sure you are not agreeing to install
something other than the program you were actually
seeking. Far too often people just push next over and
over, and end up with a browser covered in various
search bars that just aren't needed. In the worst of
scenarios, these can have nefarious intentions.
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Run programs on an infected PC Malware may

prevent a computer from running certain programs.
Changing the name of the .exe file can often override
this. If that doesn't work, changing the extension to
.com is another useful alternative, and the program
will still be able to run despite the extension change.
Other Third-Party App Tricks

Steam: Move games to another drive or partition
Software such as Steam Mover used to be required
for this process and although these third party
solutions should still work, Steam now provides the
ability to store games on multiple drives:
Go to Steam > Settings > Downloads > Steam Library

Folders, make a new Steam library folder on the new
drive, then right click on an already installed game in
your Steam library > Properties > Local Files tab >
Move install folder... > Choose the directory > Move
folder.
Repeat last command in Excel Pressing F4 in Excel

repeats the last command. A great example we found
on Reddit: if you select a cell and highlight it yellow,
you can then highlight any other selected cells yellow LOGIN _
by pressing F4.
Use Windows' Problem Steps Recorder This handy

FORUMS
tool automatically records any mouse clicks and 10k
takes screenshots for you. If you need tech
assistance with your computer, go to Start and search
for "steps recorder". Use the tool and by the time you
are finished, you can send this information, neatly
compiled automatically, to the person helping you
with the issue. It will make the process of finding the
problem much easier for them, which means you will
be able to get your system up and running faster.
VLC: Fix unsynced audio and subtitles In the popular

media player VLC, if your audio loses sync with the
video or subtitles, there is an easy way to fix this.
Simply pressing J or K will move the audio forward or
backwards. Similarly, to sync the subtitles you can
press H or G.
Expand your text to full page width in Microsoft Word

We don't see this feature used quite enough and by
default Word leaves a lot of unused space toward the
margins. Head to View > Zoom > and choose Text
Width > OK. Now whatever you're writing should fill
out most of the Word page.
---
Using these tips and tricks on a daily basis will most

certainly make your time on the computer more
enjoyable, or at least more practical.
So, did you learn something that you didn't know

before?
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2/9/2020 Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know - TechSpot

TRENDING FEATURES REVIEWS THE BEST DOWNLOADS PRODUCT FINDER

FEATURES TIPS & TRICKS