Duplicating Tabs and Other Alt D Shortcuts

There is no direct tab duplication shortcut as of yet. There is however a trick you can use to duplicate your tabs with the keyboard

Alt + D + Enter
First, hold down the alt key. Then press "D" followed by enter.
Alt + D will select the current url in the address bar.
Alt + Enter will open a selected url in a new tab. (Alt + Enter with nothing selected will bring the window into fullscreen mode. This can be reversed with F11 or by pressing the keys again.)

Other
(Alt + D) + (Ctrl + C) will copy your current url.
(Alt + D) + (Ctrl + V) + Enter will paste a selected url into the bar and go

Alt + D + Backspace/Delete will clear the url bar. Useful to use as a quick search bar, as you don't have to take your hands off the keyboard. (You dont even have to press backspace, as once you start typing, it will clear any text already there.)

Alternative Options

The alt key can be a quite helpful addition for anybody to learn how to use, especially for someone who deals with menus and windows every day. It can make accessing certain areas and menu options much faster and this can really speed up doing simple things.
Not only do these not take long to incorporate, there are a bunch of additional variations for you to play with and use.

1) Alt + Left/Right Arrow key
This will send you back one page (left) or send you forward one page (right). This is useful if you follow a link, and then want to go back to the link's source. You could also use it to flick through the web pages you have visited throughout the day, to see where your time went.

2) Alt + Tab
If you have many windows open and you want to find one window in particular, this little shortcut is the key. You use this scroll through the programs you have open and pick out the one you need.
Extension: If you have too many windows open, and want to shut down everything, hold down the alt key and alternatively press tab and F4. This will close every second window. Repeat this until every window is closed.

The XP Alt Tab display

3) Alt + Space(bar)
This will bring up the system menu for the current window. From there you can press variously alpha keys to change the window size, shape or close it. On a full QWERTY keyboard there is a nifty key for this, just right of the Alt Gr key and left of the right Ctrl key.
Here is a list of some of those keys

• C = Close
• N = Minimize
• M = Move
• X = Maximize

Try them out, and you might find one that might be useful for you. (C is useful for me to close some windows)

4) Alt + Code
With the alt key you can produce special characters such as ♥ ◙ ╦
To produce them, hold down the alt key and on the right number pad type in the code. (It won't work on the number line above the alpha keys
For example

• Alt + 1985 = ┴
• Alt + 3 = ♥
• Alt + 666 = Ü

Here is a fuller list of the codes. There are plenty more, and you can have a go at trying random combination to see what you get. Another good place is here, and it has an even longer list.

5) Alt + F4
This was mentioned above, and I am just pointing this out to help you avoid tricks. Alt + F4 will close your current window, and if you are on the desktop, it will bring you to the shutdown menu. Sometimes, you are told to do this and it will do x trick, or will open x page. When you see this, don't fall for it and press them. It will close your window, and you will have to spend time re-opening your window.
An example of this is on MMORPGs where a newb or n00b (new person to the game) will ask how to do something, and this is be the response. The n00b then disappears and its lols all round.

Are you a n00b?

Have fun trying out the different shortcuts and see if you can find other ones. Feel free to contact me with any queries

Put Yourself in Control

On a standard keyboard there are some keys you will only press once - accidentally. Then there are others that you will use every time you sit down to do anything on a computer. One of those keys I use all the time is the Ctrl or control key. I use because it has excellent shortcuts. Below documented are some of my most used and useful shortcuts/ key combinations performed by the ctrl key.

1) Ctrl + C + Click + V
This little combo copies your selection, you click where you want it to go, and it is there. You don't have to take your hand off the Ctrl key, and the two keys are located right beside one another. I use it for copying pictures to a new file, and for coping links to fourms.
Extension: If you press Ctrl + A + C... it will select all the text or pictures in the vicinity and then copy it.

2) Ctrl + S
This is very useful if you something long typed, you are editing a picture, or you are fixing a presentation. The odd time you have your hand on the keyboard, just move it over and initiate this shortcut That is all the effort you will require to do this. It will save you if you accidentally close or ruin your project. It will save you a lot of work and stress.

This could have been avoided with two keys.
Pic Source

3) Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y

These are the shortcut commands for undo and redo respectively. These are a real timesaver for undoing or redoing recently made changes. Useful for photo editing, to change it back if you don't like the last edit. Using them is faster than fiddling in the menus they are hidden in and picking them out from there.

4) Ctrl + Tab/ Ctrl + 1/2/3/4...
Suppose you have a browser window open and you are typing into it. Next suppose in the next tab you have the information you are referring to. With this you can switch tabs faster than by clicking on them, and switch back rapidly to continue with your essay on world domination and similar projects.

5) Ctrl + W / Ctrl + Shift + T
Ctrl and W will close the tab you are currently in, or the window at the fore if you only have one open tab. This is quite useful for closing any annoying pop-ups you may encounter or getting off a site just before your boss walks in. Ctrl, Shift and T will do nearly the opposite, as it opens the last closed tab. The only drawback is the it will only work in the current window, so that if you close a window, you will have to open it again by yourself. (In firefox this is under History - recently closed windows. In IE it is under Tools - restore last session)


There you have it, some fairly productive and time saving shortcuts and combos for you to try out and use daily.
Feel free to contact me or post any other shortcuts you think are handy or useful. I may get around to compiling them into another entry.

Modifier Keys - Breakdown

On a standard QWERTY keyboard, there are 105 keys. Not all of the keys are alphabet or numerical keys, some provide other functions. A group of these keys, referred to as the Modifier Keys are an example of this.
They enhance the use of a keyboard, making life easier for the user. Elements of this set are:

• Shift
• Ctrl
• Alt
• Alt Gr
• Win Key

 I shall explain each of them in greater detail.

Shift
Location: The key is found twice on the keyboard, once on the left, above Ctrl, and the other on the opposite side of the alpha keys. (Coloured red on the image above)
Use: like second function on a calculator, it produces a different symbol than if it wasn't pressed. For example:

• Shift + 1 = !
• Shift + ' =@
• Shift + 5 = %

It is also used to capitalize letters, while it is held down. It is faster to use than Caps Lock, because you only need to hold it, rather than press it, the press it again to remove ALL CAPS
It can be used in conjunction with other keys, like Delete, to Delete straight away, instead of pushing the unwanted file to the recycle bin.

Ctrl (Control)
Location: At the bottom left of the keyboard, and at the bottom right, under the right shift.(Coloured yellow)
Use: It is used in conjunction with alpha keys, to do some very useful jobs.
For example, Ctrl + A selects all the available text and|or images. Ctrl + X will cut the current selection.

Alt
Location: It is just to the left of the big space bar. (Coloured green)
Use: Used similarly to an alternative of Ctrl. It deals more with menus. Eg. Alt + F opens the file menu. Alt + F4 closes the current window open.

Alt Gr
Location: It is just to the right of the big space bar. Exactly opposite the Alt key.(Also coloured green)
Use: For foreign symbols, not native to an English keyboard. Example, í, é or á.

Win Key
Location: Between the Ctrl and Alt keys on either side of the space bar. (This one is blue)
Use: For windows operating shortcuts, like win + e, which open the My Computer window, or win + r, which opens run.

I will be updating this post frequently, so come back later to see how it has progressed.

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