Keyboard Shortcuts Ranked
Working with a mouse is cool . Working with the keyboard is cooler. These are the most important keyboard shortcuts, sorted from best to worst. (Unless otherwise noted, we have listed Windows shortcuts; Mac users replace cmd with ctrl.) With one exception, despite any flaws, all of the shortcuts below are mostly good.
1.ctrl + Z
The undo shortcut is so important that you’ve probably tried using it in real life. The “shake to undo” feature on phones is a tricky replacement that only works when you don’t need it.
2.ctrl + Y
Cancel cancel. And he uses a letter in front of the Z. Legendary.
3.ctrl + X, ctrl + C, ctrl + V
Cut, copy, paste. About once a week I hit ctrl + V on my phone and then sigh and try to keep my finger on the screen long enough to pop up the insert menu, which always takes two tries. Cmd + X seems a little odd on Mac, but I used it to make this list, so I have to thank him. Thanks, Cmd + X.
4.ctrl + K
In most text editing windows, this allows you to turn the selected text into a link, instead of just pasting the entire URL into the body of your text like some caveman.
5.cmd + space
Open Spotlight (or the launcher you installed to replace it) on macOS. This is similar to the Terminal command line for normal people. I wish I had discovered this earlier in life. By now, I could be a completely different person.
6.cmd + shift + 4
Windows and macOS have a variety of shortcuts for capturing an entire screen, part of a screen, or a window and saving them to the clipboard or as a file. On Windows, you can even press Windows Key + H to take a screenshot and open the pop-up menu. We all have our favorites. But mine is cmd + shift + 4, which allows the Mac user to select a specific area for the screenshot and then save it as a file on the desktop. The keyboard shortcut is slightly spaced out, but even my little hands can reach it comfortably.
7.cmd + `
On a Mac, this is switching between windows of the same application. On Windows, you can do the same with alt + `if you install a small background application called Easy Window Switcher . What a great idea is to include the underused key, which is usually right above the tab key.
8.ctrl + F, ctrl + G
It’s cool to start searching with your keyboard. It’s even cooler to switch between results using the keyboard.
9.ctrl + T
New inset. Has the meaning. Easy to remember. T for table. You don’t have to take your hand off the keyboard before entering a new URL. Good work from all sides.
10.ctrl + tab
Switch tabs. Classical. Don’t waste time twisting your fingers Ctrl + Shift + Tab to go back one tab. Ugh. Not everything needs to be optimized, nerd .
11.shift + cmd + I
This is my own Mac shortcut to resize the preview image. It’s so insanely good that it ended up on this list of default shortcuts. Strange!
12.ctrl + N, ctrl + O, ctrl + shift + N
A new file and an open file are necessary but tedious. But this third shortcut: depending on the context, ctrl + shift + N creates a new folder, a new smart playlist, or some other cool variation that technically makes you a coder.
13.Windows Key + D
Keep everything to a minimum. Good life advice, good desktop cleaning trick. Macs can almost do this: Cmd + option + H hides everything but the current window, so if you click on the desktop first and you don’t have Finder open, you can hide all of your windows.
14.cmd + H
On Mac, this hides the current window. It’s cleaner than minimizing. To bring the window back, just revert to it with cmd + tab. Windows users, you need ctrl + alt + click.
15. alt + arrow keys
Back and forth through browsing history. Not bad, in fact, and it was wise on Chrome’s side to disable backspace, which caused many of us to accidentally close our Flash games. But they’re also the two best extra buttons on a mouse, so they’re not all that special.
16.cmd + S
Years ago, the “save file” shortcut would have been at the top of the list. Now everything is automatically saved, so you don’t have to obsessively press this combination. Do you know what’s cool? Ctrl + alt + shift + S to save the Photoshop project as an image.
17.ctrl + shift + T
Reopen the closed tab. Awesome feature, terrible keyboard shortcut. Saving a closed tab from oblivion makes you feel like Indiana Jonesreturning the hat . But to press keys, you either extend your left hand or take one hand off the mouse so you can hit it with both hands. I understand that this is an add-on to the ctrl + T keyboard shortcut for opening a new tab. But for this action there must be a dedicated F key.
18.alt + tab
An alternative for the thinking person to switch apps via the dock or taskbar. But the app you want is always a little farther or closer than you thought, and you have to switch again, and now you are paying attention to the process rather than continuing with your work. Maybe the Doc-Breathers are right.
19. alt + F4
This keyboard shortcut is too complex to close the application. Mac users use cmd + Q, and you know what, that’s okay. We do not accidentally close applications that often.
20.ctrl + alt + del
At first it meant restarting, then login. It is now disabled by default and Google’s best result for Ctrl + Alt + Del is worst web comic .
There are other approaches that matter, and you’re going to tell me all about them, but you already know where they are on this undeniable 20-point scale.