Most of us use GUI and mouse to browse the Internet. We also use the keyboard to navigate through websites. Although your internet speed depends on your connection type, speed, and your computer and browser, here are a few tips to make your life a little easier. Check out these keyboard shortcuts to browse faster in most browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera.
Keyboard Shortcuts to help you browse faster
How to quickly Bookmark web pages
One of the features we use most while browsing is bookmarking websites we want to read later. Usually, that would involve clicking the STAR button and then making sure the bookmark goes to your intended folder. In the case of Firefox, when you click STAR, it does not bring any dialog to help you select the destination folder and saves it to Unsorted Bookmarks. To overcome such problems and quickly add a bookmark, press CTRL+D when you wish to bookmark or favorite on the webpage. This will bring the Save Bookmark dialog box, and then you can browse to the folder where you wish to save the bookmark before clicking OK. This applies to all browsers. CTRL+D is a shortcut to add a bookmark on almost all leading browsers.
How to open a new tab
We also make use of new tabs when browsing. To open a new tab in a browser, we click the PLUS ICON at the top; instead of going to it, if your hands are already on the keyboard, press CTRL+T. That will open a new Edge, Chrome, Opera, and Firefox tab. This is handy when you are already typing something and don’t have a mouse. The shortcut saves a little time.
How to add .com to the end of the URL
Entering URLs does not mean you have to type the whole URL starting from “HTTP://” to “.COM”. You can type the website name and press CTRL+ ENTER. For example, you type thewindowsclub and press CTRL+ENTER so that the HTTP part and .com part is added automatically to the URL. You need not press enter again, as the website will begin loading as soon as you press CTRL+ENTER. You need not use the mouse to click on the GO button either.
How to add .net or .org to the end of the URL
Suppose the website is .NET, then press SHIFT+ENTER; If the website ends with .ORG, press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER. Thus you need not type the entire URL. Using the website name and the key combinations mentioned here will help you save time loading a website.
How to access Omni bar?
To quickly access the Omni bar or the address bar, press CTRL+/
How to jump to the next field
Navigating between fields in a webpage form can be done using the TAB key. If you wish to go to the previous field, press SHIFT+TAB. Press Enter anytime to submit the form.
Other tips
Coming back to tabs in the browser, there are some more shortcuts you may want to know if you don’t know them already:
- Going to the next tab: CTRL+PgUP
- Going to the previous tab: CTRL+PgDn
- In effect, to browse among the open tabs, press CTRL+PgUP or PgDn to move from one tab to another.
- To close the current tab, press CTRL+W
- To close the entire browser, press ALT+F4
Font size
- To increase the font size of the webpage, press CTRL & +.
- To reduce the font size, press CTRL & –.
- To go to the default size, press CTRL & 0.
- You can also hold down CTRL and roll the mouse wheel to increase or decrease the font size.
Press F11 to go full screen. You won’t see any tools in the browser. To get back to normal mode, press F11 again.
Before I wind up the article::
- Press CTRL+I (the alphabet i) to dock bookmarks to the side of the browser.
- CTRL+B opens Organize Favorites in Firefox.
These tips for browsing faster on the Internet apply to all mainstream browsers, especially Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome. Some browsers have customizations, so you can find a few more convenient shortcuts if you play along a little.
If I missed anything, please comment.
Now take a look at these Edge browser tips and tricks.
