Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are great for those who don’t like using a mouse. They can also save you time. We took a little heat for selecting Google Chrome (browser) as our freeware pick a few weeks ago – but we stand by our pick. Why? Because, while it has a few bugs, it’s getting better and better. And hey! It’s still in beta testing. It’s already, arguably, the fastest browser. So it’s only going to get better. It doesn’t hurt to try new things. You can still use whatever browser you like best.
Since many of you have already downloaded and tried Google’s Chrome, we thought it would be an excellent time to go over some browser keyboard shortcuts. A few of these are tagged “Chrome only” which means, duh, they work in Google’s new Chrome browser only. But most of these shortcuts work in Firefox, IE, and Chrome. So whether you use Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, or all three, you’ll find some useful tips that will help make your browser easier.
The following two shortcuts are for Chrome only.
* (Chrome only) Ctrl+B toggles the bookmarks bar on and off.
* (Chrome only) Shift+Escape opens Google Chrome’s Task Manager.
All of the following shortcuts work in Firefox and Chrome. Most work in Internet Explorer as well.
* Ctrl+L to move your cursor to the address bar.
* Ctrl+K moves your cursor to the address bar to enter a Google search.
* Ctrl+T opens a new tab.
* Ctrl+N opens a new window.
* Ctrl+Shift+T opens the last closed tab.
* (Chrome only) Ctrl+Shift+N opens a new window in “Incognito Mode.”
* Ctrl+Tab cycles through open tabs; Ctrl+Shift+Tab reverse cycles through open tabs.
* Ctrl+J opens the Downloads tab.
* Ctrl+W closes the current tab.
* Ctrl+R refreshes the current page.
* Ctrl+H opens the History tab.
* Alt+Home loads your homepage.
* Ctrl+1 through 9 switches to a particular open tab position.
* Ctrl++, Ctrl+-, Ctrl+0 Enlarges, reduces, and restores default text sizes, respectively.