Keyboard Shortcuts Will Make You Happy

If you are a geek like me, you love the keyboard shortcut. Even if you are not a geek* you ought to learn to love the keyboard shortcut. Death to the Mouse! Chances are you already know and love Alt+Tab (switch between Windows applications) and WinKey+E (open Windows Explorer).

*If you think you are not a geek, I would like to point out that you are reading my blog. The outlook for your non-geekness is looking pretty slim. However, we all love geeks here at the Song of the Summer.

Keyboard shortcuts really are fantastic - and I alway want to learn more. However, every now and again I learn about other PC fun that just makes me happy. It's not surprising that most of it comes from the good folks at Google. Well I just read David Pogue's NYTimes blog entry on PC Basics. And I picked up three little gems that I didn't know about:

1. You can use Google to do math for you. Just type the equation, like 23*7+15/3=, and hit Enter. {There is literally no need for this, but I find it fun anyhow.}
2. Google is also a units-of-measurement and currency converter. Type "teaspoons in 1.3 gallons," for example, or "euros in 17 dollars." Click Search to see the answer.
3. WinKey+D will show the Desktop. WinKey+D again will return you to what you were doing. {The return thing is the money part. And to think that I've been using WinKey+M all these years...}

By all means have a read through David Pogue's article, maybe there are new and good ones for you in there as well. In the meantime, I have pulled a few other gems out the comments section from this particular blog.

Special bonus features from the user comments:

• In Microsoft Word - Shift+F3 makes a word change from all uppercase to all lowercase to just the first letter upper case and so on. (Big Fizz BIG FIZZ)
• A tip for Texans on filling in the "State" box. Type tt and then Enter. Texas will be entered into the box. No more having to scroll down to the bottom of the list of states. (This one is a little Mike specific.)
• In Firefox, CTRL+K or COMMAND+K will navigate your cursor to the Google search bar, so you can type in your searches without taking your hands from the keyboard.
• Google Synonym Search - If you want to search not only for your search term but also for its synonyms, place the tilde sign (~) immediately in front of your search term. e.g. ~fast food

Comments I just thought was humorous:

• …And thanks for not including the words "idiots," "dummies," "morons," "half-wits," "simpletons" or "Alaskan governors" in the title… Many regular, intelligent people don't know — and need to know — this stuff!
• If you "run out of mouse pad," all is not lost! Just lift your mouse, reposition, and continue. [This, based on a real life experience with a work colleague.]

And finally from the angry anti-cell phone lobby:

When your cell phone is ringing in a public place, you should push any button on the side of the phone as soon as possible to silence the ringer. The call will still be there and ringing, just not audibly. You can then answer the phone at your convenience, or you can let it go to voicemail if it is not an appropriate time to answer the phone.

It never ceases to amaze me to see people who think their only two options are to answer the phone or to let it ring outloud until voicemail picks up. Letting your phone ring repeately in a public place is not acceptable.
— Posted by Mike

(Note: this last comment was not posted by Mike Lennon. However Mike Lennon does find it humorous that someone is upset enough to post a comment deep, deep on a NYTimes blog & maybe thinks he might find the intended recipient(s). Good Luck Mike. Good luck.