Basic Computing Tips

The NYT’s David Pogue was shocked to see a computer user in a publishing house actually click and drag to select a single word in a document…it got him thinking about some of the basic tips and tricks everyone who has relied on computers for more than a short period of time takes for granted, so here are some of them. How many did you honestly know about before you read this post?

• Double-click a word anywhere to highlight (select it)
• Hide all windows to reveal desktop by pressing the Window key and D at the same time. Press again to get back to where you were.
• Make text appear bigger in your browser by holding control (Ctrl) and tapping the plus (or minus for smaller) keys (the mouse wheel works with Ctrl for this too). To reset browser font size use Ctrl-0 (control zero).
• Tapping the Space bar scrolls one Web page down the screen at a time (Shift-Space goes back up).
• The Tab key lets you jump from one box to the next when filling in a web form. Shift-Tab goes backwards.
• Drag the top strip of any window to adjust its position and any edge to change its size.
• Put quote marks round whole phrases when searching in Google to force it to search complete phrases not the individual words, works brilliantly for names like “David Bradley”.
• Right-clicking your mouse usually brings up an extra menu in any program with commands you don’t normally see.
• Tap the Enter or Return key to action a web search, usually no need to point and click the Go, Submit, or Search button on the web page.
• Google has a built in calculator. Just type the sum: like 144*5.4-188/36.34=, and tap the Enter/Return key. * means multiply, / means divide.
• Google can also do unit conversions. Try “liters in 150 gallons” or “15 dollars in euros” and tap enter/return to get the answer.
• Windows Start menu pops up when you hit the Windows logo key.
• Press the Alt and F4 keys together (Alt-F4) to bring up shut down and restart options in Windows
• Alt-Tab cycles between open Windows
• Ctrl-Shift-Esc brings up the task manager allowing you to shut down programs that have hung and other stuff.
• Putting a file into the Trash or Recycle Bin doesn’t delete it. You must empty the Trash or Recycle Bin periodically to clear the disk space. Shredding programs will delete files securely.
• No need to type “http://www” into your Web browser, just type “sciencetext.com” or “amazon.com,” for example and hit Return. Better still just type “sciencetext” or “amazon” and hit Ctrl-Return and that adds the www. and the .com.
• Backup your data regularly and automatically.

You can read Pogue’s original piece here. And, yes, the use of the word “Basic” in the title of this blog post is deliberate.