Chrome keyboard shortcuts can make browsing a lot more efficient by minimizing movement and eliminating the use of the mouse for specific functions. They also help your hands avoid the stress of repetitive motions. Here are some nifty hotkeys you can use with Google Chrome to add a layer of convenience to your surfing experience.
Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts to Make Browsing a Breeze
1. Open a New Tab
Why mouse over to the top of your Chrome browser when there’s a perfectly good shortcut for that. Here’s what you need to press to do just that:
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Press T
- Mac: Hold Command + Press T
2. Close Tab Shortcut Chrome
When you’re done with the page you’re browsing, you don’t need to click on the X on the tab. Just use the buttons below:
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Press W
- Mac: Hold Command + Press W
3. Undo Closing the Last Tab
If you closed a tab prematurely, you can always undo your action by using the following:
- PC: Hold Ctrl and Shift + Press T
- Mac: Hold Command and Shift + Press T
4. Jump to a Specific Tab
If you have multiple tabs open and you want to go to a specific one, you can specify the tab you wish to view by using the keystrokes below. However, the command works for the first eight tabs only with the first tab corresponding to number 1 and the eighth tab corresponding to number 8.
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Type the Number of the Tab
- Mac: Hold Command + Type of the Number of the Tab
5. Cursor to Search Bar
Moving your cursor to the search bar can be tiresome, especially if you’re doing it for the nth time in one sitting. Fortunately, you can just use the commands below to instantly move the cursor to the search bar, so you only need to type, type, type.
- PC: Hold CTRL + Press L
- Mac: Hold Command + Press L
6. Chrome Go Back Shortcut
When you want to view the previous page, just push the following keys on your keyboard to bring it back up.
- PC: Press Alt + Left Arrow
- Mac: Press Command + Left Arrow
7. Go to the New Page
However, after checking out the previous page, you decide you want to look at the newer page, just use the following commands:
- PC: Hold Alt + Right Arrow
- Mac: Hold Command + Right Arrow
8. Reload the Current Page
There are times when the page you’re viewing hangs. When this happens, just refresh the page through the shortcuts below.
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Press R
- Mac: Hold Command + Press R
9. Use the Find Bar
Do you need to find a specific term on a page or in an online document? Just use the Find Bar to do so. You can open the Find Bar by doing the following:
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Press F
- Mac: Hold Command + Press F
10. Open Settings
When you want to customize how your Google Chrome works, just open the Settings page. You can do this on Mac through the following commands. Sorry PC people, there are no shortcuts in Windows to bring up the settings page in your version of Chrome.
- Mac: Hold Command + Press Comma Key
11. Open the Downloads Page
When you need a particular document you’ve downloaded in Chrome, but you don’t want to jump through hoops just to find it in a subdirectory on your computer, just use the following command:
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Press J
- Mac: Hold Command and Shift + Press J
12. Open Clear History Shortcut Chrome
Here’s how you can ensure your privacy with just a few keystrokes:
- PC: Hold Ctrl and Shift + Press Delete
- Mac: Hold Command and Shift + Press Delete
To secure your web browsing history and to ensure your device runs smoothly, you can also opt to clear your cache. If you are using Mac, learn how to do it here.
13. Print the Page
When you want to print a page with a few motions of your fingertips, just do the following:
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Press P
- Mac: Hold Command + Press P
Bonus: Bookmark Current Page
Some pages are so good you want to keep them handy. Automatically bookmark the page by doing the following in Chrome:
- PC: Hold Ctrl + Press D
- Mac: Hold Command + Press D
Check out the video below and don’t forget save as your reference!
Chrome keyboard shortcuts are nifty, aren’t they? Use these hacks to unlock another level of your browsing skills. These shortcuts may be so simple as to be innocuous, but you’ll never know if you need them if you don’t give them a try.
What other Chrome keyboard shortcuts do you know? Comment down below. In case you’d like more helpful shortcuts, check out these posts on Apple keyboard shortcuts and Windows keyboard shortcuts.
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