Too many people, particularly those who did not get handed a smartphone in the cradle, the digital age is something that will always feel a little alien. You probably need a little support from an expert like The Mobile Computerman – home of computer support in Cairns – if your blank screen or bleeping internal speakers are driving you crazy. But there are also plenty of little secrets that you can learn to make life on computers just a little bit easier and fun. Here are a few:
1. Windows Key Shortcuts
We all know that pressing the Windows key brings up the Windows menu. But if you combine it with pressing ‘D’, your desktop handily pops up. The Windows key also does a lot of other things, so look it up and have fun. Some other little-known but very handy shortcuts are Control-Backspace, which deletes an entire word; Control-Shift-T, which re-opens the last browser tab you accidentally closed; and right-click-S on a photo to ask Google to look up more information about it.
2. How to browse privately.
Need to go incognito? Let’s say you’re buying a gift for a loved one and don’t want the online jewellery store to appear in your internet browser history. Just press Control-Shift-N and a new browser will pop up for you to do all of your surfing – ninja-style!
3. How to lock your computer when not using it.
Do you share a house with people who are constantly grabbing your laptop when you’re making a coffee and posting not-very-hilarious Facebook statuses on your behalf? Lock them out by combining the Windows key with L, which will lock your computer and require your password to unlock it. That will teach them!
4. Faster Internet Browsing & Text Manipulation
Work with a lot of browser tabs and get frustrated with having to click the tiny ‘x’ to close them? Just hover on the tab and ‘middle click’ the mouse button or scrolling wheel – tab gone. And if you’re on a laptop and don’t have a middle mouse button, press both the left and right buttons together. Another handy laptop shortcut is when highlighting text – do you find holding the left mouse button while dragging across the mouse pad awkward? Just click once where you want to start highlighting and then Shift-click at the end. Done. Copy/paste made even easier.
If you have any questions or want a one-on-one coaching session one of our experienced and friendly technicians will be happy to help. Call today!
