doms useful stuff

One of the greatest things about computers are the shortcuts. They are the simple keystrokes that speed up some of the tedious actions that take up our time and life-force.

Imagine if you had to use a menu every time you wanted to copy (ctrl+c) or paste (ctrl+v)? Uggh, nightmare territory.

In this blog I have posted a whole bunch of shortcuts that are built into your computer. You probably don't know it but these shortcuts have the power to change your life or at least give you more time to do stuff you actually enjoy.

All of the shortcuts were copied from the Tweak UI Tips file. Tweak UI is a great program from Microsoft that allows you to tweak Windows settings. You can download it here: Tweak UI Download

Awesome Windows Tips:

Press Win+L to lock your workstation or switch to the Welcome screen. Useful for locking your computer when you have to leave in a rush.

You can switch users without going through the Welcome screen: From Task Manager, go to the Users tab, right-click a user, and select Connect. This is great if you are one of several users.

You can rename multiple files all at once: Select a group of files, right-click the first file, and select "Rename". Type in a name for the first file, and the rest will follow. When you have to rename a bunch of photos or notes, this is a lifesaver.

When dragging a file in Explorer, you can control the operation that will be performed when you release the mouse button:
Hold the Control key to force a Copy.
Hold the Shift key to force a Move.
Hold the Alt key to force a Create Shortcut.

If you create a file called Folder.jpg, that image will be used as the thumbnail for the folder. What's more, that image will also be used as the album art in Windows Media Player for all media files in that folder. Great if you are an organization freak.

Hold down the shift key when deleting a file to delete it immediately instead of placing it in the Recycle Bin. Files deleted in this way cannot be restored.

If you hold down the shift key while clicking "No" in a Confirm File Operation dialog, the response will be interpreted as "No to All".

To arrange two windows side-by-side, switch to the first window, then hold the Control key while right-clicking the taskbar button of the second window. Select "Tile Vertically".

To close several windows at once, hold down the Control key while clicking on the taskbar buttons of each window. Once you have selected all the windows you want to close, right-click the last button you selected and pick "Close Group".

You can turn a folder into a desktop toolbar by dragging the icon of the desired folder to the edge of the screen. You can then turn it into a floating toolbar by dragging it from the edge of the screen into the middle of the screen. (It helps if you minimize all application windows first.)

You can turn a folder into a taskbar toolbar.

First, unlock your taskbar.

Next, drag the icon of the desired folder to the space between the taskbar buttons and the clock. (Wait for the no-entry cursor to change to an arrow. It's a very tiny space; you will have to hunt for it.)
You can rearrange and resize the taskbar toolbar you just created.

In the Address Bar, type "websitename" and hit Ctrl+Enter. Internet Explorer automatically inserts the "http://www." and ".com" for you.

To run Internet Explorer fullscreen, press F11. Do it again to return to normal mode.

In Internet Explorer, hold the Shift key while turning the mouse wheel to go forwards or backwards.

In some applications (such as Internet Explorer), holding the Control key while turning the mouse wheel will change the font size.

In many programs, using Ctrl+Tab will switch between the program's windows. In other words, if you have four Microsoft Word documents open or two images open in Photoshop and you hit Ctrl+Tab it will switch to the next open document or image. This is also great for switching between tabs in your browser window. Shift+Ctrl+Tab does the same thing but in the other direction (just try it).