Your favorite keyboard combinations

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around participants sharing their favorite keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys, particularly in the context of enhancing productivity and efficiency while using computers. The scope includes practical applications, personal preferences, and humorous anecdotes related to keyboard combinations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant highlights "Windows + D" as a favorite for minimizing all windows to access the desktop quickly.
  • Another participant appreciates "Alt + Tab" for cycling through open windows, noting its efficiency compared to using a mouse.
  • There is mention of "Ctrl + left or right" for moving the cursor word by word, which is deemed useful for note-taking without a mouse.
  • One participant asks about the shortcut for maximizing a window, indicating some uncertainty about it.
  • Several participants share humorous keyboard combinations used for practical jokes, such as "ALT + LSHIFT + PRTSCRN" for changing color settings and "ALT + F4" as a trick in gaming contexts.
  • Another participant lists shortcuts for capturing screenshots, specifying "Alt-PrtScrn" for the current window and "Ctrl-PrtScrn" for the entire desktop.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share their individual preferences and experiences with keyboard shortcuts, but there is no consensus on a definitive list of favorites or best practices. Multiple competing views and humorous anecdotes coexist without resolution.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about specific shortcuts, and there are references to personal experiences that may not apply universally. The discussion includes both practical and humorous elements, reflecting a variety of user experiences.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to users looking to enhance their productivity through keyboard shortcuts, gamers familiar with practical jokes involving hotkeys, and individuals interested in computer efficiency techniques.

Square1
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Do you have favorite/most handy hotkeys? I started to appreciate them when in class taking notes fast and I don't have a mouse and resent using a mouse-pad heavily.

All time favorite for me is "Windows + D". It minimizes all windows and takes you to your desktop. Absolutely love it.

Close second I think is "Alt + Tab + Tab + Tab +...". Let's you cycle through the windows that are open. What best about this though is that just one "Alt + Tab" takes you the the last open window. So if you are doing a task that requires going back and forth from one window to the other very often, making a single definite button push with your fingers I find is less distracting than going for the mouse, finding the window in the task bar, over and over.

Also a fan of "Ctrl + left or right". It jumps the cursor word by word left or right. Really useful when I am racing to take notes in class and I don't have a mouse, and need to go back in the sentence to make a quick fix. You can tack on "Shift" as well to highlight simultaneously. I find doing little changes like this every few sentences slow and distracting with a mouse-pad. Also a bit faster than holding left or right.

:cool:
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
The ones I use the most are CTRL-C, CTRL-V, and CTRL-X, respectively copy, paste, and delete.
 
What is the shortcut for maximizing a window? I seem to accidentally hit it sometimes when I'm typing fast...
 
Some favourites to use for a practical joke in school:

High contrast: ALT + LSHIFT + PRTSCRN (make the colours go all funky)
Slow keys: RSHIFT for 8 secs
ToggleKeys: Numlock for 5s (I think this is the one makes the pcs internal buzzer go when a certain keys are pressed)
 
fun-fact-extra-content.gif

[Source: http://www.toothpastefordinner.com, Date 03/20/13]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
 
collinsmark said:
fun-fact-extra-content.gif

[Source: http://www.toothpastefordinner.com, Date 03/20/13]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Ahh, reminds me of the old runescape trick of telling noobs to drop their items and then press ALT + F4 to *insert amazing sounding thing* to their items.
 
collinsmark said:
fun-fact-extra-content.gif

[Source: http://www.toothpastefordinner.com, Date 03/20/13]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I learned the truths of this in my tender childhood years, whilst hours into intesive rts games. The paaaiiinnn...
 
windows key + L whenever I leave my computer for seconds/minutes (sometimes hours).
 
Once I've opened a graphics program (on Windows), I use these to grab screenshots or photos of windows:

capture current window to clipboard
Alt-PrtScrn
capture entire desktop to clipboard
Ctrl-PrtScrn
 

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