You don't need the http:// portion of a web page
When
typing an Internet address you do not need to type http:// or even
www. in the address. For example, if you wanted to visit Computer Hope
you could just type computerhope.com and press enter. To make things
even quicker, if you're visiting a .com address you can type
computerhope and then press Ctrl + Enter to type out the full http://www.computerhope.com address.
Quickly move between the fields of a web page
If
you're filling out an online form, e-mail, or other text field you
can quickly move between each of the fields by pressing the Tab key or
Shift + Tab to move back a field. For example, if you're filling out
your name and the next field is your e-mail address you can press the
Tab key to switch to the e-mail field.
Tip:
This tip also applies to the buttons, if you press tab and the web
developer has designed correctly the button should be selected and
will allow you to press the space bar or enter to push the button.
Tip:
If you have a drop-down box that lists every country or every state
you can click that box and then press the letter of the state or
country you're looking for. For example, is a drop-down box of States
in the United States you could press u on the keyboard to quickly
scroll to Utah.
Use Internet search engines to their full potential
Make
sure to get the most out of every search result. If you're not
finding what you want try surrounding the text in quotes. For example,
if you were searching for 'computer help' this actually searches for
pages that contain both computer and help and not necessarily pages that
have computer and help next to each other. If you search for
"computer help" with the quotes around the search query this will only
return pages that actually have computer and help next to each other.
Tip:
Many new computer users also don't realize that in every search box
you can press enter instead of having to move the mouse button over to
the Search button.
Protect yourself and avoid bad web sites
Know your Internet browser shortcuts
There
are dozens of different shortcut keys that can be used with Internet
browsers. Below are a few of our top suggested Internet browser
shortcuts.
- Pressing Alt + D in any
major Internet browser will move the cursor into the address bar.
This is a great way to quickly enter an Internet address without
having to click the mouse cursor in the address bar.
- Hold down the Ctrl key and press the + or - to increase and decrease the size of text.
- Press the backspace key or hold down the Alt key + left arrow to go back a page.
- Press F5 to refresh or reload a web page.
- Press F11 to make the Internet browser screen full screen. Press F11 again to return back to the normal view.
- Press Ctrl + B to open your Internet bookmarks.
- Press Ctrl + F to open the find box in the browser to search for text within the web page you're looking at.
- Hold down the Ctrl key and press the + or - to increase and decrease the size of text.
- Press the backspace key or hold down the Alt key + left arrow to go back a page.
- Press F5 to refresh or reload a web page.
- Press F11 to make the Internet browser screen full screen. Press F11 again to return back to the normal view.
- Press Ctrl + B to open your Internet bookmarks.
- Press Ctrl + F to open the find box in the browser to search for text within the web page you're looking at.
Take advantage of tabbed browsing
Take
full advantage of tabbed browsing in all Internet browsers today.
While reading any web page if you come across a link you may be
interested in open that link in a new tab so it can be viewed later. A
new tab can be opened by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the
link or if you have a mouse with a wheel click the link with the
middle mouse button.
Try alternative browsers
Most
computer users use the default browser that comes included with the
computer, with Microsoft Windows this is Internet Explorer. There are
several great alternative browsers that are all free to download and
use and may have features your current browser does not include. Below
are a few of our favorites, try one or try them all.
Install plugins and add-ons
Each
of the above alternative browsers also have a large community of
volunteers who develop add-ons and plugins that can be added into the
browser. Each of these browsers have hundreds of thousands of these
add-ons that can do such things as giving you live weather in your
browser window, changing its color, and adding additional
functionality.
Make sure your browser and its plugins are up-to-date
Each
Internet browser can have several additional plugins that give it
additional functionality. For example, Adobe Flash is a great way to
bring movies and other animated content to the Internet. Keeping these
plugins up-to-date is vital for your computer stability and also
security. Using the below tool you can quickly verify if your plugins
are up-to-date and get links to where to download the latest updates.
