20 of the Best Geek Hacks You Need to Know!

We’ve pulled together this list of 20 of the Best Geek Hacks (or shortcuts) that we use every day to help us quickly get around our computers without depending on the mouse or trackpad too much(which can slow things down).

You might be aware of some of them already but some are hidden gems which will save you so much time. 

We’ve grouped 20 of the best geek hacks into loose categories:

• Basic
• Windows (PC specific) 
• Advanced (PC and Mac)

Basic Hacks

1. Zooming In/Out: Hitting the CONTROL + PLUS (+) or MINUS (-) keys allow you to zoom IN or OUT of a web page making it easier to read.

1. New Window: CONTROL + N opens up a brand new web browser window.

1. New Tab: Already have a web browser window open? Use CONTROL + T to open a new tab in your browser window.

1. Copy/Paste/Cut: Hitting CONTROL + C to copy, CONTROL + V to paste and CONTROL + X will cut or remove the text.

1. Undo: CONTROL + Z will take you back a step or undo.

1. Highlight text: CONTROL + SHIFT + LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW highlights the full previous or next word.

1. Find words: Need to check your document for specific references? Use CONTROL + F  (PC), or COMMAND + F (Mac).

1. Find & Replace: A step up on the previous step this does exactly what it says on the tin and replaces whatever you need simply press CONTROL + H to find & replace.

1. Save: To save any document you’re working on simply hit CONTROL + S(PC), COMMAND + P(Mac). 

1. Quickly Print: To print any Word document, PDF or web page hit CONTROL + P (PC), or COMMAND + P and hey preso you’re ready to print.

Windows Hacks 

1. Basic Lock Screen: It’s a good habit to lock your PC when walking away. Hit the WINDOWS KEY + L to lock it.

1. Desktop View: Too many windows open? Pressing WINDOWS + D will display the desktop. 

1. Minimise Windows: WINDOWS + M minimizes all windows.

1. Restore Windows: WINDOWS + SHIFT + M restore the windows to their original position. 

1. Save Print Screen: Pressing WINDOWS + PRT SCN will capture and save your screenshot.
   
   
2. Charms bar(Windows 8): Press WINDOWS + C will open your charms bar, this shortcut helps you avoid hot corners or areas hard to access with a mouse.
   
   
3. New App Switcher(Windows 8): Pressing WINDOWS + TAB will open the new App Switcher which like the above charms bar can be tedious to access with a mouse.

Advanced Hacks

1. Refresh Browser Window: If you need to hard refresh your browser window press CONTROL + F5 for PC using Chrome and COMMAND + SHIFT + R for Mac using Chrome. This will refresh your browser window by forcing it to reload and download the most up-to-date version. 

1. Task Manager: Has your PC or Mac frozen? Use this shortcut to bring up the task manager and manually force an application to close. CONTROL + ALT + DELETE(PC) or COMMAND + OPTION + ESCAPE (Mac).  

1. Switch Windows: To change the window you’re viewing e.g. switch from email to internet browser, without using your mouse, hit ALT + TAB (PC) or COMMAND + TAB (Mac), keep pressing TAB to cycle through all the windows you have open until you get to the one you want.

Using 20 of the Best Geek Hacks

We recommend you get comfortable using these hacks, try them one by one to see which ones are the most useful for daily use. Once you’re comfortable using them they will become second nature and start saving you so much time, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try them sooner. 

There are heaps more hacks out in the world but we thought these 20 would be the most useful, you can see more in-depth Windows hack here if you’re a pro user.

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Featured photo by Juan Gomez on Unsplash