Top Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Chrome

Google Chrome is probably the fastest browser that fetches results at lightning speed. When Google was launched in September 2008, Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer were the go-to browsers. However, it was only a matter of time when Chrome started making its strong presence and now, it is the most preferred and the most popular web browser. It has more than 1 billion active users and its ever-growing list of admirers is a testimony.

The best feature is the beauty of keyboard shortcuts. Believe me, you can save a lot of time and the following shortcuts can be mastered in less than three minutes:

Opening New Tab

The best way to open a new tab is to rely on the keys combination: Ctrl + T. To open a new window, use Ctrl+ N.

Jump to the Search Bar

How do you jump to the search bar? I personally don’t take the trouble of dragging my mouse to the search bar. I just use this key combination shortcut: Ctrl + L. This shortcut is extremely handy. Just in case you wish to delete a lengthy URL and type in another one, you can count on this shortcut.

Search in the Search Bar

To find or search anything in particular, press Ctrl + E. 

Beginning of a Web Page

To jump to the beginning of the opened webpage, press Home.

Zoom In

To increase the font size of the page you are currently working on, hold Ctrl and press Plus (+) sign.

Zoom Out

To decrease the font size of the page you are currently working on, hold Ctrl and press minus (-) sign.

Reset Zoom

To reset the web page to its default size, use this shortcut combination: Ctrl + 0.

Full-Screen View

Full Screen view is a display format in which the entire computer screen is used for browsing. All the title bars and status bars disappear. To enjoy working with your browser in a full screen mode, press F11. To come out of the Full Screen view, press F11 again.

Save your Current Web Page

To save your current web page, press Ctrl + S.

Reload the Current Web Page

To reload the current web page, use F5. As an alternative action, use this keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + R

End of a Web Page

To navigate to the end of the opened webpage, press End.

Page Source

Page source code is the possible set of computer instructions. It is likely that it may contain comments as well. To view the page source, use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+U.

DevTools

If you are a web developer or a web designer, chances are that you must have already heard the term- ‘DevTools’. DevTools stands for Developer Tools. They help you in debugging and optimizing your workflow. Press Ctrl+Shift+I to open Chrome DevTools.

Open a Hyperlink in a New Tab

Let us suppose that you are reading an interesting article written by your favorite blogger. More often than not, you see ‘Suggested Reads.’ These are nothing but hyperlinks that promise to garner your attention just like the article you are currently reading. To open the hyperlink in a new tab, just press Ctrl key and click the hyperlink. The stereotypical way of opening it in a new tab is to right-click the hyperlink, select Open link in new tab option.

If you want to open it in a new window, just press Shift key and click the hyperlink. The stereotypical way of opening it in a new tab is to right-click the hyperlink, select Open link in new window option.

Bookmark Visibility

If you have added a list of favorites to your Chrome browser, you can toggle the visibility of bookmarks by using this keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+ Shift+ B.

Bookmark All Tabs

To bookmark all tabs opened at once in a browser, press Ctrl + Shift + D

View the Downloads

Internet is rich in digital resources. Very often, we download e-books, pdfs and software. To view the list of downloads, use this keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+ J.

Home Page

To go to Home page, press Alt + Home

Previous Web Page

To go back to previous page, press Alt + Left Arrow

View the Next Tab

How do you view the next tab? I guess, you must be viewing it the old-fashioned way by dragging your mouse and then clicking the tab adjacent to the current one. Embrace the new way of viewing the next tab by using this combination of keys: Ctrl + Tab

View a Specific Tab

Suppose, if you have opened 8 tabs (say) and if you wish to navigate to the second tab, just press: Ctrl + 2. Similarly, if you wish to head over to the fourth or fifth tabs, just use the keyboard combination: Ctrl + 4 or Ctrl+5.It must be remembered that this shortcut works only if there eight or fewer number of tabs. Ctrl + 9 is the keyboard short that opens the last tab i.e., even if you have opened 15 tabs and if you press Ctrl+ 9, you will switch to the fifteenth tab.

Close the Current Tab

Of course, the most obvious way of closing the current tab is to click ‘x’ that is present at the right-top corner of the window. The keyboard short cut is Ctrl + W. To close the current window, here is the shortcut: Ctrl+ Shift+ W.

Re-open the Recently Closed Tab

If you happen to close a tab accidently, fret not. You can just hold Ctrl and Shift keys and subsequently press T. So, the correct keyboard shortcut is: Ctrl+ Shift+ T

Sometimes, Chrome browser closes suddenly due to unknown reasons. In such scenarios, you can try this combination and re-open all the previously closed tabs.

View History

Web page history is the list of all websites and webpages that you have visited over a period of time. To view your web page history, use this keyboard shortcut combination: Ctrl+H

Go Incognito

Incognito or private mode lets you operate multiple social networking profiles. Let me reveal this fact- Google uses umpteen indicators and measures to track your web-searching behavior. When you go incognito, Google fails to track your search patterns. How do you go incognito? Just use this keyboard shortcut combination: Ctrl + Shift + N

Well, all the aforementioned shortcuts can be learnt in less than three minutes. If you can spare three minutes to master these shortcuts, I’m sure, you can save more than three hours. So, what are you waiting for? Save this article. You can use it as a quick reference. Happy learning and do not forget to put the aforementioned shortcuts into practice.