You just might be surprised at these tips.
Modern-day computers are a wonderful technological leap in our lives, making them easier, adding convenience, increasing knowledge, and generally enhancing them in innumerable ways. And it’s not just PCs either, we now have the additional options of smartphones, tablets, and even smartwatches to choose from.
There are so many useful and practical things your device can do, aside from the obvious basic functions, that make things just that little bit easier, and it seems that with every new year that passes, the techies at the computer companies seem to find something new to add with each update… not that we’re complaining about that, mind you!
More and more people are becoming aware of so-called ‘life hacks’ on their devices now and how convenient they can make your online session. In a recent study conducted by polling company OnePoll, 41% of respondents regularly use the term ‘life hack’, and of those 41%ers, 71% are using said life hacks not only more regularly but increasingly so post-pandemic. Around 25% of those questioned save the life hacks for future reference and use, while 61% will search out for online life hack videos online and watch them all through to the end.
So clearly word gets around about these little online shortcuts that make using a device of some sort a little easier. To that effect, for the purposes of this article, we have consulted professional techies on the most effective and efficient ways you can smooth out your online experience with life hacks, and which ones are the best to use. As a result of that consultation, we have compiled 10 life hacks that we sincerely hope will be of service and use to you.
And away we go…
1. Shake It Up
If you’re working on multiple tasks at once via multiple open tabs, get rid of the onscreen clutter and concentrate on the current task at hand by clicking on a tab, dragging it a little then giving it a shake… this will minimize all other tabs not in use and free up your screen.
2. Simplify Your Browsing History
Browsing history is both useful as a security tool – being able to completely delete it in whole or individual pages visited – and as a shortcut if you can’t remember a page visited that you want to access again immediately. But if you don’t want to go through multiple pages to get to that history, simply hit Ctrl+Shift+Del and it will take you straight to it… et voila!
3. Addressing The Issue
Sometimes when online, you want to copy a URL to either copy or delete it. Usually, it takes the copy-paste function and that’s okay by itself, but if you hit the F6 button, it will automatically highlight the URL immediately, saving you time and effort… you’re welcome!
4. Rebooting The Reboot
When your computer crashes – and at some point it will – usually you employ the time-honored Ctrl+Alt+Del to start the reboot process. But if you use Ctrl+Shift+Esc instead, it will take you directly to the Task Manager option and thus you can get your computer back online again even quicker.
5. OMG (Mode)
The Windows master control panel is often known in tech circles as ‘god mode’ whereby you can manage and control all aspects of the operating system. Well, Windows has developed a nifty little shortcut to streamline that, whereby you can have all programs in the operating system contained in a single folder. Create a new folder, name it as GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}, and ta-da, you’ll see all branches of the operating system under a single place.
6. The Last Command
Having opened up DOS on your computer and wanting to execute a file, you likely then have to manually type out the entire file directory name. Well no longer, save valuable time simply by dragging the file into the command prompt section and the computer will automatically highlight it for you.
7. Desktop Tout Suite
Those of us of a certain age remember the highly convenient Show Desktop icon on the Windows taskbar, which in their infinite wisdom (or lack thereof) they saw fit to remove. Well they’ve (sort of) compensated for that with a shortcut, Win+D, that does the same thing and takes you directly to the Desktop display… cheers, tech guys!
8. A File By Any Other Name…
Sometimes you might have a group of files that need renaming under a single designation. It would be a ;pain in the butt to have to go through each one individually and rename them… thankfully, you don’t have to do that as Windows has developed a shortcut, whereby you select a files, press F2 and it will rename them all, and even will give you a numbered option at the end of each file so you can differentiate them.
9. Lock ‘Em Up
Security of your computer is very important, even if you’re away from it in a public setting for a very short period. In such a scenario, you don’t want to leave your files unattended, so Windows has developed a security shortcut. Just hit Win+L and your current files will remain open but unable to be accessed without your personal password. Cool, huh?
10. Quick On The Charge
Forgotten to plug your computer or even smartphone device onto charge and the power is way low or even at 0%, and you need it powered up asap? Well don’t panic, stay calm, all you need to do is put your device on Airplane Mode – assuming you still have some power left – and begin charging up. By putting it on Airplane Mode, the device conserves all necessary power by closing down all non-essential functions, meaning your device will charge up approximately twice as fast as normal.
