Hey, welcome back to another Windows 10 Shots blog post.  I hope you read my last post, Windows 10 Shots – Cortana Keyboard Shortcuts.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, with most shots, after about a handful things will start to get a little hazy.  But, with Windows 10 Shots (this new series of posts), the hope would be that the opposite would happen.  That clarity and insight into the highly anticipated release would free your mind to great new features and power of Windows 10.

I have worked with a lot of Windows users over the years, and one thing I have noticed is that there are users who love to use the mouse and there are users who love to use the keyboard.  Sure there are those in the middle, and I actually prefer to use the mouse most of the time, but you have to admit, when you watch someone who has the keyboard down to a science, windows, screens, emails, etc. are flashing all of the screen like a firework show.  It can be confusing to those watching, but for the person who has become proficient with the keyboard, productivity is the name of the game.

This post will focus on a new feature in Windows 10, Microsoft Edge.

I will attempt to keep this short by explaining as quickly as I can: the shortcut we are going to use, what it does and a quick description with an occasional screen shot to drive it home.  That being said, the General Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge posts will have more content.  So, let’s get typing…

Microsoft Edge

Probably one of the bigger changes to Windows 10 is their new, built from the ground up, web browser, Microsoft Edge.  The new and improved browser comes with a lot of features.  However, most people just want to surf the web, so let’s see what keyboard shortcuts we have available.

Note:  Microsoft Edge must be the active window.

ActionAdd to Favorites or Reading List

Shortcut KeyCtrl + D

Description:  This shortcut allows you to add a website to your Favorites or Reading List.  You can also give it a name.

Add to Favorites or Reading List

ActionFind on Page

Shortcut KeyCtrl + F

Description:  Trying to find something on a webpage can be time consuming.  With this key combination you can easily find what you are looking for on the current webpage.  Just type Ctrl + F and you will be presented with a text field on the top of the page to enter your search criteria.

Find on Page

For example, let’s say in the Technology News section you want to search for the hot new Virtual Reality headset, Oculus.  You would simply type Oculus in the search box and as you type, any matches on the website will be highlighted in yellow.

Find on Page 2

You can also select how it matches during the search.

Find on Page 3

Also, notice that it displays the number of results, the currently positioned result and the option of stepping forward and backward through the results.

Find on Page 4

ActionNew Window

Shortcut KeyCtrl + N

Description:  Sometimes you just want another window to maybe read or compare two different sites.  This key combo will simply open a new Windows Edge browser window.

New Window

ActionDuplicate Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + K

Description:  Sometimes as a user, you want to keep the current page, but go back to the previous page.  This is simple to accomplish with this key combination.

It might look something like this:

Duplicate Tab

ActionNew Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + T

Description:  Say you want to keep your current page filled with important search results, but you want to create a brand new tab for another webpage, you can simply press Ctrl + T and a new tab will be created.

New Tab

ActionRefresh Page

Shortcut KeyCtrl + R or F5

Description:  Sometimes, webpages get stale.  A great example of this are sites that report scores, or even some self-refreshing (every 10sec, 15secs, 30sec, etc.) websites.  Hitting either of these key combinations will result in an immediate webpage refresh with updated information.

ActionClose Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + W

Description:  When you are done with your webpage, it is a good practice to cleanup your browser and release any memory that your application might not be using.  This shortcut will close the current tab and give you back valuable system resources.

Close Tab

ActionZoom In 25%

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Plus

Description:  Sometimes either a site is using a very small font, or maybe even your eyes aren’t what they used to be (trust me, I am living this right now) and you need a little help seeing things.  Well, Ctrl + [Plus] will zoom your screen in by 25% all the way up to 1000%.  That should help you see things better. 🙂

Here is the screen at 100%, 150% and 300%.

Zoom In 25%

Action Zoom Out 25%

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Minus

Description:  Some webpages have a lot of content on them and you can’t quite get it all into your browser to see it all in one shot.  Hitting Ctrl + Minus, you can reduce the zoom by 25%.  Here is an example of 100%, 50% and 25%.

Zoom Out 25%

As you can see, there is a lot more content on the screen the further you zoom out.  This works extremely well with large monitors that support high resolution.

ActionReset Zoom

Shortcut KeyCtrl + 0

Description:  If you mess up your browser zoom, a really quick way to get back to 100% is to use this key combination.

With Zoom at 175%

Reset Zoom

With Zoom back to 100% after Ctrl + 0.

Reset Zoom 2

ActionSwitch to Last Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + 9

Description:  This is a feature that probably doesn’t seem to be very useful, but if you are like me, I have a tendency to have 15+ tabs open at times.  So, usually the last tab you opened is the one that is most recent.  However, when you switch back 2-3 tabs, sometimes it is just easy to apply this shortcut to get to the last tab quickly.

ActionSwitch to Tab Number

Shortcut KeyCtrl + 1, 2, 3…,8

Description:  If you have 9 tabs or less, a really easy way to get to one them is to use this shortcut combination.  You can quickly get to the 3rd tab by pressing Ctrl + 3.  Or the 6th with Ctrl + 6.

ActionGo Back

Shortcut KeyBackspace or Alt + Left Arrow

Description:  Probably one of the most useful shortcuts that isn’t used by most people.  People love to click on that little back button on the top of the screen to go back to a previous page.

Go Back

However, did you know that just hitting the Backspace or Alt + Left Arrow key will do the same thing?  Try it, you may never click that arrow again.

ActionGo Forward

Shortcut KeyAlt + Right Arrow

Description:  As much as I would love to say there is a one keypress forward button, there isn’t.  However, there is a two keypress shortcut, Alt + Right Arrow, that will allow you to go forward a web page as opposed to mouse clicking on the forward button to the top left of the browser.

Go Forward

TIP:  Notice that you can use Alt + [Left Arrow][Right Arrow] to quickly Navigate already viewed pages very quickly.

ActionStop Loading

Shortcut KeyEsc

Description:  Sometimes you navigate to a page that is taking a long time to load.  Maybe you even have what you need on the page, but you are left waiting for the page to load.  Sometimes, if your timing is right, you can stop the page from loading with this keyboard shortcut.

ActionNext Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Tab             

Description:  As I stated earlier, I have a tendency to have a million tabs open in my web browser.  So being able to navigate thru all of them quickly is essential.  If you find yourself in the same boat as me, try using Ctrl + Tab.  It will allow you to cycle thru all your tabs from left to right.  Pretty handy.

ActionPrevious Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Shift + Tab

Description:  If you become a Ctrl + Tab junky, you might find yourself blasting past a page you intended to navigate.  Well, you can cycle thru your open tabs from right to left using Ctrl + Shift + Tab.

ActionPrint Page

Shortcut KeyCtrl + P

Description:  I can’t imagine why people would need to print anything onto a piece of paper anymore, but just in case you need the ability, hitting the key combo, Ctrl + P will display a print dialog for you to select the printer of your choice.

Print Page

Hopefully you actually want to print to a PDF file or sent it to Microsoft OneNote so that you can save the forests. 🙂

Print Page 2

ActionOpen Link in New Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Click

Description:  Sometimes, you want to interact with an element on the page, but a quick keyboard combination isn’t quite enough to get the job done.  For example, let’s say you want to open a link in a new tab to visit later.  Well, if you hold down the Ctrl key and click on the link, that is exactly what you get.

Open Link in New Tab

After you apply the shortcut, you should notice a new tab with the links contents.

Open Link in New Tab 2

I actually use this quite a bit when I am research a topic and I want to open up a number of search results before I attempt another Bing search.

ActionOpen Link in New Tab and Go to Tab

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Shift + Click

Description:  This combination is very similar to the previous one, Ctrl + Click, but in this scenario, you want to open a new tab for a link, but you also want to go immediately to that tab to view it.  You simply press, Ctrl + Shift + Click on the link you want to open in a new tab.

Open Link in New Tab and Go to Tab

However, since we included the Shift key, you are now brought to the tab you just created.

Open Link in New Tab and Go to Tab 2

ActionOpen Link in New Window

Shortcut KeyAlt + Shift + Click

Description:  There are some situations that arise while browsing that you would like to open up another browser window with a different webpage.  For example, let’s say you wanted to compare and contrast the difference in device specification for the Apple iPhone 6S+ and the new rumored Microsoft Lumia 950XL.

First, you would do a search for one of the devices, say, the iPhone 6S+ specifications.

Open Link in New Window

You find the result you need and you want to open it up as one of your comparison devices.

Open Link in New Window 2

You would now Alt + Shift + Click the link and see something like this:

Open Link in New Window 3

Alt + Tab back to the search browser and do a Bing search for Microsoft Lumia 950XL specifications and find the result you wish to use.

Open Link in New Window 4

Select the result and let’s snap our two windows next to each other using Windows + [Left][Right].

Open Link in New Window 5

Now, Compare away!

ActionSelect Address Bar

Shortcut KeyCtrl + L or F4 or Alt + D

Description:  If you want to quickly move to the address bar to hit another site or do a search.  These keyboard combinations will be handy.

Select Address Bar

ActionOpen Favorites

Shortcut KeyCtrl + I

Description:  If you have been putting a lot of sites into your favorites, you need a quick way to access them.  Well, Ctrl + I will do that for you.

Open Favorites

ActionOpen History

Shortcut KeyCtrl + H

Description:  Where was that site I was on yesterday?  If you find that you are wondering what sites you have been searching lately, this shortcut will be handy.

Open History

It will even group your history so that you can get to the day you hit the webpage quickly.

Open History 2

ActionOpen Downloads

Shortcut KeyCtrl + J

Description:  As a developer I download a lot of stuff.  I am always playing with new tools and applications.  Since I have a huge passion for UI/UX, I download a lot.  One really helpful shortcut is Ctrl + J.  It will bring me to my download list.  Give it a try.

Open Downloads

ActionEnter Reading View

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Shift + R

Description:  Have you ever been on a webpage to try to read the article and you are bombarded with multitudes of ads, menus, popups, etc.?  I am 100% sure you have.

Enter Reading View

Well, let’s say you find a great article and you just want to read that and not have to bother with all of the distractions.  Well, Microsoft Edge has a solution.  It is called Reading View.  It takes all that noise out of the picture so you can concentrate on the article itself.  Visually, you can see webpages that are compatible with Reading View by the little icon next to the address line for the site.  Click on it and it will put itself into Reading View mode.

Enter Reading View 2

However, there is also a keyboard shortcut for that button as well.  When you see the Reading View icon enabled, Hit Ctrl + Shift + R.  You will notice that the page refreshing without all the “distractions” and the icon is now blue.

Enter Reading View 3

Now, isn’t that better?

ActionOpen Search Query on Address Bar

Shortcut KeyCtrl + E

Description:  Want a way to quickly search using your browser?  Ctrl + E will open up the address bar with a search query.

Open Search Query on Address Bar

Just start typing your search criteria and hit Return.

Open Search Query on Address Bar 2

Presto, search results…

Open Search Query on Address Bar 3

ActionOpen InPrivate Window

Shortcut KeyCtrl + Shift + P

Description:  Need a web browser window that is private and doesn’t keep track of what you are surfing?  For example, you want to find a gift for your wife, but don’t want her to see the sites you have been viewing in history?  Ctrl + Shift + P.

Open InPrivate Window

Summary

So, all you keyboard crazies out there, I hope this post helps you by identifying the some of the Microsoft Edge keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10 that will help you navigate your virtual desktops.  This way, you can blaze a path of productivity using the most productive operating system in the world, Windows 10.