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Jamie Durham
IT Correspondent
5:00 AM 20th November 2021
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10 Time-Saving Computer Hacks You Didn’t Know You Needed – Part 2

 
Following on from the last instalment, Jamie Durham is back with more tech and IT tips, and here he shares the remaining five hacks that can help to speed up how we operate online.

6) Minimising windows quickly

So, we’ve all been there, having one-million-and one windows open all at once – it’s a minefield trying to find which one you want next. But, if you open a window and click the bar at the top, then give it a shake – yes, really! – watch what happens. Ta-dah, it automatically minimises all the other windows you had open.

7) Accessing Task Manager

While many people know about the old Ctrl + Alt + Delete trick to access Task Manager, this doesn’t take you directly to the program. Instead, if you click Ctrl + Alt + Esc, this will directly open the program – useful if your computer has crashed and you want to find out which applications are draining your device’s energy.

8) Restoring a deleted tab

If you’ve accidentally closed a tab and you want to get it back, simply press Ctrl + Shift + T – now you can wave goodbye to having to sift through your browsing history to find the web page you were on.

9) Using emojis

We all love a good emoji when we’re texting, but what about when you’re drafting an email or making notes on your computer? You can access the emoji library by one simple keyboard shortcut – pressing the Windows key along with the full stop. You can then either scroll through the catalogue of faces, foods, and flags until you find what you’re looking for, or you can type in what you want, and it will show the results of your search.

10) Keeping Christmas gifts a secret

The ‘C’ word is just around the corner and if you haven’t yet started shopping for presents, it’s likely you’re starting to think about it. But if you share a home computer and you don’t want your loved ones to see what you’ve been ordering for them online, did you know that you can browse in in something called ‘Incognito Mode’?

This means that Chrome won’t save your browsing history and cookies – which track your recently viewed web pages. You can access this mode by clicking the three dots in the top right of your Chrome browser – or by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N – and this means any gift-buying can be kept a secret until the big day.

To revisit the first five hacks from the part one in this series, you can catch up here. https://yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/10-Time-Saving-Computer-Hacks-You-Didnt-Know-You-Needed--Part-1

And if you found this content useful, check out Jamie’s library of tech-related content on Yorkshire Times!