The 11 best computer tricks everyone should know (Windows & Macs)

April 23, 2019

Nathan McAlone of Business Insider

If there's one thing Reddit users are good at, it's coming up with clever tricks — especially on computers.

And in one post, a Redditor asked fellow users what computer tricks everyone should know. People submitted a wealth of tricks for Macs, PCs, web browsers, specific sites like YouTube, programs like Excel, and more. What they all had in common was that using them makes your computer life a whole lot easier and more fun.

We looked through the tricks and found the best 11, which are a mixture of useful and mischievous.

Here they are:

Get back that tab you accidentally closed

If you want to get back a tab you closed, just press "Control" (or "Command" on Mac), plus "Shift," plus "T," and it will magically reappear.

Only screenshot the part of the screen you want

If you only need to screenshot part of the screen, there's a simple way to do it for both Windows and Macs.

For Mac: "Command," plus "Shift," plus "4" brings up the tool. Then you just drag the area you want.

For Windows: Just go to "Start" and then "Snipping Tool." *** Hint, there is a bonus tip in the picture above for Windows 10 users!!!

Easily repeat your last command in Excel

If you press the F4 button in Excel, it repeats the last command. For example, if you select a cell and highlight it red, you can then highlight any other selected cell(s) red by pressing F4."

Make a copy of a file by just dragging it

All you have to do to make a copy of a file on a Mac is hold the "Alt" key ("Control" if you are using a PC) and then click and drag the file. This will make a copy that you can drop anywhere you want by un-clicking.

Reverse search an image in Chrome

In Google Chrome, if you press "S" while you right click on an image it will do a reverse Google search. That means you'll be able to see where that photo is and where it potentially originated.

Pause YouTube with one click, or skip backward and forward 10 seconds

Most people know you can hit the space bar to pause a YouTube video, but sometimes this causes it to scroll down the page if you haven't already clicked on the video. If you press "K," this will play (or pause) the video every time.

Hitting the "J" key will cause you to go backward 10 seconds, while hitting the "L" key will make you go forward 10 seconds.

Move your window to any side of the screen, or to the next monitor

If you click the "Windows" key, plus one of the arrows (right, left, up, down), your current window will move to that side of the screen.Similarly, "Windows," plus "Shift," plus one of the arrows will move your window into whatever monitor is that way (right, for example). Unfortunately, this only works for Windows machines. 😞

Clear you cache in seconds

Quickly clear your cache by pressing "Control," plus "Shift," plus "R." This will also refresh your page. Unfortunately, this only works for Windows machines. 😞

Lock your computer in seconds

Quickly clear your cache by pressing "Control," plus "Shift," plus "R." This will also refresh your page. Unfortunately, this only works for Windows machines. 😞