We spend hours a day in a browser. These tricks work in Chrome, Edge and Firefox (and most in Brave and Opera). Mac users: replace Ctrl with Cmd.
In this article
Tabs
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Reopen the last closed tab (repeat for more) |
| Ctrl+1…8 | Jump to tab 1–8; Ctrl+9 = last tab |
| Ctrl+click a link | Open it in a background tab |
| Right-click tab → Add to group | Colour-coded tab groups per project |
Address bar
- Ctrl+L jumps to the address bar; type and press Enter to search.
- Search one site: add
site:to a search —xlookup site:atulvij.com. - Exact phrase: put it in quotes —
"run-time error 1004". - Exclude a word:
python tutorial -video. - Calculator and units: type
1250*18%or5 feet in cmin the address bar.
💡 Create a custom site search (Chrome/Edge: Settings → Search engine → Manage → Site search). Then typing a shortcut like
yt + Tab searches YouTube directly.Reading and finding
- Ctrl+F finds text on the page.
- Reader / Immersive mode removes clutter from articles (icon in the address bar in Edge and Firefox; Chrome has Reading mode in the side panel).
- Ctrl++ / - / 0 zoom in, out and reset.
- Ctrl+P → “Save as PDF” keeps a copy of any page.
Privacy basics
Private/incognito windows do not save history on your device, but they do not make you anonymous — your network and the sites you visit can still see you (more in tech myths).