15 Best Laptop Shortcut Keys

Finding the buttons needed to perform commands when browsing can sometimes be tricky. It can also be awkward to keep on moving your hand to and from your mouse, which can disrupt your flow. The result is decreased productivity, which few people can afford in such a busy, fast-paced world.

The good news is that browser shortcut keys help make browsing quicker and easier. Without reaching for a mouse all the time, you can develop more of a flow in how you work. Shortcut keys also help remove the frustration of not finding the right buttons to click.

This article covers 15 of the best shortcut keys for laptops that will make browsing easier and more enjoyable.

1. F5: Refresh the page

With real-time information more important than ever in multiple industries and even on social media, you will need to refresh a web page occasionally so the information is up to date. Alternatively, you may need to reload a page if it freezes. 

Most people will click on the 'reload' button to refresh a page, but this is not ideal. Not only do you have to move your hand away from your keyboard, and it's easy to click on the wrong icon.

All that’s needed is to press F5 and the page will reload, helping to streamline working online. This shortcut key is ideal if you want to continue working while also waiting for an updated web page.

2. F6: Select the address bar

When opening a new website, it's necessary to type the address in the address bar. And for this, you need to have that bar highlighted. This usually involves clicking on it directly.

But what if it was possible to type in a new address without clicking a mouse at all? The good news is that such an option is available, and hitting the F6 button is all that’s needed. You are then free to start typing away. 

3. Alt + home: Return to the homepage

To go to a new website, you will need to open a new tab or go to the address bar to type in the new address. However, these actions can be tricky, potentially resulting in mistakes and disrupting your flow. 

However, browser shortcut keys come to the rescue again with a solution that couldn't be simpler. All that’s needed is to click on the Alt key and the Home key, and the browser will automatically go to its home page. 

4. F11: Enter/exit full-screen mode

Switching to full-screen mode can make it easier to focus on a task while removing some distractions. Some web browsers offer this option in a sub-menu which can be challenging to find. 

One press of the F11 button will cause the browser to turn on full-screen mode. Then, when it's time to exit full-screen mode, press F11 again, and the web page will return to its normal size. 

5. Windows key + arrow: Windows snap

It’s sometimes necessary to have more than one browser page open at a time, and switching between the two can be awkward. But, shortcut keys for laptops save the day again.

Press the Windows key and a left or right arrow key, and whichever browser is open will snap into position. The browser will take up one-half of the screen when snapped in position. Do the same for the other browser window using the opposite arrow key, and it will snap into position next to it. 

While non-Windows laptops won’t have a Windows key, the command key on a Mac does the same thing. 

6. Ctrl + shift + T: Reopen the last closed tab

It’s easy to close browser tabs by mistake. Reopening them again can be awkward, especially if you don’t know the website's address. Thankfully, a browser will have a record of the address in its history menu, allowing you to find and reopen whichever tabs you’d otherwise have lost. 

The quickest and simplest way to do this is to press Ctrl + Shift + T, and the browser will reopen the last closed tab, potentially saving you a lot of time and frustration. It’s not even necessary to know the address because the browser will remember it for you. 

7. Ctrl + J: Open the browser’s downloads folder

It can be all too easy to lose track of documents after downloading them from a website, potentially causing much frustration. In most cases, the documents will be in the browser's downloads file, which must then open to find the documents. Unfortunately, opening this file involves finding the right menu, which can be tricky.

An alternative is to press Ctrl + J, and the browser's download folder will automatically open. Of course, it’s still necessary to find the right files and open them, but at least the task has been made a little easier.

8. CTRL + P: print

You might want to print the contents of a website so you can refer to it later, whether it’s an important piece of information, proof of a booking or test result, or simply an interesting read. Unfortunately, the print menu is usually in a browser menu, which means using the mouse, and disrupting workflow. 

A much simpler solution is to press Ctrl + P, which will open the print menu. The browser will then give the usual options, such as whether to print to a printer or PDF.

9. Ctrl F: Search for text

You will often be looking for particular information on the web rather than just ‘browsing’. And it might be necessary to read through thousands of words to find the right information. One way to make the task much easier is to search for words within the text using the search function.

One option is to use the browser menu option to open the search function, but there is an easier way of doing it. Instead, press Ctrl F and the browser will open the text menu, and your hands will already be at the keyboard, ready to type. 

10. Ctrl + A: Select all 

Selecting all items on a web page can be tricky, especially if there’s a lot on the page. However, it’s possible to select all the content on a page by using a keyboard shortcut. 

Pressing Ctrl + A will automatically select all items on a page, helping to save time and reduce frustration. This can be far easier than selecting all the content using the mouse, and quicker than navigating through menus to find the option too. 

11. Ctrl + N: Open a new browser window

It’s sometimes necessary to have multiple browser windows open at the same time. But, again, creating these extra windows would typically involve using the mouse, which can break your flow when typing.

However, reaching for a mouse is not necessary. Instead, just press Ctrl + N, and the browser will open a new window. To close a window, press alt + F4 and the browser will do the rest.

12. CTRL + D: Bookmark a webpage

Bookmarks are one of the best tools available to web users. They make it easy to return to a website whenever needed, and there’s no need to remember the address and type it in. Unfortunately, bookmarking a page typically involves opening the bookmark menu, and it can be easy to forget where the menu is, especially in a crowded browser window.

Luckily, there's a straightforward way to bookmark a web page in a fraction of the time compared to what it would take to use the mouse. Press Ctrl + D, and the bookmark menu will open, making it easier to save web pages for future reference.

13. CTRL + Tab: Switch to the next tab

Switching from tab to tab is common when browsing as it helps to move between websites. However, switching between a lot of tabs can be a little tricky with a mouse, and the tab might even be closed accidentally. 

Instead, press Ctrl + Tab, and the browser will move to the next tab. Keep pressing, and you can cycle through all your open tabs, all the way back to the first tab again. Pressing Alt + Tab is also an easy way to switch between open windows and applications. 

14. Spacebar: Scroll down

Scrolling down with a mouse can be awkward and time-consuming. Frequently using the middle-mouse wheel can even become tiring.

The good news is that there's a much simpler solution, which is to press the spacebar and the browser will scroll down the page. Then, to scroll up again, press Shift and the spacebar and the page will return to where it was.

15. ALT + left arrow: Move back a page

It’s often necessary to move between the pages of a website when browsing. Again, this means using a mouse instead of keeping your hands over the keyboard.

But it's much easier to press ALT + the left arrow button to go back to the previous page. To go forward a page, press ALT + the right arrow button and the browser will do the rest. 

Using Browser Short Cuts Will Boost Your Efficiency

Another benefit of using browser shortcut keys is that the same keys will work for most browsers, making it unnecessary to remember different laptop keyboard shortcuts. Using the same shortcuts is especially convenient considering browser menus are different from each other because it would otherwise be necessary to go through a different process for each one.

Shortcut keys are also available for commands other than browser functions. For example, shortcut keys are available to create new files, zoom in on Word documents, and even lock the computer. 

Using shortcut keys for laptops might be a little awkward at first. For example, if you’re new to using keyboard shortcuts, you will need to remember to do so, as well as what they are, which can take some practice. However, using the shortcuts will come naturally after a while, boosting productivity and making browsing more fun.