Okay I feel motivated to populate this thread with more advice, so here we go:
This time's theme: how to navigate your interface efficiently.
*For this, I assume every work computer is on Windows10 or more.
The main point in order to navigate your computer's interface quickly is to use shortcuts. I don't care if you are a 4-digits rank on osu!, Typing a shortcut on the kerboard will always be faster and more efficient than reaching for the mouse. So here, I have regrouped most of the shortcuts I use on a daily basis.
The name of the keys: Just so we are on the same page, I'll write a few of these down.
Shift: The ⇧ button, the one you use when you want to type a capital letter.
Meta: The "Windows key", the one between Ctrl and Alt. I'll call it the meta key because it's shorter, and it's name on keyboards which may not be made for windows.
Sassoku Let's go!
Be selective about what icons you put into your taskbar.
Reorganize your taskbar (The bar at the bottom, or wherever you put it with the time and open windows).
Use the first slots for programs you use on a daily basis. Things like the file explorer, the internet browser, etc. once you do that you can launch these programs with Meta+1 Meta+2 etc. in the order of your taskbar. Very benri!
Use favourites/pins.
This goes hand-in-hand with the taskbar tip. In the file explorer, on the left panel, you have a thing called quick access. This is a very important and great feature. What you want to do is right-click the folders on your computer that you access on a daily basis, and pin them in this list. Order them so the most often used locations are on the top. Now here comes the magic: when you want to open a location, (let's imagine the file explorer is in the first position), don't use Meta+1 but Meta+Alt+1. This acts as a right click on the icon, and displays your quickaccess first! You can use the arrows to go up/down on the list and open what you need with low effort.
This also works with Edge. By saving websites in your お気に入りバー with ctrl+D, you can access them in the same way (Meta+Shift+number) you can also access this bar from within Edge with alt+shift+b.
With Office programs, it will show you a list of recently opened files, very useful too!
Navigate through files with keys.
Navigate your files with the arrow keys. If you need to select several adjacent files/folders, you can do so by holding Shift and using the keys. By the way, this also works for text, and by combining it with Ctrl, you can select whole words/paragraphs at a time! Never use the mouse again to select text (:
When you have files that start with a digit or a unique letter, use that digit/letter to select them straight away. If you have several starting with the same letter/digit, you can press it several times to cycle through them. This is especially useful in combination with Meta+D. This shortcut takes you to your Desktop, and then you can use a letter to select a folder/sohrtcut. For example, I have the pdf of the phone numbers of our City Hall saved as phoneCityHall on my desktop, and I just have to press "Meta+D, p, Enter" to open it. Use this to quickly access files! If you don't want to have too many items on your desktop, create a folder (ctrl+Shift+N) named "0_shortcuts" or anything that you can quickly access with the above tip! and put your shortcuts there.
Use and abuse shortcut files
To create a shortcut to a file, click and drag while holding Alt. Shortcuts are amazing because you can put things in places where you actually remember them without altering the folder structure already in place. I use them a lot.
The windows search function
Another way to quickly access files/programs is to use the Windows search function. Press the meta key so the menu opens, and start typing the name of a file or program. If you're lucky, it will appear and you can open it straight away. If it doesn't work, use the desktop or taskbar tip.
File manager
I touched upon it, but here are a few more useful shortcuts.
Ctrl+Maj+N to make a new folder, you can name it and press enter.
F2 to rename any file.
Shit+Delete to permanently remove (not go in the Trash Bin).
Ctrl+Mouse wheel to make icons bigger/smaller.
Of course Ctrl+c to copy Ctrl+x to cut Ctrl+v to paste.
If you need to use the right click, for example to create a new zip file on your desktop, there is a right-click button on most keyboards!! Usually between the right-hand Ctrl and Alt. For example "rightClickButton+U" to quickly create a new zip from files/folders.
To view the properties of a file, just Alt+Enter it.
Windows control
Here we're going to do things with windows without clicking them ! We know how to open most programs (windows search or meta+number shortcut). How to close them? This is the good ol' Alt+F4. If you want your window to be full screen? Meta+up arrow. Meta+down arrow will take it out of full screen mode. One more time to minimize. You can also use Meta with the right-left arrows to make your window fill one half/quarter of the screen (useful for multitasking).
To switch between open windows, use Alt+Tab. If you want to only switch without the windows preview, use Alt+Esc.
To see all your opened windows (and close what you want to close), use Meta+Tab. There, you can see virtual desktops, which I might touch upon in a later post, because this one is already too long!
And that about wraps it up! But here's one last useful tip! Ever noticed these letters in between parentheses? These are your hulemdoes!!
When you have a prompt with (Y)es, (N)o or anything like (D)表示, all you have to do is "alt+that letter" to do the thing! No more clicking! When you're in a program and want to work its menus, just press alt, and you'll get letters hulemdoes you can use instead of clicking stuff!
Let's embrace the keyboard!
