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February 2014 Newsletter
- GenealogyBank Just Added 25 Million More Records!
- Did Your Ancestor Live to 100?
- 5 Time-Saving Computer Keyboard Shortcuts
- Heroic Dogs Rush Life-Saving Serum to Save Nome, Alaska!
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5 Time-Saving Computer Keyboard Shortcuts
Many family historians are good at online searches and know their way around a computer keyboard and the Internet—but even the most experienced genealogist may be unfamiliar with basic Mac and PC desktop keyboard shortcuts that can save you time and effort as you search the web for information about your ancestors.
Let's talk about that, as some of the more overlooked keyboard shortcuts are easy to do!
Photo: a computer keyboard in use. Credit: Wikipedia.
1) Easy Keyboard Scrolling
On some computer keyboards, the Page Up and Page Down arrow keys are not conveniently located; here is an alternate method.
To scroll down a webpage easily, press the Spacebar.
To scroll up a webpage, hold the Shift key and then press the Spacebar. It's easy!
Scroll down:
2) Easy Screen Zooming
Ever find yourself squinting at a tiny image on a webpage, such as the inscription on this tombstone?
Credit: Mary Harrell-Sesniak
If so, then zoom in and out with your computer screen to attain the best viewing size.
Hold the Control key (aka "Ctrl" on a PC) and tap the Plus (+), Minus (-) or Zero (0) keys.
On an Apple Mac, do the same, but utilize the Command key (aka "Cmd" or "⌘").
One sequence zooms in, one zooms out, and the last one returns the image to the original viewing size.
Zoom in:
3) Full Computer Screen Viewing
Although this feature can vary from browser to browser, sometimes you can temporarily eliminate the Menu or Search Bar. What a great help this can be if you wish to view an image that will not fit on the screen.
Full screen:
Tip: To get out of Full Screen mode, repeat the shortcut sequence, or press the Escape key (aka "Esc"). If this feature doesn't work for you, search your browser's help page or look for the feature in the browser's menu.
4) Easy Finding of Search Results
When confronted with busy pages of text on a website, finding an ancestor's name can be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
To get around scanning every line for query results, try using the Find feature. Hold the Control key (PC) or Command key (⌘) (Apple) and tap the letter F. Once the Search Bar appears, enter the desired text.
Find:
Tip: Most web browsers will show you the number of occurrences of your search term on the page, as well as highlight the results.
5) Reopening a Webpage
One of the most aggravating blunders is when a webpage is accidentally closed before you are through with it. Depending upon your browser, you may be able to reopen it.
Open a closed webpage:
Browser Keyboard Shortcut Resources
Here are links to find many more helpful time-saving keyboard tips.
According to the website W3Schools, the most widely used browsers (listed in order of usage) are: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.
Here are links to the support and keyboard shortcut pages of these four popular browsers:
[Editor's note: this article was adapted from a post Mary Harrell-Sesniak wrote for the GenealogyBank Blog.]
Let's talk about that, as some of the more overlooked keyboard shortcuts are easy to do!
Photo: a computer keyboard in use. Credit: Wikipedia.
1) Easy Keyboard Scrolling
On some computer keyboards, the Page Up and Page Down arrow keys are not conveniently located; here is an alternate method.
To scroll down a webpage easily, press the Spacebar.
To scroll up a webpage, hold the Shift key and then press the Spacebar. It's easy!
Scroll down:
- Spacebar
- Shift and Spacebar
2) Easy Screen Zooming
Ever find yourself squinting at a tiny image on a webpage, such as the inscription on this tombstone?
Credit: Mary Harrell-Sesniak
If so, then zoom in and out with your computer screen to attain the best viewing size.
Hold the Control key (aka "Ctrl" on a PC) and tap the Plus (+), Minus (-) or Zero (0) keys.
On an Apple Mac, do the same, but utilize the Command key (aka "Cmd" or "⌘").
One sequence zooms in, one zooms out, and the last one returns the image to the original viewing size.
Zoom in:
- [PC] Ctrl and Plus (Ctrl +)
- [Apple] Command and Plus (⌘ +)
- [PC] Ctrl and Minus (Ctrl -)
- [Apple] Command and Minus (⌘ -)
- [PC] Ctrl and Zero (Ctrl 0)
- [Apple] Command and Zero (⌘ 0)
3) Full Computer Screen Viewing
Although this feature can vary from browser to browser, sometimes you can temporarily eliminate the Menu or Search Bar. What a great help this can be if you wish to view an image that will not fit on the screen.
Full screen:
- [PC] F11 or (Alt and V, F)
- [Apple] Control and Command and T (^ ⌘ T)
Tip: To get out of Full Screen mode, repeat the shortcut sequence, or press the Escape key (aka "Esc"). If this feature doesn't work for you, search your browser's help page or look for the feature in the browser's menu.
4) Easy Finding of Search Results
When confronted with busy pages of text on a website, finding an ancestor's name can be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
To get around scanning every line for query results, try using the Find feature. Hold the Control key (PC) or Command key (⌘) (Apple) and tap the letter F. Once the Search Bar appears, enter the desired text.
Find:
- [PC] Ctrl and F
- [Apple] Command and F (⌘ F)
Tip: Most web browsers will show you the number of occurrences of your search term on the page, as well as highlight the results.
5) Reopening a Webpage
One of the most aggravating blunders is when a webpage is accidentally closed before you are through with it. Depending upon your browser, you may be able to reopen it.
Open a closed webpage:
- [PC] Ctrl and Shift and T
- [Apple] Command and Shift and T (⌘ Shift T) or ⌘ Z in certain versions of Safari
Browser Keyboard Shortcut Resources
Here are links to find many more helpful time-saving keyboard tips.
According to the website W3Schools, the most widely used browsers (listed in order of usage) are: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.
Here are links to the support and keyboard shortcut pages of these four popular browsers:
- Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/157179?hl=en
- Mozilla Firefox: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts-perform-firefox-tasks-quickly
- Microsoft Internet Explorer: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306832
- Apple Safari: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11843
- General Help from Shortcut World: http://www.shortcutworld.com
[Editor's note: this article was adapted from a post Mary Harrell-Sesniak wrote for the GenealogyBank Blog.]