I'm swooping in a little late this week with some of the most useful information you could ever learn. Keyboard shortcuts! They exist to make our lives easier and our digital tasks faster. Think about how cumbersome it is to have to right-click highlighted text and then click "Copy" when you can just press Ctrl + C. All it takes is a little bit of memorization. But once you have them down, your life will never be the same. I've compiled a list of ten of the shortcuts that I use most often. Keep in mind that some of these are specific to Chromebooks and others are not.

1. Take a screenshot: Press Ctrl + Show Windows 

   • Bonus shortcut: To take a partial screenshot Press Shift + Ctrl + Show windows  , then click and drag.

2. Turn Caps Lock on or off: Press Search  + Alt. Or press Launcher  + Alt.

3. Paste as Plain Text: Press Ctrl + Shift + V.

   • This is useful if you don't want to copy the formatting of the original source.

4. Sign out of your Google Account: Press Shift + Ctrl + q (twice).

5. Lock your screen: Press Search  + L. Or press Launcher  + L.

6. Open a new tab: Press Ctrl + T.

   • Bonus Shortcut: To close the current tab you're on you can press Ctrl + W.

7. Go to the next tab in the window: Press Ctrl + Tab.

   • Bonus Shortcut: You can go to the previous tab in the window with Shift + Ctrl + Tab

8. Dock a window: Press Alt + [ to dock a window on the left and Alt + ] to dock a window on the right.

9. Open the Files App: Press Shift + Alt + M.

10. See all keyboard shortcuts: Press Ctrl + Alt + / (forward slash).

I hope you feel empowered to start mashing those keys!

-Leo Bunyea, Technology Technician