🔎 Find anything fast in Microsoft Word: Can’t remember how to insert a table? Don’t waste your time digging through menus and settings. Click the search bar at the top, type in “table” (or whatever else you need), and the option will pop right up. FYI: This trick works in Excel, too.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Made a whoopsie? Press Ctrl + Z on Windows or Cmd + Z on Mac to instantly undo your last action. Works for typing, deleting and formatting.
Your laptop will thank you: Windows 11 swapped out Power saver for a new Energy saver mode. Go to Settings > System > Power & Battery > Energy saver. Turn on Always use energy saver to dim the screen, pause app syncing and disable fancy effects. Or set it to kick in automatically at a battery level, like 20%.
Add labels to your Windows 11 taskbar: No more guessing which icon does what. Right-click the Taskbar, go to Taskbar settings > Taskbar behaviors, then scroll to Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels. Change it to Never to always show labels, or When taskbar is full to show them until space runs out.
💻 Know your Chromebook shortcuts: Need a cheat sheet? Press and hold Ctrl + Search + S to see them all. A few combos to try: Ctrl + N opens a new browser window, Ctrl + T opens a new tab, and Ctrl + Shift + T brings back a tab you just closed. Nice.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Use Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + N (Mac) to open a private browsing window in most browsers. No history, no cookies, everything stays incognito.
Make the cursor pop: On Windows, if you’re having trouble seeing your mouse pointer, go to Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch. Under Mouse pointer style, choose Custom and pick a new color. Now drag the Size slider to make it bigger.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: If you’ve got multiple browser tabs playing sound, right-click one and select Mute site to silence it. In some browsers, you can also click the Speaker icon. Love that.
What those F keys actually do: On Windows, press F11 in most browsers to toggle full-screen mode. F2 renames a selected file or folder, and F3 searches within the open app. Alt + F4 closes your current window, and F5 refreshes a page or document. Pretty handy once you know them.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Closed a tab by mistake? Press Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows or Cmd + Shift + T on Mac to bring it right back. It’s the “oops” button your browser always needed. Awesome.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Check your computer specs in a flash. On Windows 11, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager. Then, click the Performance tab. For Macs, click the Apple icon (top left) > About This Mac > System Report.
💻 Free up RAM on Windows: If your laptop’s slow, disable unnecessary startup apps. Go to Settings > Apps > Startup and toggle off things like Microsoft Edge or anything else you don’t use. Bonus: Click Start > Power > Restart to clear memory if it’s just a one-time issue.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: In Google Docs, you can open web pages with fewer mouse clicks. On Windows, hover your cursor over a link and press Alt + Enter. On Mac, it’s Option + Enter.
Clean up your PC automatically: On Windows 11, turn on Storage Sense to help your computer tidy up on its own. Go to Settings > System > Storage > Storage Sense and toggle it On. It can delete temp files, empty the Recycle Bin and clear out Downloads.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: On Windows, press Ctrl + or – to zoom. On Mac, use Cmd + or –. Want things back to normal? Hit Ctrl + 0 (Windows) or Cmd + 0 (Mac). Works in most apps.
Snap layouts in Windows 11: Great for multitasking. Open any app and hover over the Maximize button. You’ll see layout options for splitting your screen, like halves or quarters. Click where you want the current app to go, and Windows will prompt you to fill in the rest. Way easier than dragging and resizing.
Speed up an old PC: Running Windows 11 on older hardware? Try this. Open Start, type “sysdm.cpl” and press Enter. In System Properties, go to Advanced > Performance > Settings > Visual Effects. Choose Adjust for best performance and click Apply. It’ll disable flashy animations, but your system will feel much snappier.
💻 Track your Windows 11 laptop: If it ever gets lost or stolen, Find my device can help. First, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Location and make sure Location services is On. Then head to Settings > Privacy & security > Find my device and turn it On. To locate it later, visit account.microsoft.com/devices.
Restart your internet the right way: Unplug both your modem and router, then wait 30 seconds. Plug in the modem first and wait 60 seconds until the lights are back. Then plug in your router and wait two minutes. Still no luck? Time to call your internet provider.
📁 Customize your Start Menu: On Windows 11, you can add folders like Documents, Downloads, Music and Pictures next to the Power button. Go to Settings > Personalization > Start > Folders and toggle On what you want. Next time you open the Start Menu, you’ll see those icons right at the bottom.