Tips & tricks

Win+H: dictate instead of typing

Win+H

Voice typing in Windows works in your language and starts wherever the cursor is blinking. Dictate a first draft of an email in a third of the time.

PowerToys Run: a launcher like Spotlight on the Mac

Alt+Space

Alt+Space opens a bar that launches apps, finds files, does math, and converts units. The Start menu can retire.

PowerToys FancyZones: windows into your own grid

A free tool from Microsoft that splits your monitor into zones — windows snap into them on their own. A must on a wide monitor.

Task Manager in one shortcut

Ctrl+Shift+Esc

Ctrl+Shift+Esc opens Task Manager directly — no detour through Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Kill a frozen app in a few seconds.

Virtual desktops: keep work and communication apart

Win+Ctrl+→

Win+Ctrl+D creates a new desktop, Win+Ctrl+arrows switch between them. Slack on one, focused work on the other.

Win+period: emoji, symbols, and special characters

Win+.

A panel of emoji, kaomoji, and symbols — including em dashes, arrows, and math symbols. With search.

Win+Shift+S: a screen clip exactly the way you need it

Win+Shift+S

Windows' most useful shortcut for screenshots — pick a region, a window, or the whole screen, and the shot lands right in your clipboard.

Win+E: File Explorer instantly

Win+E

A new folder, finding a file, copying — it all starts with File Explorer. Open it with a shortcut, not by hunting for an icon.

Switch keyboard languages instantly without touching the mouse

Ctrl+Space

Ctrl+Space switches between two keyboard layouts. A must for developers and anyone writing in more than one language.

Half- and quarter-screen window layouts

Newer macOS versions support window snapping — drag a window to the edge, or hold Option over the green button for instant layouts.

Stage Manager: one window on stage, the rest wait in the wings

An alternative to window-switching — the active window sits center stage, the rest lined up at the edge. Helps you keep one thing in focus.

Look up a word with three fingers: the built-in dictionary

Ctrl+Cmd+D

Tap a word with three fingers (or Ctrl+Cmd+D) and up pops a definition, translation, and Wikipedia entry — without leaving the text.

Control dialogs from the keyboard: Enter, Esc, and Space

Esc

Enter confirms the blue button, Esc means Cancel — and Space checks a box. Handle dialogs without ever touching the mouse.

AirDrop: a file on the next device in two seconds

Don't email files between Apple devices. AirDrop is faster, doesn't compress anything, and has no size limits.

Smart folders: a search that updates itself

Save a search as a smart folder — say, “PDFs from the last week.” The contents keep themselves up to date by the rules you set.

Safari Reader: an article without the ads and clutter

Cmd+Shift+R

Reader view strips an article down to nothing but text and images. Read without blinking banners — with your own font size.

Quick edits to PDFs and images without Photoshop

Preview handles arrows, boxes, text, and blurring sensitive info. For 90% of everyday edits, you don't need anything else.

Focus modes: every activity gets its own rules

Set up a Work mode that lets through only colleagues and family — synced to your iPhone and Apple Watch too.

Hide the Dock and reclaim a slice of your screen

Cmd+Option+D

Cmd+Option+D hides the Dock. On a laptop that gets you a noticeable strip of extra screen — the Dock slides out only when you want it.

Copy on your iPhone, paste on your Mac

Universal Clipboard works between Apple devices automatically — text, photos, and links travel over without emailing yourself.

Paste text without the formatting

Cmd+Option+Shift+V

Cmd+Option+Shift+V pastes text clean — no foreign fonts, colors, or sizes. Saves the look of every document.

Copy text right out of images and photos

macOS can select text in a photo or screenshot just like regular text. Grab a phone number off a photo of a business card in two clicks.

Quick Finder jumps: Desktop, Applications, Downloads

Cmd+Option+L

Finder has shortcuts for the folders you use most — Cmd+Shift+D for Desktop, Cmd+Option+L for Downloads, and more.

Your iPhone as a scanner: scan a document straight into your Mac

Right-click in Finder → Import from iPhone → Scan Documents. The scan lands directly in the folder, perfectly cropped.

Lock your Mac every time you step away

Ctrl+Cmd+Q

Ctrl+Cmd+Q locks the screen instantly. A two-second habit that protects your work and your data.

Split View: two apps side by side, full screen

Hold down the green button on a window and pick a half of the screen. Perfect for writing with reference material alongside.

Sign PDFs in Preview — no printer or scanner needed

The Preview app can drop your signature straight into a PDF. Capture it once, then sign in two clicks from then on.

Multiple desktops: separate work from communication

Ctrl+→

Ctrl+arrows switch between virtual desktops. One for focused work, one for mail and chat — and distractions disappear from view.

Hot corners: reveal the desktop or lock your screen with one flick

Assign actions to the corners of your screen — flicking into a corner shows the desktop, starts the screensaver, or locks the screen.

Text replacement: type “addr” and the whole address pops out

macOS can replace short shortcuts with long text system-wide — in email, browser, and chat alike. Set it up once, works everywhere.