Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Keyboard shortcuts for gmail/google reader/firefox

Most of my time spent online is spent using firefox/gmail/google reader. So it is
really important that I use keyboard shortcuts for the above three to avoid
the heavy strain caused by the frequent mouse clicks and constant switching
between mouse and keyboard.

For switching between tabs in firefox I used to use Ctrl-[Shift]Tab earlier
but it created problems at my workspace desktop since that is Linux
and Ctrl-[Shift]Tab combinations are used for switching between multiple
desktops etc. Similarly for Ctrl-F4(used for closing tabs). Then I started
using Ctrl-PgUp and Ctrl-PgDn for tab switching and Ctrl-w for closing
tabs. Firefox has pretty much done away with Ctrl-F as well with its
"finding as you type" feature. Another cool feature from firefox is its
quick searches.

For gmail, some of the shortcuts I use often are :
g-i : go to inbox
g-a : go to All Mail
g-s : go to starred
y : archive
r : reply
f : forward

Similarly for google reader :
g-a : go to all items
g-u : go to subscription
g-t : go to tag
m : mark read/unread
n : next item
v : open the item in new tab

Though i don't really know if using keyboard shortcuts prevents wrist
injuries since if it takes less effort to use a computer, you will use it
more and in effect you would be hurting your wrists by an equal amount
in either case.

Note(3-8-07) : Here is another link to firefox keyboard shortcuts.

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