When it’s possible to save a few clicks, and a little time, I also make a not of it. Instead of clicking Edit –> Find in (or on) this page. You can simply use the shortcut keys Ctrl+F. This will work in both Internet Explorer…

and Mozilla Firefox.

In Windows you can perform a lot of tasks with a mouse click, or a shortcut key combination. In Internet Explorer 7, and Mozilla Firefox, you can type in word like nerdgrind, and use shortcut keys to complete the url with a www and a .com. Here’s an example. I type in nerdgrind:

Now use the shortcut keys ctrl + enter, and voila, the url is now complete.

The is supposed to save time and keystrokes, but if you’ve already got autocomplete on, then the url will be completed as you type. If you’re typing and you see a list of urls that match what you’re looking for just use the arrow key to go down the list, and hit enter to choose it.

Here’s a few more shortcut key combinations to complete a url:

Ctrl + Enter – Auto-complete *.com address
Shift + Enter – Auto-complete *.net address
Ctrl + Shift + Enter – Auto-complete *.org address

If you add Alt to any of those key combinations, it will auto-complete and open the new address in a new tab as well. For example, Alt + Ctrl + Enter will auto-complete a .com address in a new tab.

Here are some IE 7 specific shortcut key tips:

Keyboard shortcuts

Open links in a new tab in the background
CTRL+click

Open links in a new tab in the foreground
CTRL+SHIFT+click

Open a new tab in the foreground
CTRL+T

Open a new tab from the Address bar
ALT+ENTER

Open a new tab from the search box
ALT+ENTER

Open Quick Tabs (thumbnail view)
CTRL+Q

Switch between tabs
CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB

Switch to a specific tab number
CTRL+n (n can be 1-8)

Switch to the last tab
CTRL+9

Close current tab
CTRL+W

Close all tabs
ALT+F4

Close other tabs
CTRL+ALT+F4

Mouse shortcuts

Open view of all open windows
Double-click the middle mouse button (mouse settings may vary)

Open a new tab
Left-click the empty space to the right of the last tab

Close a tab
Left-click the middle mouse button on the tab

Mozilla Firefox can provide a richer web browsing, and use, experience with the installation of plugin add-ons. The installation of an plugin is very simple. Once you’ve located a plugin you want to install simply click on it and then click Install Now.

After the plugin add-on is installed click the Restart Firefox to activate the plugin.

If you want to remove a plugin go to Tools –> Add-ons.

Locate the plugin add-on you want to remove, and click Uninstall.

Now just close all Firefox windows and restart the program to complete the uninstall process.

Mozilla Firefox has a feature that allows links to open up into a new tab, rather than a new window. A tab is like a new browser window, except you can just switch to the new window using a tab rather than the taskbar. Some people don’t like tabs so here are two ways to get rid of tabs.

First you can click on Tools –> Options –> Tabs, and under the New Pages should be opened in section, simply choose a new window, and click okay. This method won’t get rid of tabs completely. When you right click on a link you’ll still see the Open Link in New Tab option.

To get rid of all tabs, including the right click option Open Link in New Tab, you’ll need to install the Tab Killer plugin add-on. After installing Tab Killer you will not see new tabs again, even if you right click a link.

I have no idea why anyone would want to get rids of tabs, but you can if you want to. Click here to download the Tab Killer plugin add-on.

Click here for instructions on installing and uninstalling plugin addons.

Default settings in newly installed programs never seem to cater to what a user really wants out-of-the-box. Firefox, aka Mozilla, has two settings that have not changed since the first day Netscape introduced the original version of this web browser back in the 1990s. To stop that annoying download box from remaining open after a download has completed click on Tools –> Options.

Be sure you are on the Main tab. Now locate the Downloads section and check the box Close it when all downloads are finished. I’ve never understood why anyone would want that window to remain open, or why it doesn’t close by default.

You may also want to choose a location on your hard drive where it is easy to find the files you download. While still in the download section you can choose Save files to –> Browse to choose a default folder, or if you’re like me, you can choose Always ask me where to save files. I choose this last options so that I can organize my downloaded files into different locations as I download them, rather than moving them after I’ve downloaded them.