I always assign “Backspace” to the middle button.
Result: it behaves as “Back” on every browser.
I can go back to the previous page without moving the mouse too much, without using the keyboard and without using stupid gestures (like the ones one can use in Opera)
I’m glad to see quite a few other people use the keyword searching. I might resurrect my project to create a unified search/url bar complete with search history. Currently in Firefox if you type “g something” you get no auto-complete on your searches.
Hey… I used to consider myself really good at using keyboard shortcuts, until I read this article.
I realized I never knew 4 out of these 5!
Great info, thanks!
Being a Firefox user, I use Ctrl-L and Ctrl-K all the time to access the location and search boxes. But I tried your Alt-D and Alt-E and they work just as well. As as a right-handed mouse user, they are perfect for me. The Ctrl-L and Ctrl-K combinations I currently use would be perfect for a left-handed mouse user. Thanks for the tip!
Aha, this is one of most useful posts I’ve read.
I use IE, and few shortcuts used:
F5: Refresh
-: backspace key
Ctrl + t: Opens a tab
Enter:
…
@Will Sullivan
It’s even worst on Linux! Instead of the Wheel, you get the contents of your clipboard used as an address and loaded inb the current tab.
most useful comments thread ive read in a while! thanks for the notes.
Of course, if you use one of those laptops, you are still quite screwed for the usage of middle click.
No, both button presses don’t cut it at all.
Might I humbly recommend a partial solution to be found in the ctrl+left-click?
hey the Ctrl + L is going to help me out a lot ,now i can restore focus to the address bar easily after it has been stolen by my homepage.BTW nothing can beat Ctrl + T!
Both mouse buttons work just fine, if you’re on Linux and your X server is set to handle that (which is default). Otherwise, ctrl-click works in firefox, and maybe in IE.
My shortcut to run my web browser is alt-f2, firefox, enter
alt-f2 gives me the run dialog, from which I can run any program on my computer just by typing it’s name! An operating system that sets the path environment variable properly is a wonderful thing.
Interesting that nobody has brought up my favorite curiosity/debugging keyboard short-cut in Firefox (and it truly irks me that it doesn’t work in IE!): CTRL + U
Shows the HTML code of the page you’re on, in case you’re looking for the email address a form gets sent to, need to check on your web analytics tagging, or any other of a number of geeky trips I’ve taken.
Great list Jeff - though I do use Firefox 99.9% of the time.
The only two helpfull shortcuts for IE are Alt+F4 or Ctrl+Alt+Supr
Cheers!
I have a commodore 64 and none of these work?
Dantheman
Hmm. I don’t know the Alt + Enter trick. Thanks to you!
Hey,
Nice site with a lot of good tips I haven’t thought of!
But there is one thing I’m missing, when you use all of these nifty shortcuts in adress bar, search bar and so on, how do I put the focus back in the main window so I can use arrows for scrolling up/down again?
Now, if only IE implemented ‘/’ for incremental search… This is standard in Epiphany, konqueror, Opera, Firefox, links, lynx, w3m, heck in less, across Gnome (in listboxes eg). Yet, if I hit F3 or Ctrl-F in IE, I’m greeted by the dreaded Search box of Notepad 1.0 fame.
As far as I know, IE still hasn’t even implemented incremental search at all. (IE8 anyone?). How braindead is that?
Firefox still (no longer?) has no way to navigate back more than one browser-location (ie. request) at a time. This makes it impossible to go back in the case of redirects/postback info. IE and Opera have similar ways to address this, although Opera (of course) has superior keyboard control (z, Z in 9.2 compatible keys).
Seth
PS the word is still orange. But you knew that. You deliberately keep it that way, because you abhor security by obscurity, like any pro!
Question: if you have alternative means to block abuse, why don’t you just fill in the word ahead of time. It’s annoying to tell your webserver that he has guessed the correct captcha… again and again
Thanks cafemurce for sharing this information. It must mean the oranges have gone 
sob sob sob
no cafemurce’s spammy post got deleted (yes Jeff, I keep tabs on things :_) but I have no way to delete my now-obsolete reply to him. Sad thing.
Great to see that Jeff is keeping an eye on all entries anyhow
Another great shortcut for IE: Alt-F4