You learned the basics behind computers, but that’s just the start. Discover the computer tricks you never learned in school!
Do you have a new computer? Perhaps your old machine was old and you’ve just invested in a brand new MacBook Pro 16 inch with Magic Keyboard. If so then you’ll want to be able to take advantage of all the new features involved in it.
After you have installed all the apps you wanted and logged in to your social networks you will shortly get bored and will want to find new things to do on the internet and your computer.
You’ll probably be wondering about all the computer tricks you would never have learned at school. Here’s everything you need to know.
1. Learn to Touch Type on the Internet
How fast can you type? The chances are when you were at school you were just expected to know how to type and weren’t given any instructions on how to do it.
But the truth is that learning to touch type is a really useful skill to have. It can save you time and the faster your typing speed the more efficient your day is likely to become. This is one of the best PC tips and it also works for Macs as well.
Where to Learn
You don’t have to take a certified course to learn how to touch type and you don’t need a certificate. This is something you might need if you are entering a profession where it’s necessary such as journalism but everybody can benefit from improving their typing speed even if they are doing a job that doesn’t explicitly require it.
Use sites such as 10 fastest fingers to be able to type faster and get your tasks done at a more efficient rate. Most companies hiring professional typists require 100 words a minute so this should definitely be sure your starting point.
Get yourself into a routine of practicing. Practice once a week or once a day at a certain allocated time. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. Concentrate and focus for just 10 minutes at a time, taking the test as many times as you can in that time.
Try to evaluate what finger strokes you struggle with and practice these as many times you can.
2. Chuck Out the Mouse
Mouses are so last year. While they may seem effective at controlling your screen and even the iPad Pro now has a luxury magic keyboard with a trackpad built-in you can buy, they can slow you down.
You have to close folders down and reopen them, scroll mindlessly for hours. Instead, get to know keyboard shortcuts. The more shortcuts you know, the better your experience will be.
Some great ones to learn are the control and f search function. This allows you to search any document or webpage you have open for a specific word or phrase instead of scrolling for hours.
Another great shortcut is the ability to delete a whole word by using options and backspace. This saves the time-consuming process of having to backspace on every single word you miss type. It can take you quite a while to get used to it as you develop muscle memory but it can be great.
It’s possible now to extract text from pdf without having to use a mouse.
3. Learn to Code
Another great skill you should learn on your computer is the ability to code and to understand the coding behind your screen.
The user interface you use is just that, it’s a shortcut. Every time you open a document or perform a function the interface is sending a series of code to the CPU to get the computer to perform those tasks.
An understanding of coding can help you to better understand the computer system and fix problems more intuitively. Sometimes inputting the code can be easier than searching through files or programs themselves.
Take an online class or watch some YouTubes to learn the basics. The Hello World program is a great place to start. This is known as the most basic computer program that you can build using code. It’s a small window that pops up with a message saying ‘Hello World’
Apple also has some free classes at their stores around the globe that you can attend if you have an Apple Mac.
4. Master Your System by Analyzing Data
If you’re a real computer whizz you can start to access the data that you need to make your computer work more efficiently for you. You can see how efficient your battery is compared to when you bought your computer and whether it needs replacing.
You can also see what individual programs are doing and much battery life they are using.
But checking your system’s data is not just about battery life. You can also see the efficiency of your CPU and other components as well. If you understand this then you can start to run your entire system in a more effective way. This can preserve your computer and save you from having to buy a new one so soon.
There Are So Many Computer Tricks
There are so many computer tricks that you can use to make use of your computer more efficient and more fun. The kind of PC tips and tricks you didn’t learn at school include learning to touch type and how to ditch the mouse once and for all.
You can also learn to master your system completely by learning how to code. This can help you access data on your computer that would otherwise be harder to access such as data analytics.
If you are interested in learning more about computer tricks be sure to check out the rest of our site.
