Tech Tips for Writers is an (almost) weekly post on overcoming Tech Dread. I’ll cover issues that friends, both real-time and virtual, have shared. Feel free to post a comment about a question you have. I’ll cover it in a future Tip.
Q: Isn’t there a shortkey for searching a website?
A: There is. It’s Ctrl+F. It works in lots of software as well as on internet pages and PDFs. If you need to search a page for a word, it’s a great starting point.
According to a Google study in 2011, 90% of people didn’t know Ctrl+F existed. I’ve posted about it several times, on several of my blogs, so I’m doing my part to get the word out.
Among my geeky crowd (you know who I mean), it’s a verb, too: “I Ctrl+F’d that word and BOOM! Found it.”
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman
worddreams.wordpress.com 
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My kids told me this but I keep forgetting! thanks for reminding me!
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Use it a few times. You’ll love it so much, you’ll never forget it again. Me, I can’t remember how many teaspoons are in a Tablespoon. Two? Four? Hmm…
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…and many who know, like me, keep forgetting. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
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Once I started using this–and I just did to find a word on a browser search–I fell in love with it.
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I use control F a lot. I don’t know what I’d do without that shortcut.
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Yeah, it’s one of those, innit?
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Thanks Jacqui Murray! your article led me to explore keyboard shortcuts for Mac and I now have it all saved, using the keyboard shortcut for Save ✅
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There are so many shortkeys. A lot transfer well from one platform to another. Macs–they take a bit of adaptation, but work also.
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Tried it. Not sure what I’m not doing right. 😦
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What’s going wrong? Did you see my directions below, for Judy?
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Ai yi yiiiiiiiiii. I’m not technologically impaired I’m techno bereft. I can’t figure out how or where to use it.
First you go to the website???? Then you put the word in the search box on the site and then press Command F? (I’m on a Mac)?????????????????????????????????
It’s not working . . . Be gentle with me I’m elderly and there is such a thing as elder abuse.
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Well, almost. Go to the site. Hold down Command and push F. It’ll activate a box somewhere on your screen. Put the word you’re searching for in it. Push ‘next’ or the down arrow or whatever it has for ‘find next’. If you look at the page, you’ll likely see your word highlighted.
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I DID IT!!!!!!!
Not sure I’ll ever do it again but I DID IT!!!!!!!
Thanks Jacqui, you’re the best.
(I wasn’t understanding that it HIGHLIGHTED the word until I saw your sample)
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Oh yeah, you’re a geek now, Judy!
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Sounds like a sexy application. Guess I’ll have to try it. Between you and Judy this morning, I’m revved up.
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Oh yeah–it’s that sort of day!
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Count me among the 90% who didn’t know. This is a great nugget of information. Thank you!
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Oh, Carrie, this will soon be your favorite. You know when you do a Google search, and it gives you what sounds like a great website but you can’t find what you wanted? Ctrl+F finds it!
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I’ve already used it twice since reading this post! It’s awesome. Had to tweet this post so others would learn about it too. I can’t believe I wasn’t already following you on Twitter. Thought that I was.
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I use Ctrl+F as much as Ctrl+Z (for undo–that works on all sorts of platforms, too). I teach it to my 2nd graders, as soon as they start researching online.
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Thanks for this tip. I had no idea. You have a very unique page.
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I’m a geeky writer. My mss always include a computer brainiac.
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LOL
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I love using this. On the Mac, it’s command+f Then I can search all day for stuff and pretend like I am really working…
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Andrew, I’m sure that is working! 😀
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Hehe. Thanks for the Mac command. I think the PC Ctrl is always Command on a Mac?
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Almost always. ctrl-c, ctrl-v are cmd-c, cmd-v and so on. Some of the more Mac specific things like taking screen shots and volume controls differ. But most map right over.
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I thought the Chromebook would be similar, but it doesn’t even have some of the PC keys. Like no delete key. What’s with that?
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Look how language is changing! Do you know of any other “word”that incorporates a symbol? And yet Ctrl+F (or the other variants) are stealing into the language through the back door.
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Can you write #hashtag without the #? That’s thanks to Twitter
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Walking down the street the other day, I overheard some teenagers actually talking that way. In response to some remark, one girl rolled her eyes and said, “hashtag, tell me about it.”
I felt like I’d stumbled into a different country.
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In fire fox View > find for the search or keyboard shortcut. To my amazement, none of my nephews knew that enter also equals send, (Instead of clicking them with the mouse.) O.o Also Ctrl + c and highlight words to copy and Ctrl + v to paste. Pressing esc on the keyboard to stop a page from loading (good for those websites with bad coding that continues to load endlessly.)
Hum, F11 for full screen, Ctrl + f5 for a full refresh that also clears out that tabs cookies also works on IE. (Internet Explorer.)Prt scr to make a screen shot (goes into the mouse clipboard) and can be pasted into paint/photo shop. That’s all I can remember for now.
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That’s a great list. I didn’t know the Ctrl+F5. that could be useful.
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Wow! 😀That’s brilliant, Jacqui. I had no idea and have just had fun now testing it out. I’ll pass this advice on to my family and friends!
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It works in so many places, even most word processors. It’s essential to my writerly searches.
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Thanks a lot, I didn’t know! 🙂 I’ll try it out right away …
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Oh you will love it. I see it in the future, as a camera add-on: Search for the pond in the picture (or whatever you’re looking for).
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