focus address bar: IE: Alt+D [or: Ctrl+L] Firefox: Alt+D [or: Ctrl+L] Chrome: Alt+D [or: Ctrl+L] Edge: Alt+D [or: Ctrl+L] focus search bar: IE: Ctrl+F Firefox: Ctrl+F Chrome: Ctrl+F Edge: Ctrl+F navigate to home page: IE: Alt+Home Firefox: Alt+Home Chrome: Alt+Home Edge: Alt+Home copy URL under cursor to clipboard: IE: Right-Click, t [or: AppsKey, t] [Copy shortcut] Firefox: Right-Click, a [or: AppsKey, a] [Copy Link Location] Chrome: Right-Click, e [or: AppsKey, e] [Copy link address] Edge: Right-Click, o [or: AppsKey, o] [Copy link] (IE/Firefox/Chrome/Edge): [or: get ToolTip/status bar URL via Acc (MSAA)] drag-and-drop URL to program: (IE/Firefox/Chrome/Edge): [drag-and-drop a URL to a program e.g. Notepad2/Notepad++]
show 'delete browsing history' dialog (e.g. clear cache/cookies): IE: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Delete Browsing History] Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Clear All History] Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Clear browsing data] Edge: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Clear browsing data] show downloads list: IE: Ctrl+J [View Downloads] Firefox: Ctrl+J [Library, Downloads] Chrome: Ctrl+J [Downloads] Edge: Ctrl+J [Downloads] show developer tools: IE: F12 [F12 Developer Tools] Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+I or F12 [Web Developer Tools] Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+I or F12 [Developer Tools] Edge: Ctrl+Shift+I or F12 [Developer tools]
close active tab: IE: Ctrl+W Firefox: Ctrl+W Chrome: Ctrl+W Edge: Ctrl+W close tab header under cursor: IE: Right-Click, c [or: AppsKey, c] [Close tab] Firefox: Middle-Click [or: Right-Click, c] [Close Tab] Chrome: Middle-Click [or: Right-Click, c, Enter] [Close] Edge: Middle-Click [or: Right-Click, c] [Close tab] (Chrome/Edge, not IE/Firefox): [each tab has a Close button that can be closed via Acc (MSAA)] show tab list (e.g. to close a tab): IE: hover over taskbar button Firefox: click 'List all tabs' (on right) Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+A [or: click 'Search tabs' (on left)] Edge: Ctrl+Shift+A [or: click 'Tab actions menu' (on left), click 'Search tabs'] close other tabs (all other tabs / tabs to left / tabs to right): IE: Right-Click tab header, Close other tabs [no 'Close tabs to left', no 'Close tabs to right'] Firefox: Right-Click tab header, Close Multiple Tabs, Close Tabs to Left / Close Tabs to Right / Close Other Tabs Chrome: Right-Click tab header, Close other tabs / Close tabs to the right [no 'Close tabs to the left'] Edge: Right-Click tab header, Close other tabs / Close tabs to the right [no 'Close tabs to the left'] reopen closed tab: IE: Ctrl+Shift+T Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+T Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+T Edge: Ctrl+Shift+T view/open recently closed tabs: IE: right-click a tab, Recently closed tabs Firefox: Alt (or F10), s, r, r, Right, [menu bar, History, Recently Closed Tabs] Chrome: Alt (or F10), Down, h [3-dot hamburger button, History, Recently closed] Edge: Ctrl+H [or: Alt (or F10), Down, h] ['...' button, History, Recently closed]
open the previous page in a new tab: IE: Ctrl+K (duplicate tab), Alt+Left IE: Ctrl+K (duplicate tab), Backspace Chrome/Firefox/Edge: middle-click the Back button Chrome/Firefox/Edge: Ctrl+Click the Back button Chrome/Edge: Alt+Shift+T to focus the Back button, Ctrl+Enter open a page from the current tab's history in a new tab: IE: Ctrl+K (duplicate tab), Alt+Left (once or more) IE: Ctrl+K (duplicate tab), Backspace (once or more) Chrome/Firefox/Edge: right-click the Back button, middle-click a link Chrome/Firefox/Edge: right-click the Back button, Ctrl+Click a link Chrome/Edge: Alt+Shift+T to focus the Back button, Menu key, Down (once or more), Ctrl+Enter Chrome/Edge: Alt+Shift+T to focus the Back button, Shift+F10, Down (once or more), Ctrl+Enter
open URL under cursor in a new tab: IE: Ctrl+Click [or: Middle-Click] Firefox: Ctrl+Click [or: Middle-Click] Chrome: Ctrl+Click [or: Middle-Click] Edge: Ctrl+Click [or: Middle-Click] open URL under cursor in a new window: IE: Shift+Click Firefox: Shift+Click Chrome: Shift+Click Edge: Shift+Click duplicate active tab in a new tab (tab history is forgotten): IE: Alt+D, Alt+Enter Firefox: Alt+D, Alt+Enter Chrome: Alt+D, Alt+Enter Edge: Alt+D, Alt+Enter duplicate active tab in a new tab (tab history is remembered): IE: Ctrl+K Firefox: (none) Chrome: (none) Edge: (none) duplicate active tab in a new window (tab history is forgotten): IE: (none) Firefox: Alt+D, Shift+Enter Chrome: Alt+D, Shift+Enter Edge: Alt+D, Shift+Enter duplicate active tab in a new window (tab history is remembered): IE: Ctrl+N Firefox: (none) Chrome: (none) Edge: (none) new tab (open home page/new tab page): IE: Ctrl+T [open home page] Firefox: Ctrl+T [open new tab page] Chrome: Ctrl+T [open home page] Edge: Ctrl+T [open new tab page] (Firefox/Edge, not IE/Chrome): [limitation warning: unfortunately Firefox/Edge need custom extensions to change the 'new tab URL' (confirmed Aug 2020)] new window: IE: Ctrl+N [new window, duplicate current tab] [or: run iexplore (new window, open home page)] Firefox: Ctrl+N [new window, open new tab page] Chrome: Ctrl+N [new window, open home page] Edge: Ctrl+N [new window, open new tab page] new tab (incognito mode): IE: Ctrl+Shift+P [InPrivate] Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+P [New Private Tab] Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N [New Incognito tab] Edge: Ctrl+Shift+N [New InPrivate tab]
move tab left/right: IE: drag tab header Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+PgUp/PgDn [or: drag tab header] Chrome: Ctrl+L, F6 [to focus tab header], (Left/Right) [to choose a tab], Ctrl+Left/Right [to move tab left/right] [or: drag tab header] Edge: Ctrl+Shift+PgUp/PgDn [or: drag tab header] move tab to start/end: IE: drag tab header Firefox: drag tab header Chrome: Ctrl+L, F6 [to focus tab header], (Left/Right) [to choose a tab], Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right [to move tab to start/end] [or: drag tab header] Edge: drag tab header
add tab to(/remove tab from) tab selection (select multiple tabs): IE: (none) Firefox: hold Ctrl, click a tab header Chrome: hold Ctrl, click a tab header Edge: hold Ctrl, click a tab header unselect all tabs (reduce selection to one tab): IE: (none) Firefox: click any tab (in the selection or not) Chrome: click any tab (in the selection or not) Edge: click any tab (in the selection or not) move selected tabs (note: press Esc to cancel move): IE: (none) Firefox: drag-and-drop a selected tab header (hover over a tab header, hold left mouse button down, move cursor left/right, release mouse button) Chrome: drag-and-drop a selected tab header (hover over a tab header, hold left mouse button down, move cursor left/right, release mouse button) Edge: drag-and-drop a selected tab header (hover over a tab header, hold left mouse button down, move cursor left/right, release mouse button) (Firefox, not IE/Chrome/Edge): [limitation warning: dragging tabs will remove any gaps between selected tabs, Esc will not restore the gaps (confirmed Nov 2024)]
IE: right-click, s [Save picture as...] [use Alt+Right-Click to see the access keys (underlined letters)] Firefox: right-click, v [Save Image As...] [the access keys (underlined letters) are always shown] Chrome: right-click, v [Save image as...] [hold Alt, hold Shift, Right-Click to see the access keys (underlined letters)] Edge: right-click, v [Save image as...] [hold Alt, hold Shift, Right-Click to see the access keys (underlined letters)] (IE/Firefox/Chrome/Edge): [usually the Menu-key menu and right-click menu show different menu items]
toggle fullscreen on/off: IE: F11 Firefox: F11 Chrome: F11 Edge: F11 caret browsing on/off: IE: F7 Firefox: F7 Chrome: F7 (since Chrome 86) Edge: F7 select word/paragraph: IE: double-click [toggle select word/paragraph] [Ctrl+Click: select paragraph] Firefox: double-click [toggle select word/paragraph] Chrome: double-click [first time: select word, afterwards: select paragraph] Edge: double-click [first time: select word, afterwards: select paragraph] select line: IE: F7 (caret browsing on), Home, Shift+End Firefox: F7 (caret browsing on), Home, Shift+End Chrome: F7 (caret browsing on), Home, Shift+End Edge: F7 (caret browsing on), Home, Shift+End
[preview a website as though on a mobile phone] IE: F12 [Emulation tab, Browser profile, Windows Phone] Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+I or F12 [Style Editor tab, at far-right, Responsive Design Mode] Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+I or F12 [at top-left, Toggle device toolbar] Edge: Ctrl+Shift+I or F12 [at top-left, Toggle device toolbar]
IE: Ctrl+U [View source] Firefox: Ctrl+U [View Page Source] Chrome: Ctrl+U [View page source] Edge: Ctrl+U [View page source]
IE: none [can use: Ctrl+Shift+Esc or Ctrl+Alt+Del for Windows Task Manager] Firefox: Shift+Esc [Process Manager tab] [about:processes] Chrome: Shift+Esc [Task Manager pop-up] Edge: Shift+Esc [Browser Task Manager]
If a website fails, try: a different web browser incognito mode (web browser extensions are disabled by default) clearing cache/cookies (note: the problem could be a web browser extension)
to open a browser you can: press Win+R (Run dialog), type the process name (with/without '.exe'), and press enter: IE: iexplore Firefox: firefox Chrome: chrome Edge: msedge
IE: this can be done via a COM object (e.g. via AutoHotkey). Firefox: this can be done via extensions. Unfortunately there is no built-in functionality (confirmed Aug 2020). Chrome: this can be done via extensions. Unfortunately there is no built-in functionality (confirmed Aug 2020). Edge: this can be done via extensions. Unfortunately there is no built-in functionality (confirmed Aug 2020). (Firefox extension): e.g. Export Tabs URLs. E.g. with 'custom format' option: '{title}\r\n{url}\r\n\r\n'. (Chrome extension): e.g. TabCopy.
IE: shows the full URL Firefox: has an option to show the full URL [see below] Chrome: has an option to show the full URL [see below] Edge: shows the full URL (Firefox): ... Firefox hides 'https://' by default. ... To always show this in the address bar: ... Type 'about:config' into the address bar. ... Type 'urlbar' into the search field. ... Double-click 'browser.urlbar.trimURLs' to toggle the setting ('false' to show full URLs). ... Note: tooltips (which appear when you hover over a link) are also affected by this setting. (Chrome): ... Chrome hides 'http://', 'https://' and 'www.' by default. ... To always show these in the address bar: ... Right-click the address bar, click 'Always show full URLs'. ... Note: tooltips (which appear when you hover over a link) are not affected by this setting: ... they always show 'https://' and 'www.', and always hide 'http://'.
IE: 'Do you want to close all tabs or the current tab?' Firefox: (no warning) Chrome: (no warning) Edge: (no warning) (IE/Firefox/Chrome/Edge): ... IE: ... IE prompts 'Do you want to close all tabs or the current tab?'. ... To reopen the tabs, reopen the browser and go to: Tools, Reopen last browsing session. ... Firefox: ... Firefox used to prompt, e.g. 'Close tabs?' 'You are about to close 3 tabs. Are you sure you want to continue?' ... In Firefox, if you click the Close button, all tabs are closed, with no warning prompt. ... To reopen the tabs, reopen the browser and go to: 3-line hamburger button, History, Restore previous session. ... Chrome/Edge: ... In Chrome/Edge, if you click the Close button, all tabs are closed, with no warning prompt. ... To reopen the tabs, reopen the browser and press Ctrl+Shift+T.
example command-line strings: (IE: opens tab in a new window) (can only specify one URL) (Firefox: opens tabs in a new window) (Chrome/Edge: open tabs in an existing window) iexplore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A firefox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B chrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B msedge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B
You can run image/audio/video files by dragging-and-dropping into the browser. Or pasting the filename into the address bar. (Or via the command line.) (Or by dragging-and-dropping onto a shortcut file to the web browser.) You can paste JavaScript into the web browser's console, for more granular control: document.querySelector("video").playbackRate; //get playback rate document.querySelector("video").currentTime; //get elapsed time (seconds) document.querySelector("video").duration; //get duration (seconds) document.querySelector("video").playbackRate = 1.5; //set playback rate document.querySelector("video").currentTime -= 5; //rewind by 5 seconds new Date(document.querySelector("video").currentTime*1000).toISOString().slice(11, 19); //get elapsed time ('HH:mm:ss') new Date(document.querySelector("video").duration*1000).toISOString().slice(11, 19); //get duration ('HH:mm:ss') Many websites use video elements and support this JavaScript too (e.g. Odysee, Rumble, Twitch, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube) (e.g. formerly: BitChute).
Ctrl+F to select the start [Ctrl+F, type text, Esc] then Shift+Down and/or Shift+Right (one or more times) to select more then Ctrl+C to copy
select one or more cells in a table: IE: (none) Firefox: Ctrl+Drag Chrome: (none) Edge: (none) add a cell to the selection: IE: (none) Firefox: Ctrl+Click Chrome: (none) Edge: (none) ... E.g. URL: ... List of countries and dependencies by area - Wikipedia ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area
case-sensitive text search: IE: Ctrl+F, Tab, o, Enter, c [press Ctrl+F again to focus the text] Firefox: Ctrl+F, Alt+C (Match Case) [press Ctrl+F again to focus the text] Chrome: (none) Edge: (none)
delete all cookies (as listed above): show 'delete browsing history' dialog (e.g. clear cache/cookies): IE: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Delete Browsing History] Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Clear All History] Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Clear browsing data] Edge: Ctrl+Shift+Del [Clear browsing data] delete individual cookies: (IE/Firefox/Chrome/Edge): ... IE: ... Win+R (Run dialog): shell:cache ... also: can use NirSoft IECookiesView ... Firefox: ... URL: about:preferences#privacy ... under Cookies and Site Data, click Manage Data... ... Chrome: ... URL: chrome://settings/content/all ... Edge: ... URL: edge://settings/siteData ... URL: edge://settings/content/all
Many keyboards have keys that can control audio/video in web browsers. E.g. Media_Play_Pause to toggle play/pause on audio/video. E.g. Volume_Up/Volume_Down to increase/decrease the volume by 2%. For a list of keys (on Windows): See: VK_BROWSER/VK_VOLUME/VK_MEDIA/VK_LAUNCH. Virtual-Key Codes (Winuser.h) - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn List of Keys (Keyboard, Mouse and Controller) | AutoHotkey v2 The functionality for the keys can be changed at this registry key (on Windows): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AppKey
OCR on image (image to text): IE: (none) Firefox: (none) Chrome: right-click image, click Search with Google Lens [or right-click, s], click Select text, click Copy Edge: right-click image, click Visual Search, click Text (in the sidebar), click Copy text
Some techniques for dismissing pop-up windows: ● Click the X (close) button. ● Press Esc. ● Click anywhere on the pop-up. ● Click anywhere on the pop-up. Then press Esc. ● Click anywhere outside the pop-up.
Now you're ready to use the Internet! [updated: 2025-10-01]