Web Browser Shortcut Keys and Tips

Shortcut Keys: General

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, t [or: AppsKey, t] [Copy shortcut]

(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++]

Shortcut Keys: Show Dialog/Tools

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]

Shortcut Keys: Close Tabs / Reopen Tabs

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
Chrome: Middle-Click
Edge: Middle-Click

(Chrome/Edge, not IE/Firefox): [each tab has a Close button that can be closed via Acc (MSAA)]

close other tabs:
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]

Shortcut Keys: Reopen Page

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

Shortcut Keys: New Tab / New Window

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]

Shortcut Keys: Move Tab Left/Right (Change Tab Order) (Rearrange Tabs) (Move Tabs) (Swap Tabs)

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

Shortcut Keys: Save Image

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...] [use Alt+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]

Shortcut Keys: Further

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) (confirmed Oct 2020)
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

Debugging: Preview Website (As Mobile)

[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]

Debugging: View Source Code (View Page Source)

IE: Ctrl+U [View source]
Firefox: Ctrl+U [View Page Source]
Chrome: Ctrl+U [View page source]
Edge: Ctrl+U [View page source]

Notes: Website Not Working

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)

Notes: Process Names For Browsers

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

Notes: Get Multiple Webpage Titles and URLs

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.

Notes: Show Full URL In Address Bar

IE: shows the full URL by default (confirmed Aug 2020)
Firefox: shows the full URL by default (confirmed Aug 2020)
Chrome: has an option to show the full URL (confirmed Aug 2020) [see below]
Edge: shows the full URL by default (confirmed Aug 2020)

(Chrome, not IE/Firefox/Edge):
... Chrome is known to hide 'http://', 'https://' and 'www.' by default.
... The option to show the full URL in Chrome has been added/removed multiple times.
... Fortunately it is currently available.
... A way to show the full URL in Chrome (confirmed Aug 2020):
... navigate to: chrome://flags/#omnibox-context-menu-show-full-urls
... set 'Context menu show full URLs' to Enabled, a Relaunch button appears, click Relaunch (to relaunch Chrome)
... right-click the address bar, click 'Always show full URLs'

Notes: 'Close Multiple Tabs' Warning

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.

Notes: Open Multiple Tabs Simultaneously

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

Notes: Web Browser As Video Player

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
document.querySelector('video').duration; //get duration
document.querySelector('video').playbackRate = 1.5; //set playback rate
document.querySelector('video').currentTime -= 5; //rewind by 5 seconds

Many websites use video elements and support this JavaScript too (e.g. BitChute, Odysee, Rumble, Twitch, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube).

Notes: Select/Copy Text Without Using The Mouse

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

Notes: Select Table Columns/Rows/Cells (Then Use Ctrl+C To Copy The Text)

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

Notes: Case-Sensitive Text Search

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)

Notes: Clear Cookies: Individual Cookies/All Cookies

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

Notes: Media Keys (Play/Pause Video) (Increase/Decrease Volume)

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

The End

Now you're ready to use the Internet!

[updated: 2024-02-03]