Keyboard Shortcuts
🔒 Log in to trackWeb browser shortcuts (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
🔒 Log in to track| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+T / Ctrl+W | New tab / close tab |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Reopen the last closed tab |
| Ctrl+N | New window |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Incognito (Chrome) / InPrivate (Edge) window |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Private window in Firefox |
| Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Next / previous tab |
| Ctrl+1 ... Ctrl+8 / Ctrl+9 | Jump to tab 1-8 / last tab |
| Alt+Left / Alt+Right | Back / forward |
| Alt+Home | Home page |
| Ctrl+D | Bookmark the current page |
| Ctrl+Shift+B | Show/hide the bookmarks (favourites) bar |
| Ctrl+H / Ctrl+J | History / downloads |
| Ctrl+Shift+Delete | Clear browsing data |
| F5 or Ctrl+R / Ctrl+F5 | Reload / hard reload (skip cache) |
| Esc | Stop loading the page |
| Ctrl+L, Alt+D or F6 | Select the address bar |
| Ctrl+F, then F3 | Find on page, then find next |
| Ctrl++ / Ctrl+- / Ctrl+0 | Zoom in / zoom out / reset zoom |
| Ctrl+U | View page source |
| F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I | Developer tools |
| F11 | Full screen |
| Ctrl+Enter (in address bar) | Adds www. and .com around a typed word |
Detailed notes
Tabs
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+T | New tab |
| Ctrl+W (Ctrl+F4) | Close the current tab |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Reopen the last closed tab — the undo of Ctrl+W |
| Ctrl+Tab | Next tab; Ctrl+Shift+Tab = previous |
| Ctrl+1…8 | Jump to tab number 1–8 |
| Ctrl+9 | Jump to the last tab (not number 9) |
Windows and privacy
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+N | New window |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | New Incognito/Private window (Chrome/Edge) |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Private window in Firefox (in Edge/Chrome it prints) |
| Ctrl+Shift+Delete | Open Clear browsing data |
Getting around
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt+Left / Alt+Right | Back / forward |
| Alt+Home | Open the home page |
| F5 | Reload; Ctrl+F5 = reload ignoring cache |
| F11 | Full screen on/off |
| Ctrl+F | Find on the page |
| Ctrl+D | Bookmark this page |
| Ctrl+Shift+B | Show/hide the bookmarks bar |
| Ctrl+H | History |
| Ctrl+J | Downloads |
The Ctrl+H / Ctrl+N / Ctrl+D double lives
The same keys do different things in a browser than in Word/Excel:
| Key | Browser | Word / Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+H | History | Replace (Word) |
| Ctrl+N | New window | New document/workbook |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Incognito window | New folder (Explorer) |
| Ctrl+D | Bookmark | Font dialog (Word) / fill down (Excel) |
| Ctrl+F | Find on page | Find (same idea) |
Read the stem: 'in a web browser' changes the answer.
Everyday anchors and worked pairs
| You just… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Closed a tab you still needed | Ctrl+Shift+T brings it back |
| Want a second, separate browsing session | Ctrl+N (normal) or Ctrl+Shift+N (private) |
| Filled a form and want nothing saved | Ctrl+Shift+N / Ctrl+Shift+P window |
| Lost the bookmarks bar | Ctrl+Shift+B |
| Need the page you visited last Tuesday | Ctrl+H |
| Want the installer you downloaded | Ctrl+J |
| Page stuck on an old version | F5 (Ctrl+F5 to bypass cache) |
| Text too small on a crowded page | Ctrl+F to jump straight to the word |
Privacy fact the exams like: Incognito/Private mode stops the browser from saving history and cookies locally on that computer — it does not hide your activity from websites, employers or internet providers.
Quick revision
- Tab trio: T new, W close, Shift+T reopen. Ctrl+9 = last tab, not the 9th.
- Private: Ctrl+Shift+N (Chrome/Edge), Ctrl+Shift+P (Firefox). Clear data: Ctrl+Shift+Delete.
- Back/forward = Alt+Left/Right; home = Alt+Home; full screen = F11.
- Bookmarks Ctrl+D, history Ctrl+H, downloads Ctrl+J.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Browser tab managementvery common4 practice Q
'Open a new tab', 'reopen the accidentally closed tab', 'switch tabs with keyboard', 'close the current tab'.
- Trio: Ctrl+T new, Ctrl+W close, Ctrl+Shift+T reopen closed.
- Switch: Ctrl+Tab next, Ctrl+Shift+Tab previous, Ctrl+1-8 numbered tabs.
- Ctrl+9 is the last tab, not the ninth — a classic twist.
Example: You closed a browser tab by mistake. Which shortcut brings it back?
Ctrl+Shift+T reopens the most recently closed tab (press repeatedly to walk back through them).
Type 2: Private/incognito windowsvery common4 practice Q
'Shortcut for Incognito/Private mode', 'which browser uses Ctrl+Shift+P?', 'new window vs new tab'.
- Chrome/Edge private = Ctrl+Shift+N; Firefox private = Ctrl+Shift+P.
- Plain Ctrl+N = new ordinary window — not private.
- Incognito does not make you anonymous; it just avoids saving history/cookies locally (exam phrasing: 'not recorded in browsing history').
Example: Which shortcut opens an Incognito window in Google Chrome?
Ctrl+Shift+N — N for the new, untracked window. (Firefox's private window uses Ctrl+Shift+P.)
Type 3: Browser navigation and bookmarkscommon4 practice Q
'Go back to the previous page', 'open the home page', 'bookmark a page with the keyboard', 'show the bookmarks bar'.
- Back/forward = Alt+Left / Alt+Right; home page = Alt+Home; full screen = F11.
- Bookmark = Ctrl+D; toggle the bookmarks bar = Ctrl+Shift+B.
- Reload = F5; find on page = Ctrl+F.
Example: In a web browser, which shortcut takes you back to the previous page?
Alt+Left arrow (Backspace also worked historically, but the exam answer is Alt+Left). Alt+Right goes forward.
Type 4: History, downloads and clearing datavery common3 practice Q
'Ctrl+H opens…', 'shortcut to open downloads', 'shortcut that opens the clear-browsing-data dialog'.
- H = History, J = 'get list' → Downloads, Ctrl+Shift+Delete = Clear browsing data.
- Trap: Ctrl+H in Word is Replace — read whether the stem says browser.
- Delete in the clear-data combo is the permanent-delete key — fitting for 'wipe history'.
Example: In a web browser, Ctrl+H opens —
Browsing History — the list of pages you visited. (In MS Word the same keys open Find and Replace.)
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Shift = undo the tab
Ctrl+T opens a tab and Ctrl+Shift+T brings back the one you closed. Shift adds 'the opposite' or 'the stronger version': Ctrl+Shift+N is a stronger (private) new window, and Ctrl+Shift+Delete is a stronger delete (all browsing data).
Example: You closed a tab by mistake. Shortcut to restore it?
Ctrl+Shift+T.
⚡ Alt+arrows = time travel
Alt+Left goes back in history and Alt+Right goes forward. Backspace no longer goes back in Chrome.
Example: Go back to the previous page?
Alt+Left arrow.
Where students lose marks
Saying Ctrl+Shift+N opens a private window in Firefox - Firefox uses Ctrl+Shift+P.
Confusing Ctrl+H (history) with Ctrl+J (downloads).
Thinking Ctrl+W closes the whole browser - it closes only the current tab.
Practice sets — 17 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.