Abstract

• Residence, Finish, PgUp, and PgDn enable you navigate paperwork extra effectively by decreasing reliance on the mouse.
• Combining these keys with Ctrl, Shift, or Alt can carry out varied duties like choosing textual content or switching tabs.
• Rebind these keys to capabilities which are extra helpful to your workflow to maximise their potential in varied purposes.

Even in the event you grew up round computer systems, you might have no concept what the Residence, Finish, PgUp, and PgDn keys truly do. I used to think about them as relics of the previous not often used in the present day, like Pause/Break and Sys Rq. Not anymore.

What Do These Keys Do?

Residence, Finish, PgUp, and PgDn are navigation keys that permit you to transfer rapidly by way of net pages and paperwork. Residence takes you to the highest of the web site or read-only doc, and Finish does the precise reverse. If the textual content is editable, they take you to the start or finish of the road.

PgUp and PgDn scroll up and down incrementally, identical to a conventional scroll wheel. So, in the event that they serve the identical perform as a scroll wheel, what is the level of getting them?

With these keys, you do not have to depend on your mouse, eliminating the necessity to transfer your hand away from the keyboard whereas typing (one thing that the AutoKeybo from CES 2025 additionally goals to resolve). When you discover ways to use these 4 keys, you will navigate paperwork extra effectively.

PgUp and PgDn would possibly solely prevent a second or two with every scroll, however contemplating how a lot a few of us scroll in a typical workday, these seconds add up rapidly. Since you do not have to achieve in your mouse on a regular basis, it could possibly additionally cut back hand and wrist pressure, particularly you probably have an ergonomic keyboard. They’re additionally nice for caret browsing.

Residence and Finish are notably helpful for navigating net pages. As a substitute of scrolling for 5 seconds or utilizing the scrollbar to resolve a prolonged How-To Geek article, you may simply hit “Finish” to be immediately taken there.

When you’ve by no means used these keys earlier than, you is perhaps shocked by simply what number of packages make the most of them (although not all the time in the identical method). As anticipated, these keys work in document-oriented instruments like Microsoft Office/365 and Google Workspace, however in addition they work in most video and audio modifying apps, file administration apps (like Home windows’ File Explorer), code editors, and extra. They even work on YouTube, permitting you to skip by way of a video, so there is a good probability your regularly used apps assist them, too.

Use Them in Mixture With Different Keys

All proper, scrolling by way of a doc is a enjoyable social gathering trick, however it’s not that spectacular. The excellent news is that they’ll do much more once you mix them with different keys like Ctrl and Shift.

As an example, I typically use Ctrl+Shift+Finish once I need to rapidly choose textual content however skip the highest sections—it is like a extra exact model of Ctrl+A.

If a doc is editable, you should utilize Ctrl+Residence/Finish to leap to the start or finish of the doc or spreadsheet immediately. Listed here are just a few extra useful key combinations and what they usually do:

• Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn: Switch between tabs in net browsers or sheets in Excel. For Google Sheets, it is Ctrl+Shift+PgUp/PgDn as an alternative.
• Ctrl+Shift+PgUp/PgDn: Transfer tabs in net browsers or choose the present and former/subsequent sheet in Excel.
• Alt+PgUp/PgDn: Scroll horizontally in some apps like Excel and Sheets.
• Shift+Residence/Finish: Choose the textual content from the present cursor place to the start or finish of the road.
• Ctrl+Shift+Residence/Finish: Choose all of the textual content out of your cursor to the highest or finish of the doc.
• Alt+Residence: Opens your set homepage within the present tab in net browsers.

Bear in mind, the precise habits relies upon fully on the app, so check out completely different combos or learn a helpful information to determine precisely what they do. As an example, I discovered that Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn in Phrase strikes your cursor to the highest of the earlier/subsequent web page, whereas PgUp and PgDn with out Ctrl merely scroll by way of the doc as an alternative.

These Keys Are Good for Bindings and Macros

When you do not see the worth of those keys in your use case, that is completely high-quality. As an example, in case your PC is only for gaming, you do not actually need a barely quicker method to leap round an internet web page. Personally, I do not use PgUp and PgDn as a result of I discover the moment jumps in scrolling too unpredictable. Nevertheless, my pal, who’s an accountant, finds them invaluable for horizontal scrolling in Excel.

The excellent news is which you could nonetheless use these keys by rebinding them to capabilities which are extra helpful to you. Keys might be scarce, particularly on a tenkeyless or 75% keyboard, so it is a good suggestion to seek out extra inventive makes use of for these keys.

You should use your keyboard’s software program or a third-party software like VIA (if supported) to rebind these keys or set up macros. For instance, you would assign them to carry out actions like Print Display (for screenshots), play/pause media, skip songs, or open an internet browser or calculator.

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Residence, Finish, PgUp, and PgDn might be tremendous helpful when you “get to know them,” and I hope that I’ve impressed you to begin utilizing them. Fellow writers, programmers, accountants, and anybody else who works with paperwork, spreadsheets, and displays, can all profit from these keys. So, the following time you are in a doc, do not forget to offer these keys a attempt!