MakeUseOf Directory » shortcuts

Popchrom: Create Shortcuts For Text & Phrases [Chrome]

Umar — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:01:15 +0000

If you send similar emails or use the same phrases on the Internet, you may find it very helpful to create abbreviations that will act as shortcuts for your text (typing in the abbreviation automatically types the default text). Here to help you implement that in your web browser is a tool called Popchrom.

Popchrom is a free to use browser extension for Google Chrome which lets you add shortcut abbreviations for long pieces of text. You can type in an abbreviation and press CTRL+SPACE to have it replaced by its corresponding text.

The CTRL+SPACE buttons along with other abbreviations can be easily modified by accessing the extension’s options; this is also where you can add more abbreviations.

Features:

A user-friendly browser extension.
Compatible with Google Chrome.
Lets you implement shortcut abbreviations to Google Chrome.
Lets you add as many abbreviations as you want.

Check out Popchrom @ https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/iinhokidgfoomcighckbjmlcndbjmomp?gl=US# (By Umar from AllThatIsApple)

Shortmarks: Assign Shortcut Keys To Websites For Quick Access

MOin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:01:12 +0000

Quickly opening up the webpages we bookmark is something can all use. Here to merge site keywords with bookmarks is a service called Shortmarks – it help you open up bookmarks faster.

Shortmarks is a web service that provides you with a list of sites along with their keywords. You can modify this list by signing into Shortmarks using your Google account. For each site in the list, you can enter its keywords in the Shortmarks search bar and be taken directly to the corresponding bookmark. You can also use a keywords combination to search for terms using a particular search engine.

If you set up your browser’s default search as Shortmarks’ search you can make use of the service directly through your browser’s address bar. Shortmarks is free to use and works with all web browsers.

Features:

A user-friendly web service.
Helps access your bookmarks faster.
Sets keywords for site list.
Lets you edit site list and keywords.
Lets you easily search on engines of choice.
Can be incorporated into your browser’s address bar.
Similar tools:Thumbtack, Skloog, Web2Phone and Wozaik.
Also read related articles:
Check out Shortmarks @ www.shortmarks.com (via Guiding Tech) (by MOin from Urban Savior)

Key Command Generator: Represent Hotkeys Commands as Images on Your Website

MOin — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:01:31 +0000

Visitors to your website could be new to the internet and might be easily confused with vague or incomplete information. For example, hotkey commands are something visitors might find confusing. They might not interpret “Ctrl-Enter” and “Ctrl+Enter” the same way.

A way to clearly represent hotkey combinations online is provided by Key Command Generator.

Key Command Generator is a web service that aims to make hotkey combinations clear. You start by filling out a form where you enter the hotkey combination. You are then provided with a piece of embeddable code that you can put on your blog or site.

When put on your site, this code represents an image of keyboard keys added to represent the hotkey combination, as shown in the image above. This representation will be a lot clearer than any text hotkey representation you could come up with. It can be really handy in situations where you cannot afford a miscommunication.

Features:

A user friendly tool.
Helps you obtain an image representation of hotkeys.
You get an embeddable code of the image.
The code can be pasted on your website or blog.
Also read related articles: Set Up Custom Shortcut Keys in MS Word & Make a Cheat Sheet, 10 Useful Ubuntu Keyboard Shortcuts That You Might Not Know and How To Master The Power of Mac Shortcut Keys.

Update: the site is no longer available.

Check out “Key Command Generator” @ www.adamscrap.com/keycommandgenerator (via DownloadSquad) (by MOin from ThumbPress)

Google Search Features: Get The Most Out Of Google Search

moin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:01:09 +0000

Have you ever tried to Google how many pounds equal a kilogram? If yes, then you will have noticed that Google presented the conversion factor right at the top of the results. Similarly there are other tricks that Google responds to in a direct way e.g. the weather of your city. To check out which keywords each of these tricks corresponds to, check out Google Search Features.

On Google’s Search Features page, Google provides a key to all these tricks that can be used to quickly get the desired information. These features are all a special combination of keywords.

For example if you want to get a stock quote, type the ticker symbol into the query box such as CSCO. To check the precise sunrise timings of your city, enter “sunrise cityName”.

Other features include a calculator, book search, unit conversion, earthquake information, and public data.

Furthermore, there are features related to language, your locale, health, and travel. Remember to pay the page a visit and find how you can get the most out of Google Search.

Features:

Learn how to get the most out of google search.
Shows you different keyword combinations that can be used to get quick Google Search results.
Covers areas of language, travel, unit conversion, and many others.

Check out Google Search Features @ www.google.com/help/features.html

Keyonary: The Mac Shortcut Finder

MOin — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:01:45 +0000

Keyboard hotkey shortcuts let us perform tasks without having to reach for our mouse. Like me, most people prefer hotkeys and use them every day. If you are looking for a database where you can find Mac hotkey shortcuts for your most used functions, Keyonary is where your search ends.

Keyonary is a free to use mac shortcut finder that lists system shortcuts for Apple Mac users. The homepage includes a search bar where we can enter our function.

Suppose we enter opacity, this is the result we obtain.

Similarly we can add other functions to find out their shortcuts. The “Favorite“ button lists the most popular shortcuts; the “Glyphs“ button lets us search for hotkeys via symbols.

Hotkey shortcuts for other programs and operating systems are being added; a list of them can be viewed by clicking on the “ADDED“ button at the top right of the site.

Features:

Free of charge.
Simple and easy to use interface.
You can add useful shortcuts to your favorites.
A wonderful hotkey source for Mac users.
New shortcuts to other applications and operating systems are being added fast.
Similar sites: ShortcutWorld and KeyXL.
Also check related articles: How To Master The Power of Mac Shortcut Keys and How To Add New Shortcuts to Mac OS X with Spark.

Check out Keyonary @ www.keyonary.com

SiteLauncher: Launch Favorite Websites with Simple Shortcuts

Kaly — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:37:16 +0000

SiteLauncher is a simple Firefox plugin which can add some speed to your browsing by letting you quickly launch your favorite websites using simple keyboard shortcuts. With SiteLauncher installed, hitting on Ctrl+Space (Windows) or Ctrl+Alt (Mac) will bring up a launcher like the one you see below.

The panel shows all your favorite sites along with assigned one letter shortcut key next to each. To launch one of the sites you simply need to hit the corresponding shortcut key.

The appearance of the launcher panel, list of sites and shortcut keys that are associated with them can be easily customized.

There is no registration and the installation process takes less then a minute.

Features:

Launch your favorite sites with simple shortcuts.
Configure shortcut keys and corresponding websites the way you like.
Customize appearance of the launcher panel (customize colors, sizes, transparency, etc.)
Organize shortcuts in groups.
Option to set launcher to appear on startup instead of a regular homepage.
Choose whether it should open sites in a current or new tab.
Import and export your shortcut sets.

Check out SiteLaucher @ www.donesmart.com/sitelauncher

Txtful: Get Awesome Shortcuts For Many Popular Sites

abhijeet — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:25:08 +0000

Txtful is a neat app which provides a quick way for getting things done online. What it does is simple but very useful. It has got quick shortcut links for a huge list of popular sites like Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Bestbuy etc. Register with them, set up the sites, name the shortcuts and you are done. You could now use their service directly from your instant messnger, email or phone (SMS is currently US only).

An example of this would be that if you want to add a movie to your Netflix queue or update your Facebook status, you could just type a simple sentence using the shortcut and send it to Txtful using your cellphone, email or IM. And it’s done. You don’t need to visit the website to do it.

Txtful is currently in beta and is free while it is in beta period. It also claims to be a very secure tool. As they mention:

“We take many steps in order to protect your data, and every bit of information you give us is encrypted using the AES-128 standard, which is the same what the U.S. Government uses to protect its secret documents.”

Check out Txtful @ www.txtful.com (by Abhijeet from Appscrazy)

ShortcutWorld: Keyboard Shortcut List For Essential Apps

abhijeet — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:42:16 +0000

If you are someone who works at the computer for long hours, you would agree that using your mouse as less as possible is one of the most productive ways to work on the computer. Keyboard shortcuts are always great but the problem is different applications have different keyboard shortcuts and hence we find it difficult to remember. ShortcutWorld is a site which aims to address that problem by providing a keyboard shortcut lists for some of the most important tools we use everyday.

Currently, it provides keyboard shortcut lists for the following apps.

Firefox
Winamp
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Powerpoint
Google Chrome
Photoshop
Windows XP
Fireworks
Outlook 2007

Certainly, a site worth bookmarking. You might also want to check KeyXL which is another similar tool profiled earlier. Or better go and download some MakeUseOf Cheat sheets.

Check out Shortcutworld @ www.shortcutworld.com (By Abhijeet from Appscrazy)

Katapulco: Search the Best Search Engines using Shortcuts

Aibek Esengulov — Thu, 29 May 2008 07:57:51 +0000

Katapulco is a keyboard shortcut search home page for web users who love being productive and efficient. To search Youtube for Jay Leno, just type “Jay Leno”, hit Tab and type “yt” in the shortcut box. Looking up Montreal on Google Maps? “Montreal” and “gm” will do it. Wonder where this IP comes from: “70.34.12.45″? Just type it and “ip”…

Unlike other “command line” search engines, Katapulco separates the shortcut from the query and all the commands are shortcuts of less than three characters. It also loads in less than a second (on a T1 line).

If set as a home page, Katapulco can be used as a pop-up search console. Want to look up a word? Ctrl-N brings a new browser window with Katapulco for you to search. Once done, doing Alt-F4 should shut it down and let you return to what you were doing. Katapulco is for users who hate to waste time. Using Katapulco, they can query multiple search engines without having to visit each site.

Key Features:

Allows personalization without the need to register or open an account.
Simple on purpose for quick loading times. It loads in 0.96 seconds on a T1 line.
To date, there are 139 search engines available and they are adding more every week.
Users who prefer to use the mouse can still enter keywords and click on the search engine of their choice.
Shortcuts are separated from the search query, making it easy to come back and change just the shortcut to try a different search engine.

Go to Katapulco @ www.katapulco.com

Serchilo : One Search Engine for Every Search Type

Aibek Esengulov — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:02:12 +0000

Search about 200 essential websites from one location. Using Serchilo you can perform quick searches on many popular different websites using simple shortcuts. For instance to search for something on Google you need to use “g” shortcut. For Amazon it’s “a”, for Wikipedia it’s “w” etc. There are about 200 search categories, i.e. weather, phone directory, ebay search, movie reviews, subtitles, google maps, dictionary, goggle cache and so on.

See some examples below:

g Fiji holiday -> Searches Google for Fiji Holiday
w Steve Jobs -> Searches Wikipedia for Steve Jobs
gm london – > Google Maps search for London
a Albert Camus – Searches Amazon for Albert Camus
ebay iPod Touch – Search ebay.com for iPod Touch
usd-eur 200 -> Convert 200 USD to EUR
…

To make it even better you can integrate Serchilo search directly into your browser’s search bar. Once added you will be able to use these search commands without going to the website. Registration is not required but if you register you will be able to edit existing commands or add new ones.

Check out Serchilo @ en.serchilo.net