keyboard shortcuts

Whenever I come across something like these adorably geeky Shortcut Posters ($20 each) from Etsy shop birdAve, it makes me want to redecorate my home office ASAP.

Although I have most of these Mac shortcuts memorized, I wouldn't mind them hanging on my wall to add a touch of tech flavor and color to an otherwise bare room. I'll admit that I haven't done much in the way of decorating my own home office, but I'd love to get some inspiration from you — won't you share your home office (or work office) designs with me in our Capture Your Cube group? Also, if you have any office design tips, leave 'em here in the comments!

Last year, Twitter completely revamped its web interface, adding helpful features and making it easier to use. Despite the number of apps across different platforms, Twitter.com is still the most popular way to use Twitter. If you (like me) prefer to use the web interface, there are a number of keyboard shortcuts you can use to navigate the page, message, reply, or favorite a tweet, view user profiles, and more.

For example, to favorite a tweet, select that tweet and press "f." To compose a new tweet, type "n," or compose a direct message using "m." The shortcuts are intuitive enough to pick up quickly, and after using them for just a few hours, I got the hang of it.

Check out the full list of shortcuts in the footer on the Twitter homepage, or after the break.

A friend just shared an awesome keyboard shortcut that allows you to adjust the volume on your Mac, making the sound level precisely as you like it. Hitting the volume control buttons on the keyboard gives you 16 levels of volume, from completely silent to impossible-to-listen-with-headphones loud. But for even more control, hold down the option + shift keys while you press the volume buttons. This turns each of the 16 volume levels into four more levels, for a total of 64 different levels of volume and maximum control over your Mac's sound.

Learn more after the jump.

I've waxed poetic about keyboard shortcuts (for both my computer and for Gmail) but I know some of you may have a hard time remembering the commands. If you were born with a bad memory, or just get the commands you do remember mixed up with others, there is help. Help in the form of this iMac Apple Shortcuts Sticker ($24), which lives right on your iMac's (or Cinema Display's) stand.

All the basic Mac commands are at your fingertips, so you can open Apple this, and open Apple that till your project is done. Kinda makes you want to DIY one of your own, doesn't it? You can buy printable sticker paper at your local office supply store or online, but if you're crafty, you can attempt the homemade kind.

Although it takes me a little while to get comfortable with a new keyboard shortcut, once I use it regularly for a few days it becomes second nature. Such is the case with keyboard shortcuts for navigating Gmail — they take only a few minutes to enable and will add up to saved minutes over the course of your week.

First, enable keyboard shortcuts in your Settings menu. Then, use these fast and easy keyboard shortcuts to navigate! Check out the list after the break.

Keyboard shortcuts not only make your digital life a little more streamlined and efficient, they're incredibly convenient for maneuvering on the go. I have a few favorites that I use frequently (where would I be without Fn+F11?), but I know there are tons more that I'm not aware of. Enter Keyonary, an online dictionary of keyboard shortcuts for Mac.

Using the search bar, type in the action you'd like your shortcut to perform. Keyonary will return applicable shortcut results. In addition to a huge database of keyboard shortcuts, they make it easy to add glyphs to any text; just click on the "glyphs" tab in the upper right corner, and select the symbol you're looking for. Keyonary will copy them and add them to your clipboard. Then, just paste them into the text:(☮ ♥ ☺)!

Sometimes, it's necessary to check myself before I wreck myself when it comes to squinting in front of the computer. My eyes are already working Internet overtime, and maintaining my vision is essential to my job. Obviously. Now, when I need to see little details in a photo (like figuring out what kind of cell a celeb is carrying), I magnify my screen using Ctrl + Scroll. "Click and flick" if you will.

Just hold down the control button, and scroll up with your mouse, and your screen will magnify for easy viewing. It's like getting one of those remote controls with massive buttons so you can see what you're pressing. Except, you know, it's your computer screen. Man, I'm getting old.

As a devoted Google Reader user, I relish any tips I can use to make it even more useful — so imagine my delight the other day when I let my laptop slip (I told you I was a klutz) and grabbed for it, panicked — and accidentally had hit a key combo that brought up a key of Google Reader keyboard shortcuts.

Don't worry, I replicated it — it's shift + ? — and you can also open it as a separate page.

All this time I've only known about J and K to go up and down through stories, but there's a whole world of keyboard shortcuts! Somehow these always end up being faster than using my mouse for me — not unlike my other new beloved shortcut to shut down my Mac!