Search Google Drive from the Omnibox

Save a few steps when you need to search for something in your Google Drive by setting up the Omnibox (that's what the address bar in Chrome is called) to automatically search those places when you type in a special keyword. I search Google Drive MANY times each day, but I never have to go to Google Drive before I do it. Saves me a ton of time!

Do this by going up to the Omnibox (where the website URL is across the top) and right-clicking in it.  Then choose "Manage Search Engines and Site Search" from the list.

Under the "Site search" section, click the "Add" button on the right. 

A box will pop up asking for the Search engine name, a keyword, and the URL.  This trick works by using a keyword.  Whenever you type that keyword into the Omnibox and then hit the spacebar (or the tab key), it will be ready for you to type in what you want to search for on that specific website.  You can see below what I typed in for Google Drive.  You can choose a different keyword if you want, but be sure that the URL is exactly the same as what I typed.

https://drive.google.com/drive/search?q=%s

When you are done, click "Add". 

Now, no matter what website I'm currently on, I can go to the Omnibox and type in dr and hit the spacebar or tab.  Then it will be ready for me to search Google Drive.  It's a beautiful, time-saving thing!

You can do this for most any website that has a search feature - Amazon, YouTube, Bible Gateway, etc.  Just repeat the process we did above.  To get the correct URL, you'll need to search for something on the desired website and copy the URL of the search results.  Then when you paste it into the new search engine entry, replace the word or phrase that you searched for (and anything after it) with %s.

Two Keyboard Shortcuts I Can't Live Without

These two keyboard shortcuts are life savers!  I use them daily.

Ctrl-Shift-V (Command-Shift-V for Mac)

If you use Ctrl-C to copy, Ctrl-X to cut, and Ctrl-V to paste, this one is for you.  Ctrl-Shift-V (Command-Shift-V) will allow you to paste using source formatting.  That means it will match the formatting of the document you are pasting into.  For example - I am typing an email and I want to copy some text from a document or website that is using a fun font and green text.  I want the text to be black and in the same font and size as the rest of my email.  If I use Ctrl-V to paste, it will most likely keep the font, color, size, and line spacing from where I found it.  If I use Ctrl-Shift-V, it will match the font, color, size, and line spacing of my email.  Talk about a time saver!

Holding Shift while Making a Shape

In apps like Google Drawings and Google Slides, when you make a shape like a square or a circle, there are times when you don't want it to shift into a rectangle or a circle, you want it to maintain its shape as a perfect square or circle.  If you hold the shift key down while you draw the shape, it will stay true.  For a triangle, it will keep it equilateral or isosceles, depending on the one you chose to make.  For an arrow or a line, it will keep it straight and not let it become slanted.  If you drag up or down far enough, it will snap to a diagonal, but it will prevent you from doing the slightly not straight line.  This is a life saver for making all my tutorials!  I know it works in Drawings and Slides, and also in Preview on a Mac.  Try it in whatever program you use that makes shapes or lines and see if it works - I bet it will!  

Both of these tips saved me a bunch of hassle once I learned them.  I hope they save you some time and hassle too.

Handy Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Chrome

Sometimes using the mouse just takes up extra time.  I've got some handy keyboard shortcuts for you today that will save you some time and effort when working in Google Chrome.

Control-T (Command-T for Mac) - This will open a new tab.

Control-W (Command-W) - This will close the active tab.  The active tab is whatever tab you are currently working in.  This can come in especially handy if you are working through a whole class of Google Docs.

Control-Shift-T (Command-Shift-T) - This will reopen the last tab you closed.  This is really useful if you accidentally closed a tab, or realize you needed one more thing from the document or web page you just closed.  Google Chrome remembers the last 10 tabs you closed.

Control-Tab (Works for Mac also!) - This will switch you to the next open tab (moves you one tab to the right).  If you are on your last tab, it will take you back to the first one.

Control-Shift-Tab (Also works for Mac) - This will switch you to the previous tab (moves you one tab to the left).  If you are on your first tab, it will take you to the last tab.

Control-1 through Control-8 (Command-1 through Command-8) - This will take you to tab in that position across the top of your screen.  For instance, if you want the third tab from the left, you push Control-3 (Command-3).  If you are like me and often have more than 8 tabs open, Control-9 (Command-9) will take you to the last tab, no matter how many tabs are open.

This one does use a mouse - but I use it quite a bit, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Press Control (Command) while you click a link - This will open the link in a new tab.  You can then click on that tab to see the new webpage.  This works especially well if you are doing a Google Search.  You can open several of the links that look promising as you look through the results and then click through the tabs to view.  It also means you don't have to hit the back button to return to your results because they stay open in the original tab.  If you want it to open the results in a new tab and have it take you to directly to that tab, you can press Control-Shift (Command-Shift) while you click the link.

Thank you for stopping by the TeachingTechNix blog.  Stop by again soon for more handy tech tips!

Save All Your Open Tabs

You are right in the middle of a big project.  You have 15 tabs open in your Chrome browser, all of which you still need, and here comes an interruption.  Your prep time ends, your kids get home, the baby wakes up, it's time to make dinner, or you realize it is way past your bedtime.  Either way, you have a ton of open tabs and you don't want to lose any of them.  The solution?  Control-Shift-D.

Control-Shift-D (Command-Shift-D for Mac users) will take all the tabs you have open in your browser and put them in a folder on your bookmarks bar.  Press the keys, name your folder, and click save.  Just that easy and all your tabs are saved for later reference.  Just a reminder that you need to be using Google's Chrome browser for this handy trick to work.

Let's say I'm planning a unit on Geometry for my 3rd graders.  Here is what my screen might look like when my interruption comes along:

I press Control-Shift-D and up pops a little window.  I type in the name for my folder and click ok.

Now, on my bookmarks bar I have my folder.  When I click on it, all my tabs are saved as shortcuts.

Handy, right?  

*If your folder doesn't appear across the top of your screen under the address bar (also know as the Omnibox), your bookmark bar may not be set to show.  If you click on the settings icon (the three little lines in the top right corner of your browser), and then click on "Bookmarks", you can select the "Show Bookmarks Bar" option.  

I have used this many times since I learned about it.  I hope it will be helpful for you as well!  

A few other Chrome keyboard shortcuts I've blogged about:

Control-F (Chrome Search Bar)

Control-Shift-T (Open Recently Closed Tabs in Chrome)

Control-Shift-N (Open a New Incognito Window)  and Control-N (Open a new regular window)

Thank you for stopping by the TeachingTechNix blog!  Stop in again soon for more handy tech tips!

Incognito - It's Not Just For Being Sneaky

When Google Chrome came out with incognito browsing, I thought to myself, "Why would they make it easier for people to look at things they shouldn't on the internet?!"  Even the little spy icon they use in the corner sometimes makes you feel like you are being mischievous.  Well...I'm here to tell you, Incognito is not just for being sneaky.  When you go incognito, pages you look at are not saved in your browser's history, cookies aren't saved, and search history doesn't stick around either.  Even still, Google is very clear that using incognito doesn't hide your browsing habits from your boss, your internet service provider, or the websites you visit.  Maybe it isn't so much about being sneaky after all.  So why go incognito?

Google Chrome does a great job of knowing who you are.  It saves your usernames and passwords, extensions, apps, shortcuts, etc.  It is truly a personalized browsing experience.  There are so many different websites that you can log in to using your Google account.  All of these websites will remember you.  You can of course adjust the settings and decide what gets remembered and what doesn't, but most people find it handy that Chrome knows them so well.  This is a great attribute of Google Chrome, but what if someone else wants to use your computer to log in to a Google account - check email, access drive, etc.?  It's a hassle to log yourself out of your account, sometimes once for each app someone else wants to use, and then log back in when the person is done.  Then it remembers that this person has logged in, and lists that account in your account list when you go to log back in.  This person may not want personal information saved in your browser.  You may not want that personal information saved in your browser.  Enter incognito browsing.

Opening an incognito window means that for browsing in that window, Chrome doesn't know who you are.  None of your automatic log in information is saved there.  Your homepages, extensions, usernames, and passwords are not gong to come up.  Someone else can easily log in to their Google products without the hassle of you logging out.  Then, once all the incognito windows are closed, all the personal information is gone.  Chrome isn't going to remember that someone else logged in on your computer.  This comes in handy for when you need to quickly access something on one of your other Google accounts (I have four different ones), when a colleague needs to access something while in your room, when a student needs to use your computer to log in and access a homework assignment, or when a student is logged in in the library and a buddy wants to log in really quick without the hassle of the first kid logging out of the computer to let the other student log in.  Now, students using incognito browsing could cause some other issues, so you might be cautious before encouraging them to use it.  More than likely they know about incognito already, but I'd use caution before using it with students anyway.  Better yet, check with your administrator first.

If you are using Chrome on a PC or Mac that you share with someone else regularly, Chrome allows for profiles.  My husband and I have about 8 accounts between the two of us and we can set it up so with just a click or two, we can change profiles.  (This does not work the same way for Chromebooks.)  I won't go into how to do this right now, as this is a post mainly about incognito browsing.  I'll cover how to create these profiles in a future post.

Another reason to use an incognito window is when you want to see what a site looks like when you aren't logged in as you.  Sometimes you want to see what someone else coming to a certain site or page will see if they don't have your login credentials or permissions.  Incognito is a quick way to do this without having to log yourself out.

So now that I've convinced you that going incognito can be quite handy, let's talk about how to do it.  If you look up in the top right hand corner of your Chrome window, you have that symbol with the three little parallel lines.  This is where you go to customize your Chrome settings.

When you click on that, one of the options you get is "New incognito window".  Click on that option and up will pop an incognito window.  You can also just press Control+Shift+N (Command+Shift+N for a Mac) and a new incognito window will pop right up.  Extra little tip - pressing Control+N (Command+N for a Mac) will bring up a new regular window.

You will always know that you've gone incognito because the top of the window is a darker color, either gray or blue, depending on what device you are using.  You will also see the little spy guy in the upper right or left corner of your browsing screen.

Thank you for stopping by the TeachingTechNix blog!  I hope this tip has been helpful for you.  I know it has come in quite handy for me time and time again.  Stop in again soon for more tips and tricks!

Reopen Closed Tabs in Google Chrome

It happens to all of us, especially those who have far too many things happening all at once - an occupational hazard for teachers.  You are browsing along on the internet and you accidentally close a tab.  Aw man!  It took you a while to find that website and now you closed the window.  Maybe you are in the middle of a lesson and you would lose valuable time getting back to your website.  If you happen to be using Google Chrome as your internet browser, no problem!

Control-Shift-T (Command-Shift-T if you are on a MAC) will reopen your closed tab.  In fact, it will reopen the last several tabs - I've heard people say it only opens the last 10 tabs, but I've tested it to 17.  It didn't stop working at that point, I just stopped trying.  I figure if you are going back that far, you may as well just look into your browser's history, it would probably be easier.

You can also click on the menu button and choose "Recent Tabs".  You can even access recently closed tabs from another computer as long as you were logged into Chrome on that machine.

That's my quick tip for you today!  This has saved me many times.  I hope it comes in handy for you!

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Keyboard Image By Rumudiez (Created in Adobe Illustrator) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Chrome Search Bar

Hello!  I have a very quick tip for you today.

Did you know Chrome has a really quick and easy search function?  Whether you are on a web page or in a Google doc, you can simply hit Control-F (Command-F if you are a Mac user) and a little search bar will pop up in the upper right hand corner of your screen.  If you are on a web page, it will search the page.  If you are in a Google doc, it will search that doc.  Here are some examples of what it looks like.

Web Page

Google Sheets Spreadsheet

Google Doc

 When you are done with whatever search you are making, you can hit the escape key and the search bar will close and disappear.  Quite handy if you ask me!

That's all for today!  Thank you for stopping by TeachingTechNix.  Happy searching!