Boost Your Productivity: Master These 10 Text-Entry Hacks for Windows
Boost your typing game with these 10 Windows text-entry tricks! From clipboard history to voice typing, these built-in features will make entering text a breeze Save time and energy with autocorrect, emoji and symbol panels, lightning-fast text searching, and more Say goodbye to typing frustrations and hello to keyboard nirvana
Entering text should be a seamless and swift process, whether you're crafting a college essay or engaging in an online debate. Fortunately, Windows offers a plethora of built-in tools and features that streamline the typing experience and lead you towards the path of keyboard bliss.
Look Up Copied Content in Your Clipboard History
This trick is my go-to when it comes to text entry. I frequently copy and paste not only text, but also screenshots and images. Thankfully, Windows has a handy clipboard history tool that stores the last 30 or so items you copied. To access it, simply press the Windows+V keyboard shortcut and you can easily retrieve that link or image you copied earlier and need to use again.
You have the option to keep certain items off the record by clicking the ellipses ( . . . ) button and selecting the delete option. If you want to clear your entire clipboard history, simply click the “Clear All” button. For frequently used items, you can easily access them by pinning them to the top of your history using the pin tack button.
Put Autocorrect to Work for You
Instead of repeatedly typing the same word or phrase, you can save time by programming autocorrect to replace specific characters. The method for doing this will vary depending on the program you are using. For instance, Word offers the option to create custom entries in its AutoCorrect settings. With this feature, you can program Word to replace every instance of "htg" with "How-To Geek," saving you the hassle of typing out the full name each time.
That saves me a lot of time, and it’s one way you can make autocorrect not suck.
Paste From Your Phone With Clipboard Sharing
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you need to transfer text or links from your phone to your PC? The conventional methods of emailing yourself or using a synced notes app can be quite cumbersome. However, sharing your clipboard between your phone and PC proves to be a faster and simpler alternative. By simply copying the text on your phone, you can immediately paste it on your Windows PC and vice versa. It's a straightforward process that saves you time and effort.
Save Time With the Emoji and Symbols Panel
Despite the limitations of Microsoft's implementation of clipboard sharing in Phone Link and Link to Windows, there are other options available for those whose Android models don't support the feature. One such option is the free and open-source KDE Connect, which offers a clipboard-sharing plugin as well as other device-to-device connectivity tools. Additionally, there are also Android and iPhone apps available for use.Looking to add special characters or emojis to your text but don't want to go through the hassle of searching for them online or accessing Word's special character menu? With the Windows+. keyboard shortcut, a panel will appear with a variety of text insertion tools, including the option to search for specific characters or browse through all available emojis.
Click the Symbol tab at the top to reveal a bunch of special characters you can click to drop into your text. Inserting the copyright symbol has never been easier.
Paste as Plain Text
Copying and pasting text may seem like a simple task, but it can quickly become a headache when formatting issues arise. The extra formatting that often gets added during the process can cause problems with important elements such as spreadsheet cells and hyperlinks, making it difficult to achieve a presentable document.
One solution to the issue of unwanted formatting is to use the Ctrl+Shift+V shortcut, which pastes only unformatted text. This shortcut is supported by popular applications like Chrome and Slack. However, if this shortcut is not available, you can use PowerToys on Windows to create a shortcut that works across apps. The Paste As Plain Text PowerToy enables you to paste without formatting anywhere. After enabling it, you can use the default keyboard combination Ctrl+Windows+Alt+V or customize it to better suit your workflow.
Jump Words and Paragraphs
Hold down Ctrl and use the arrow keys to quickly navigate through the text you're editing. The Left and Right Arrows will move you word by word in either direction, while the Up and Down Arrows will allow you to jump from paragraph to paragraph. This simple tip can save you a significant amount of time in the long run.
Find Text Lightning Fast
Many individuals struggle with scanning through an entire document in search of a specific piece of text using only their eyes. Unfortunately, not enough people are aware of the convenient shortcut available for locating text within any browser, PDF viewer, or word processor. By pressing Ctrl+F and typing in the desired word or phrase, users can easily navigate through search results using Ctrl+G or F3 and Shift+F3. This simple trick can save a significant amount of time and reduce eye strain.
Select Text Even Faster
Manipulating large amounts of text can be a time-consuming task. However, selecting text can make this process much easier. You may already be familiar with selecting text in an editable field by holding the Shift key while pressing the arrow keys. But did you know that you can select entire words at once by holding Ctrl+Shift and using the Right and Left Arrow keys? Additionally, using the Up and Down Arrow keys can help you select entire lines at a time.
To efficiently select text with a mouse, double and triple-clicking are the way to go. Double-clicking a word will select it entirely, while holding Shift and clicking on another word will add everything up to that word to the selection. To select an entire paragraph in less than a second, simply triple-click on any word within the paragraph. And for a quick select-all move, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A.
Extract Text From Photos
Copying text from images has never been easier thanks to OCR, or Optical Character Recognition. Instead of wasting time copying by sight, check out the Windows PowerToy "Text Extractor" which allows you to easily highlight and copy the text you need by hitting Shift+Windows+T and dragging your mouse over the desired text. No need for third-party apps, this tool is simple and effective.
Text Extractor can sometimes miss small text, based on my personal experience. However, it is still more efficient to correct the extracted text rather than manually typing it out.
Type With Your Voice
If you're looking for a break from typing but still need to enter text, Windows 10 and Windows 11 offer a convenient voice dictation feature. By using the keyboard shortcut Windows+H, a small dialog box will appear, allowing you to dictate your words if your microphone is connected and working. To add punctuation, simply state the desired punctuation mark, such as "period," "comma," or "question mark." Deleting text is also a breeze with the "delete" command followed by the word or sentence you wish to remove, or by saying "delete previous sentence." Check out our comprehensive guide on voice typing for more tips and tricks on navigating text.
Explore further and unlock even more productivity secrets on your Windows computer. Unleash the hidden potential of Microsoft Word with its transcription feature, experiment with custom snappable screen regions using the FancyZones PowerToy, and boost your efficiency with our compilation of essential Windows keyboard shortcuts.
