Using a trackpad or mouse is for newbs. Any time I can get a keyboard shortcut to do something, I prefer using it to actually picking up my mouse and clicking away to get something done. Safari has a number of shortcuts that are baked into the application to help you access the powerful tools built into the browser. Actually, the five shortcuts listed above were enough to convince me to leave Chrome behind forever. I haven’t looked back either.
Table of Contents
CMD+Shift+D: Send A Website Directly To Your Reading List
Reading List is a pretty handy feature in Safari, but getting things into and out of it with a mouse is a pain in the backside. Hitting the CMD+Shift+D combination will move the page you’re currently viewing directly into your Reading List for later retrieval. It’s a pretty powerful little bookmarking system, and I find myself using it on a daily basis these days because of this nifty shortcut.
Shift+CMD+L: Toggle Reading List Window
This one’s a bit of an extension on the first tip. Hitting Shift+CMD+L will toggle your Reading List between an open and closed state. The only bummer about this one is that when you toggle the Reading List to an open state the feature doesn’t give the listing focus. You’re unable to navigate through your bookmarked entries from the keyboard. Like I said, a bit of a bummer.
CMD+Option+A: Activity Window
This one’s a little more advanced, but it certainly has its place in your workflow, especially if you’re the type of person who needs to download a YouTube video. CMD+Option+A opens the Activity window and lists everything that’s loaded on a parituclar page, including video and Flash files. We don’t condone stealing others’ copyrighted materials though, but feel free to test it out on our Macgasm videos on YouTube.
CMD+M: Merge All Windows
Alright, so this one isn’t baked into Safari. You actually have to set it up in the System Preferences, but once you do, CMD+M will easily find its way into your daily browser workflow. I often find myself wondering why my laptop is acting sluggish, but hitting CMD+M immediately reveals that I have several Safari windows open, all of them with several tabs. To keep your desktop tidy, make sure you set this one up. The keyboard shortcut merges all of your open browser windows into one window. Here’s a brief tutorial on setting it up.
CMD+Shift+R: Open An Article In Reader
This is, by far, my most used keyboard shortcut in Safari. I’m not the biggest fan of apps that scape content and rip out advertisements, but sometimes you just don’t have a choice. Hitting CMD+Shift+R will open the current webpage or article up in Apple’s Reader extension in Safari. Reader will then strip all the extra stuff out of the page and provide you with only basic text and links, as well as a header image and the appropriate in-post images.
It saves you from migraines, so use it wisely.
