If you’ve read one of the previous posts you may have already guessed that keybindings don’t stop with the OS.

I spend a lot of time in a web browser so I also tried to optimize operating my browser use, meaning less mouse usage.

Immediate gains - Built-in key bindings

If you’re currently mostly using the mouse, using the built-in keybindings can already speed up your browsing experience a lot. These are the ones I use the most.

(Note that these are on a Mac, most of these work on other operating systems if you replace Cmd with Ctrl.)

Cmd-T (New Tab)
Cmd-W (Close Tab)
Cmd-N (New Window)
Ctrl-Tab (Cycle Tabs)
Cmd-Left (Back)
Cmd-Right (Forward)
Shift-Cmd-H (History)

If you’re on a Mac, Cmd-backtick is another helpful addition, cycling through your browser windows.

Efficiency galore - find-as-you-type

Firefox sports two find-as-you-type modes, the more useful one being mostly unknown.

/ triggers find as you type for the page content (Cmd-g jumps to the next match). This is pretty useful but only ' brings out mouse-less browsing. It triggers find-as-you-type for links. Typing the first characters of link text selects the link, Return will follow the link (Shift-Return opens the link in a new tab).

Put away your mouse and try this for a day!