Facebook already consumes a lot of our time and if you want to save some of it then using keyboard shortcuts for Facebook is the way to go. That’s right, Facebook has keyboard shortcuts to make your life a tad bit easier. When certain keys are pressed, you will be able to access different parts or functions of Facebook quickly. You might have noticed the social network on your browser scrolling or doing something undesirable when certain keys are pressed on your Laptop. That’s how shortcuts work and this post will explain all of those.
Please know that these shortcuts are accessible only if you are on a desktop or laptop. Under normal circumstances, smartphones and their apps don’t require keyboard shortcuts.
For Posting a New Status
You do this occasionally. You post a status to update what you’re feeling or to share something that you have in your mind. The next time you want to do it, just press P.
P: Post a new status.
For Newsfeed
The time you dedicate to Facebook is probably spent on scrolling through your newsfeed. That is where all the interesting posts are shared by your friends and the people you follow. You browse through them, like them and comment on them. For this, my favorite shortcut keys are J, K and L which are perfectly lined up in your keyboard. Try pressing them the next time you are scrolling through your newsfeed.
Here’s what those keys on Facebook do (with additional shortcuts):
J – Scroll down to the next story.
K – Scroll up to the previous story.
L – Like a post or unlike it.
C – Comment on the current post.
S – Share the current story.
Enter – See more of that post to read additional comments, play video and view other details.
O – Open the attachment present in the current news feed item.
/ – Search
Q – Search people in your chat box.
? – Display all the shortcuts in Facebook for the newsfeed.
For Chatting
Facebook is great for instant messaging with your contacts. Here’s how you do it with shortcuts for the web messenger:
CTRL + G – Search through you conversation.
CTRL + Q – Display or hide keyboard shortcuts.
CTRL + Delete – For archiving conversations or undoing it.
CTRL + J – Mark as a message as spam
CTRL + M – Create a new message or conversation.
CTRL + I – Open your inbox.
CTRL + U – Switch to “Other” messages next to your inbox.
Notes:
- Sometimes, your browser shortcuts might override these.
- If you are wondering, these shortcuts are not case-sensitive.
Other Shortcuts
Now the only remaining shortcuts in Facebook are related to browsing the website. You go through different links in Facebook like Home, Timeline, and Friends etc. As you’ve guessed, they can be accessed with the help of shortcuts. I know that it is impossible to memorize all these shortcuts, but it does help you if you are able to remember the ones that you use the most.
The shortcuts are also different according to the browsers that you use and the operating system that you have in your machine. Depending upon the browser and your OS, you will have to press different combinations. The shortcut keys are the same, only the special key combinations are different.
Here are the special key combinations for browsing Facebook:
Internet Explorer for PC: ALT + <Key> and then Enter
Firefox for PC: SHIFT + ALT + <Key>
Safari for Mac: CTRL + Opt + <Key>
Firefox for Mac: CTRL + Opt + <Key>
Chrome for Mac: CTRL + Opt + <Key>
Chrome for PC: ALT + <Key>
Replace the <Key> with one of the following to browse Facebook. They are common across all computer platforms.
0 – Help
1 – Home
2 – Timeline/Profile
3 – Friends
4 – Inbox
5 – Notifications
6 – Settings
7 – Activity Log
8 – About
9 – Terms
The details on all these shortcuts are also available at the official Facebook help page – How can I navigate Facebook with Keyboard Shortcuts?
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