Did you know that if you hit the L key when you're browsing Facebook that it will Like the update you're on? I didn't. I've been using keyboard shortcuts for Gmail for years but I had no idea that Facebook offered them as well. If you, like a billion or so other humans, regularly browse Facebook, the following keyboard shortcuts could save you some time, too.
- j , k — Scroll up and down through stories in your News Feed
- p — Post a new status update
- l — Like or unlike a selected status update
- c — Comment on a selected status update
- s — Share a selected status update
- o — Open the attachment in a selected status update
- enter — See More of a selected status update
- / — Search
- q — Search your chat contacts
- ? — Show keyboard shortcuts
Facebook also supports Access Keys to move between different tabs.
Different web browsers and operating systems use different combinations of key strokes to activate them.
- Internet Explorer for PC: Alt + #, then Enter
- Chrome for PC: Alt + #
- Firefox for PC: Shift + Alt + #
- Safari, Firefox or Chrome for Mac: Control + Option + #
Just replace the # sign with the key number for the specific command you want from this list:
- 0 — Help
- 1 — Home
- 2 — Timeline
- 3 — Friends
- 4 — Inbox
- 5 — Notifications
- 6 — Settings
- 7 — Activity Log
- 8 — About
- 9 — Terms
- m — New Message
For instance, when browsing Chrome on a Mac, hit Ctrl + Option + 4 to bring up your Friends list. For Chrome on a PC, hit Alt + m to start a new message.
If you forget these shortcuts or lose the link to this post, just hit "?" when you're at Facebook.com and a cheat sheet will pop up.
If you have any other shortcuts or tricks for saving time on Facebook, let us know in the comments, email us at technology@huffingtonpost.com or tweet us @HuffPostTech.
My favorite tip: make an interest list of all of my friends. I use that instead of the Newsfeed to see what everyone is doing or sharing, instead of what Facebook's algorithms think I want to see.