Power User Skills: shortcuts and automation

Your shortcut map on three systems

In simple words

Every computer has a few "magic keys" that unlock shortcuts. If you know which magic key your computer uses, you can learn its shortcuts like words in a new language.

Before this course: Computer Confidence: settings and troubleshooting (course 13.8.2). You already know your way around Settings, updates, storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, startup apps and backups. Course 13.8 taught the basic shortcuts (search, screenshots, lock, Task Manager and Force Quit). Here you go one step further: you work faster with shortcuts, and you let the computer do repeated jobs for you. Menu names can differ by version, so use the search box in Settings if a name is not where this course says.

Key facts

The main modifier keys:

System	Main shortcut key	Where to find the full official list
Windows	Windows key (plus Ctrl, Alt, Shift)	Microsoft Support, Keyboard shortcuts in Windows
macOS	Command (plus Option, Control, Shift, Fn)	Apple Support, Mac keyboard shortcuts. Menus also show the shortcut next to each command.
ChromeOS	Search key or Launcher key (Google says both work the same)	Press Ctrl + Search + s to see all shortcuts

Useful "power" shortcuts that were not in course 13.8:

Action	Windows	Mac	ChromeOS
Open the app pinned in a taskbar position	Win + number (0-9)	—	—
Quick Link menu	Win + X	—	—
Run dialog box	Win + R	—	—
Settings for the app in front	—	Command-Comma (,)	—
Hide the front app's windows	—	Command-H	—
Hide all other apps	—	Option-Command-H	—
Show or hide the Dock	—	Option-Command-D	—
Go to a folder by typing its path	—	Shift-Command-G (in Finder)	—
Emoji panel	Win + . (period)	Control-Command-Space (Character Viewer)	Search + Shift + Space
Open the Files app	—	—	Shift + Alt + m
Caps Lock	Caps Lock key	Caps Lock key	Search + Alt

A dash means this course does not list a shortcut for that system.

On a Chromebook with an external keyboard, Google says to press the Windows key or Command key in place of Search or Launcher.
Learn shortcuts in small groups. Pick the ones for jobs you do every day.

Step by step

Write down which system you use: Windows, macOS or ChromeOS.
Open the official shortcut list: on ChromeOS press Ctrl + Search + s; on Windows or Mac open the Microsoft or Apple page in Sources.
Go through your day in your head and list five jobs you repeat (open an app, switch windows, find a folder, insert an emoji, open settings).
For each job, find the shortcut in the official list and write it next to the job.
Practise each one five times today.
Stick the list near your screen for one week.
Check: you can do all five jobs without the mouse, and you know where the full list is.

LESSON 01Your shortcut map on three systems

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "Every computer has a magic key. Find yours, and shortcuts start to make sense."
[Text on screen: Windows key / Command / Search or Launcher] "On Windows it is the Windows key. On a Mac, Command. On a Chromebook, Search or Launcher."
[Screen: Chromebook shortcut list after Ctrl + Search + s] "On a Chromebook, Ctrl, Search and S shows every shortcut."
[Host] "Don't learn them all. Learn the five you need every day."

Try it now

Make a "My 5 power shortcuts" card for your own system, using only the official list. Use them for one week and cross out each one when it feels automatic.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Power User Skills: shortcuts and automation" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Your shortcut map on three systems".

What the lesson teaches:
- System - Main shortcut key - Where to find the full official list
- Windows - Windows key (plus Ctrl, Alt, Shift) - Microsoft Support, Keyboard shortcuts in Windows
- macOS - Command (plus Option, Control, Shift, Fn) - Apple Support, Mac keyboard shortcuts. Menus also show the shortcut next to each command.
- ChromeOS - Search key or Launcher key (Google says both work the same) - Press Ctrl + Search + s to see all shortcuts
- Action - Windows - Mac - ChromeOS
- Open the app pinned in a taskbar position - Win + number (0-9) - — - —
- Quick Link menu - Win + X - — - —

The exercise I'm working on:
Make a "My 5 power shortcuts" card for your own system, using only the official list. Use them for one week and cross out each one when it feels automatic.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Your shortcut map on three systems" from the course "Power User Skills: shortcuts and automation".

Here's what the lesson says:
Every computer has a few "magic keys" that unlock shortcuts. If you know which magic key your computer uses, you can learn its shortcuts like words in a new language.

The activity:
Make a "My 5 power shortcuts" card for your own system, using only the official list. Use them for one week and cross out each one when it feels automatic.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

Microsoft Support, Keyboard shortcuts in Windows: support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc6
Apple Support, Mac keyboard shortcuts: support.apple.com/en-us/102650
Google Chromebook Help, Chromebook keyboard shortcuts: support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183101?hl=en

My notes

I learned this