Tech Hacks #2 is here! This week we give you some cool shortcuts and keyboard tricks you can use on YouTube, explain how to create a Gif from a YouTube video and offer more tips for saving time with your keyboard…
YouTube quick keyboard tricks:
• To pause a video: Press K.
• To skip 10 seconds back: Press ‘J’ – and to skip 10 seconds forward: Press J and L.
• To search videos from a specific user only: Type @ before you search.
• To save your time watching videos: Press > and < to speed up and slow down the video.
Tip: You can turn any YouTube video into a GIF using the URL.
Gifs are extremely popular, but not many people actually know how to make them. It’s really easy – all it takes is a little YouTube URL trick…
To create a Gif from a YouTube video
The first thing you have to do a find a video you like on YouTube and go to the URL at the top of your browser. Now, add the word ‘gif’ immediately before the domain name, so for example it would read: ‘www.gifyoutube.com/(with your vide-tag here).
This will then bring you to gifs.com where your video will already be uploaded and ready for editing. There will be options here – menu on the left-hand side, with a timeline bar along the bottom of your video. Then you can set the length of the Gif, crop it, add captions and more. Have a mess around with it!
More keyboard tricks and shortcuts…
Ctrl+A = Select All
This is an ultra-fast way of highlighting everything on your page in an instant. It saves all that scrolling down while holding your mouse’s ‘select’ button.
Ctrl+C = Copy / Ctrl+X = Cut
Highlight the content you want to copy or cut, type in the relevant shortcut from above – and the text or image you’ve selected is either copied or cut on to the clipboard. Now proceed by selecting which option below you need…
Option 1: Ctrl+V = Paste
This option will instantly paste whatever you’ve copied or cut from the clipboard in to another document or program – wherever the cursor is currently located. No need to open the ‘edit’ menu again. Easy.
Option 2: Ctrl+Z = Undo
If you’ve made a mistake, pressing Ctrl+Z will reverse almost any action you’ve just taken. If you need to undo more than one action it will save you a lot of time.
If you realise it wasn’t a mistake after all, all you have to do is perform the reverse action by pressing Ctrl+Y for Redo. It all makes your life a little easier.
Ctrl+S = Save
It’s surprising how many people don’t know this shortcut. Just press Ctrl+S instead of opening the ‘file menu’.
Get in to a habit of using this all the time, as if there’s an unexpected crash, you’ll be able to relax knowing everything has been saved. If you find you’ve forgotten to save all your precious info, simply throw your laptop out of the highest window you can find. Sorted!