Tip of the week # 651
22 April 2021


Press / to jump back to the search box (Google Search) *

Google Search, aka Google, is a search engine provided by Google LLC. The company does not share its search volume data, but according to Wikipedia it handles over 3.5 billion searches per day - and I bet you submit some of those. We even use it as a verb ... "I tried googling but couldn't find anything relevant". Recognisable?! Anyway, I digress.

This week's tip is about a fabulous new keyboard shortcut they sneaked in recently, making it easier to refine your search.

Here's how:

  1. Type your search term(s). (Use double quotes if you want the search results to match the exact name or phrase within the quotes.)
  2. Press ENTER, as normal. (Or do you pick up your mouse and click on the magnifying glass?)
  3. Press the forward slash / on your keyboard to jump back to search box.

For example, you might have searched for Excel training but couldn't find what you were looking for and want to refine your search. Simply press / and add the word Cambridge to the end of your existing search. (Did I ever mention we do Excel training? ;)

I know it's a tiny change, but I feel it's a big time-saver.

By the way, did you know you can use google on my website, which can be helpful if you want to search for a particular tip I wrote since 2003. (No, not a typo! ;) See search.php

Alternatively, you can use the categorised tip archive on the right hand side under my signature on hints.php; for convenience purposes I've listed the main links below:

https://softwaretrainingcambridge.wordpress.com/category/microsoft-office/ https://softwaretrainingcambridge.wordpress.com/category/microsoft-word/ https://softwaretrainingcambridge.wordpress.com/category/microsoft-excel/ https://softwaretrainingcambridge.wordpress.com/category/microsoft-outlook/ https://softwaretrainingcambridge.wordpress.com/category/microsoft-powerpoint/

That's it for this week! Happy Earth Day!


* Unless stated otherwise this tip is written for Microsoft 365 and Windows 10 users, but can also be useful in Office 2010, 2013 and 2016.